Fatima Cody Stanford

Education

M.D., general medicine, Medical College of Georgia; M.B.A., management, Quantic School of Business and Technology; M.P.A., leadership, policy, and US politics, Harvard Kennedy School; M.P.H., health policy and management, Rollins School of Public Health of Emory University

Summary of Experience

Dr. Stanford is a fellowship-trained obesity medicine physician-scientist who specializes in weight-related health issues, nutrition, and public health. Her expertise includes obesity treatment, health disparities in diverse populations, weight discrimination and stigma, and diagnostic criteria for clinical obesity. Dr. Stanford has helped develop a standardized approach for weight loss pharmacotherapy at the Massachusetts General Hospital Weight Center, where she has evaluated more than 10,000 patients. Her research has been published widely in peer-reviewed journals such as The New England Journal of Medicine, The Lancet, The British Medical Journal (BMJ), Annals of Internal Medicine, JAMA Pediatrics, Obesity, and the International Journal of Obesity. Dr. Stanford was appointed to the 2025 Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee by the US Departments of Health and Human Services (HHS) and Agriculture (USDA), and she drafted the obesity policy for children, adolescents, and adults for the World Medical Association. Her many honors include recognition as a Scholar in Diagnostic Excellence by the National Academy of Medicine, the Pride in the Profession Award from the American Medical Association (AMA) Foundation, the Reducing Health Disparities and Women’s Health awards from the Massachusetts Medical Society (MMS), the Meritorious Achievement Award from the National Medical Association, and clinician of the year awards from the MMS Suffolk District and the Obesity Society. Dr. Stanford is the associate editor of Frontiers in Public Health and serves on the editorial boards of the International Journal of Obesity, Health Equity, Childhood Obesity, and Endocrine Today. She has been elected to leadership positions in national medical organizations such as the AMA, the American College of Physicians, and the American Academy of Pediatrics.