Summer Research Symposium 2023

Friday, July 28

The annual Summer Research Immersion Program offers research opportunities to students between the first and second years of the MD curriculum. Over eight weeks, students work alone or in pairs on a wide variety of projects under a mentor’s guidance. Projects are presented at a Summer Research Symposium. This year, more than 100 students will present at two poster sessions at Geisinger Commonweath’s Medical Sciences Building.

The symposium will conclude with a keynote talk by Christopher Still, DO, FACN, FACP, FTOS, who leads Geisinger’s Center for Obesity and Metabolic Research.

About the speaker

Dr. Still has studied developments in nutrition, metabolic syndrome and obesity for nearly three decades. His work has included research into genetic markers for obesity, NASH and diabetes, longitudinal assessment and outcomes of the bariatric surgery patient. He also serves as principal investigator of the Geisinger rural elderly nutrition and aging study of some 22,000 people.

He recently edited CRC Press 2014 Nutrition and Bariatric surgery as well as 2014 ASMBS Textbook of Bariatric Surgery, Volume 1. He has also published in multiple journals, including Obesity, PNAS, Lancet Endocrinology, Annals of Surgery, Gastroenterology, Journal of Clinical Gastroenterology, Surgery for Obesity and Related Disorders and Human Molecular Genetics, among others. He has lectured on such subjects as vitamin and mineral metabolism; diet, nutrition, and exercise; obesity through the life cycle; and the peri-operative medical and nutritional management of the bariatric surgery patient.

Dr. Still is certified by the American Board of Internal Medicine, American Board of Obesity Medicine, the American Board of Physician Nutrition Specialists and the American College of Nutrition. He belongs to several professional societies, including The Obesity Society, American Society of Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery and the American Society of Parenteral and Enteral Nutrition. He is a fellow of the American College of Physicians and the American College of Nutrition. He served on the board of directors for The Obesity Action Coalition and is the past President of the National Board of Physician Nutrition Specialists as well as other editorial boards. He and his program have been featured on CNN, National Public Radio, ABC News, The Discovery Health Channel and several local affiliates. He was awarded the 2011 ASMBS Integrated Health Circle of Excellence Award. Just last year, Dr. Still was presented with the 2022 Henry Hood Award for Clinical and Research Excellence.