American College of Physicians awards $260,000 in grants to address equity challenges in obesity care

(Press-News.org) PHILADELPHIA, April 3, 2025 – Today, the American College of Physicians (ACP) announced that it has awarded a total of $260,000 in grants to support regional programs that address equity challenges in obesity care. Thirteen grantees were each awarded $20,000 to implement collaborative regional outreach projects.   

Through “Advancing Equitable Obesity Care through Regional Action Grants,” ACP aims to inspire local collaboration models across the country to train and empower medical professionals to partner with patients to combat misinformation and heighten clinical capacity to manage care for people with obesity. The program capitalizes on local internal medicine physicians' relationships and partnerships with a variety of delivery systems and community partnerships, to broaden educational reach to both physicians (and physician trainees) and their patient populations.  

Grantee projects will address goals such as filling knowledge and skills gaps in equitable obesity care and management among medical students, physicians, and other clinical staff​; addressing obesity treatment, cardiometabolic conditions related to obesity, and preventive care for general health among people with obesity; alleviating stigma and bias encountered by people with obesity, particularly in healthcare settings,​ and combatting misinformation about the causes and treatment of obesity for patients and the public.  

Projects were selected based on feasibility and potential impact, and description of the approach that will be used to evaluate impact. The following grantees have been awarded for the projects summarized below:  

Jennifer Meyfeldt, M.D., ACP Arizona Chapter, University of Arizona College of Medicine - Phoenix Internal Medicine Residency, Project name: Beyond the Scale: Empowering Resident Physicians in Comprehensive Obesity Care. 

 

Julie A. Venci, M.D, ACP Colorado Chapter, Denver Health, Project name: A Community-Based Approach to Combating Obesity Stigma and Misinformation Amongst Interprofessional Healthcare Teams and Patients Experiencing Food Insecurity in Southwest Denver. 

 

Bisi Alli, M.D., ACP Arizona Chapter, WellNEST Medicine, LLC, Project name: Transforming Obesity Care in Arizona through Food as Medicine.  

 

Gerald A. Cox, II, M.D., MPH DABOM, DABLM, ACP Southern California Chapter, Region II, Mirror Health & Wellness LLC, Project name: Transforming Obesity Care: Bridging Communities with Education and Innovation. 

 

Arvind Kumar Venkataramana Raju M.D., George M Abraham M.D., MPH, MACP, FIDSA, FRCP(Lon.), ACP Massachusetts Chapter, Saint Vincent Hospital, Worcester, MA, Project name: From Awareness to Action: A Pilot Initiative for Management of Cardiovascular-Kidney-Metabolic Syndrome in Vulnerable Communities. 

 

Alicia D. Shelly, M.D. FACP DABOM, ACP Georgia Chapter, Healthy Living for Life LLC, Project name: Escape the Stigma: A Virtual Journey Through Obesity Medicine. 

 

Meenal Shukla, M.D., ACP New York Chapter, Janice Prime Care Medical PC, Project name: 365 Days Obesity Challenge of Brooklyn. 

 

Carla Margarita Martín, M.D., FACP, FAAP, DipABOM, DipACLM, ACP Rhode Island Chapter, Project name: Bilingual Family-Centric Educational Videos and Materials on Obesity.  

  

Molly B. Southworth, M.D., MPH, MACP, ACP Alaska Chapter, Project name: Advancing Obesity Care for Alaskans: A Multi-Stakeholder Initiative. 

 

Dawn E DeWitt M.D., MSc, CMedEd, MACP, FRACP, FRCP-London, ACP Washington Chapter, Elson S. Floyd College of Medicine, Washington State University (WSU), Project name: From Knowledge to Application: Interprofessional Obesity Education Simulation. 

 

Tammy Lin, M.D., MPH, FACP and Vineet Gupta, M.D., SFHM, FACP (University of California, San Diego School of Medicine), ACP California Southern Region 3 Chapter, Hosting an Inclusive Table: Expert Slices, Quick Bites, and Comfortable Spaces. 

 

Catherine Tridico Hudson, M.D., ACP Louisiana Chapter, Project name: Scoring System for the Equitable Allocation of GLP1 Receptor Agonists in Patients with Obesity. 

 

Judith A. Melin, M.A., M.D., FACP, ACP Massachusetts Chapter, Beth Israel Lahey Health, Project name: Addressing Obesity: Successful Implementation.  

 

“Obesity is a critical public health issue and presents a significant health equity challenge. This grant initiative is an effort to leverage the creativity and innovation of internal medicine physicians and other clinicians across the country to fill knowledge gaps and inspire advancements in care for those with obesity,” said Isaac O. Opole, MBChB, PhD, MACP, President of ACP. “We congratulate the recipients of this grant and look forward to their efforts to advance equitable obesity care.” 

 

Funding support for the program has been provided by Eli Lilly and Company (Lilly) and the American Heart Association. ACP received $250,000 in collaboration funding from Lilly in support of program workshops and grant projects. ACP also received $100,000 in grant funding through the American Heart Association’s cardiovascular Kidney Metabolic Health Initiative, in which ACP is a collaborator. 

 

“Obesity is a chronic disease that disproportionately affects underserved communities, particularly those living below the poverty line and in rural areas, where systemic barriers to care create complex health inequities,” said Leonard C. Glass, MD, FACE, senior vice president of global medical affairs at Lilly Cardiometabolic Health. “We recognize the urgent need to break these barriers to achieve equitable obesity care. We are proud to support the ACP grantees, whose innovative programs will help drive meaningful change in their communities and beyond.”  

 

“More than 40% of adults in the United States live with obesity. While we have learned more about the downstream effects of obesity and effective treatments for it, there are still inequities in who receives evidence-based obesity care,” said Eduardo Sanchez, MD, MPH, FAHA, the American Heart Association’s chief medical officer for prevention. “Improving clinicians’ ability to partner with patients to address weight concerns and increase access to obesity care is foundational to improving the spectrum of chronic health conditions that are part of cardiovascular-kidney-metabolic health.”  

 

Following implementation of the projects, ACP will host a post project summit in 2026 for grantees to share lessons, results, insights, and sustainability potential.  

 

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About the American College of Physicians 
The American College of Physicians is the largest medical specialty organization in the United States with members in more than 172 countries worldwide. ACP membership includes 161,000 internal medicine physicians, related subspecialists, and medical students. Internal medicine physicians are specialists who apply scientific knowledge and clinical expertise to the diagnosis, treatment, and compassionate care of adults across the spectrum from health to complex illness. Follow ACP on X, Facebook, Instagram, Threads and LinkedIn. 

 

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