Program

2018 MARS Speakers

Michael Rosenbaum
Columbia University Medical Center 

Dr. Michael Rosenbaum’s research interests focus mainly on energy intake and expenditure in relation to body weight regulation in adults and the development and prevention of obesity and its co-morbidities in children. He and his colleague Dr. Rudolph Leibel are internationally known for this work. Dr. Rosenbaum received his undergraduate degree in Neuroscience from Amherst College and his medical degree from Cornell University Medical College. He completed his internship and residency at Columbia Presbyterian (Babies) Hospital and a fellowship in Pediatric Endocrinology at The New York Hospital. He was an assistant professor in the Laboratory of Human Behavior and Metabolism under the direction of Dr. Jules Hirsch at Rockefeller University until 1997 at which time he was recruited to Columbia University Medical Center with Dr. Rudolph Leibel. He is currently a Professor of Pediatrics and Medicine at CUMC and Associate Program Director of the Clinical Translational Science Award (CTSA) and Clinical Research Resource (CRR) at Columbia University Medical Center. He is also a graduate of the Columbia Public Voices fellowship. He has authored over 100 peer-reviewed publications and has been a frequent op-ed contributor in numerous media outlets. Dr. Rosenbaum is a member of the American Academy of Pediatrics, the American Diabetes Association, the Obesity Society, and the Society for Pediatric Research. He is a paid consultant to Pfizer, Takeda, and Asubio pharmaceuticals. His work is currently funded by the NIH and the New York State Empire Clinical Research Investigator Program.

Terry E. Robinson
 The University of Michigan
Terry E. Robinson received his Ph.D. in Psychology from the University of Western Ontario in 1978, and after postdoctoral training he joined the Department of Psychology at The University of Michigan in Ann Arbor. Dr. Robinson is known internationally for his research concerning the persistent behavioral and neurobiological consequences of repeated psychostimulant drug use, and the implications of these for addiction and relapse. His present research focuses on individual differences in the propensity to attribute incentive motivational properties to cues associated with rewards, and how this may predispose some individuals to develop impulse control disorders, such as addiction. He has published over 235 articles, and his papers have been cited over 40,900 times (h=91; he is listed on ISIHighlyCited.com as one of the highest cited [top 0.5%] scientists in Neuroscience). Awards include the D.O. Hebb Distinguished Scientific Contribution Award from the American Psychological Association (APA), the Distinguished Scientist Award from EBPS, the William James Fellow Award for Lifetime Achievement from APS, the Award for Distinguished Scientific Contributions from APA, a Honourary Doctor of Science (honoris causa) degree from the University of Lethbridge, and the Henry Russel Lectureship at UM. He is currently the Elliot S. Valenstein Distinguished University Professor of Psychology & Neuroscience at Michigan, and Past-President of the European Behavioral Pharmacology Society (EBPS).

Patricia M. Di Lorenzo
 Binghamton University

I am a professor of Psychology and Director of the Integrative Neuroscience Program at Binghamton University in Binghamton, NY. I earned my Ph.D. in Biopsychology from the University of Rochester and did a postdoctoral fellowship at the University of California at Los Angeles. I have been a faculty member at Binghamton University since 1985. In 2007 I was awarded the New York State Chancellor’s Award for Excellence in Scholarship and Creative Activities. My research has focused on neural coding in the brainstem gustatory system using behavioral, electrophysiological and computational techniques with funding from the Whitehall Foundation, the NSF and the NIH. I currently hold three NIH grants, two from the NIDCD on temporal coding in the brainstem gustatory system and on the effects of obesity and gastric bypass surgery on taste. The third grant is from the NIGMS and supports a summer research experience for students from underrepresented groups at regional community colleges.

Mark Schatzker
 Chair of the Social Change Advisory Committee for the Modern Diet and Physiology Research Center

Mark Schatzker is the author of The Dorito Effect and Steak. His award-winng journalism has appeared in in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Condé Nast Traveler and Best American Travel Writing. He is also the Chair of the Social Change Advisory Committee for the Modern Diet and Physiology Research Center. He lives in Toronto with his wife and three children.