Louis J. Papa, M.D.
Primary Care Physician
Partner, Olsan Medical Group, Strong Health, Rochester, NY
 
Louis J. Papa M.D., FACP is board certified in Internal Medicine and is a primary care physician and partner at Olsan Medical Group.  He is an Associate Professor of Clinical Medicine at the University of Rochester, where he helps educate internal medicine residents on primary outpatient.  In 1989, Dr. Papa graduated from the State University of New York at Stony Brook School of Medicine and came to Rochester to complete his residency at Strong Memorial Hospital where he is currently an attending physician. Dr. Papa is a Fellow of the American College of Physicians, a former Delegate for the Young Physicians Section representing New York State to the American Medical Association, and was named by his peers to "Best Doctors in America" in 2001.  He was selected by "Rochester Business Journal" as one of the "Forty under Forty" young community leaders in 2001 and was named as one of only 25 physicians under 40 years old nationally to receive the "Excellence in Medicine Award" from the American Medical Association Foundation for leadership in 2003. Dr. Papa is involved in a number of medical, civic and community activities and boards including his role as a board member of the largest health foundation in Upstate New York -- the Greater Rochester Healthcare Foundation, volunteer work with the uninsured, as a New York Council member for the American College of Physicians and is currently President of the local medical society.

Kat Carney

Kat Carney is a former CNN heavyweight-both literally and figuratively, but her style is decidedly lighthearted and upbeat. Whether she's speaking about her personal experience of losing a whopping 90 pounds after a lifetime of obesity, or sharing the media savvy she developed as the Consumer Health anchor for CNN Headline News, Carney's energizing style engages your audiences and provides them with tools they can use in their daily lives. Her experience in broadcast journalism, encompassing 9 television networks from CNN to HGTV, is the backdrop for Carney's unique blend of expertise and accessibility. While she can cut through media hype with surgical precision, Carney turns to humor when sharing with her audience the story behind-the story truths about newsworthy health issues.

Although she's logged in countless hours of airtime, and her personal perspective on health-related topics is frequently featured in national outlets including The New York Times, USA Today, and The Wall Street Journal, at heart Carney sees the world through the eyes of the consumer. Her ability to demystify complex topics and her commitment to providing women and men with concrete strategies to improve their lives are a winning combination.

Carney's personal story-as a woman who has overcome her weight issues and succeeded in broadcast journalism without a college degree, along with her refreshing perspective on a variety of topics, is a source of motivation and inspiration to audiences hungry for a dose of, "I can do it!" In addition to her work in front of the camera, Kat Carney is active in raising awareness of Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS). In 1999, she founded SoulCysters.com. Today, with over 30,000 registered members, and close to 1 million visitors monthly, SoulCysters has become the largest and most recognized community for women with this common, but commonly misunderstood, endocrine disorder.

William O'Malley, M.D., F.A.C.S.
Director, Bariatric Surgery Center and
Assistant Professor of Clinical Surgery, University of Rochester Medical Center
Highland Hospital
Rochester, NY

Dr. O'Malley is Director of the Bariatric Surgery Center at Highland Hospital and Assistant Professor of Clinical Surgery at the University of Rochester Medial Center. He has been a bariatric surgeon since 1997 and has performed nearly 1,000 bariatric surgical procedures. He introduced Laparoscopic Bariatric surgery to the region in 2000 and since successfully completed over 600 Laparoscopic R-Y Gastric Bypass operations.

Dr. O'Malley has traveled to other centers to mentor surgeons in the laparoscopic gastric bypass procedure. He also performs open gastric bypass and duodenal switch operations. Recently, Dr. O'Malley was featured on the Oprah show. He is a member of the American Society of Bariatric Surgeons. Dr. O'Malley received his medical degree from the State University of New York at Stony Brook in 1991 and completed his residency in General Surgery at Strong Memorial Hospital from 1992-1996.

Melissa A. Kalarchian, Ph.D.
Western Psychiatric Institute and Clinic
University of Pittsburgh Medical Center
 
Dr. Kalarchian is Assistant Professor of Psychiatry and Psychology at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine.  She is a licensed psychologist specializing in behavioral medicine, with a particular interest in the relationship between psychiatric status and health-related behavior. 

She received her doctorate in clinical psychology from Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, and completed an internship and postdoctoral fellowship at Western Psychiatric Institute and Clinic.  Her research activities involve the adaptation, delivery, and evaluation of obesity treatments for special populations.  Currently, Dr. Kalarchian is working on a federally funded project to develop a lifestyle intervention to promote healthy eating, increased physical activity, and enhanced psychosocial functioning tailored to meet the unique needs of severely obese individuals undergoing surgery for weight loss.

David R. Flum, M.D. M.P.H.
Associate Professor, Departments of Surgery and Health Services
University of Washington
Seattle, WA

David R. Flum, M.D. M.P.H. is an Associate Professor in the Departments of Surgery and Health Services at the University of Washington in Seattle.  He is a Board certified gastrointestinal surgeon and an outcomes researcher.  Dr. Flum is the Director of the Surgical Outcomes Research Center-a quality of care research think-tank and directs the Surgical Care Outcomes Assessment Project- a Washington State initiative aimed at improving surgical quality by linking all hospitals in a data-sharing network.  He is the principal investigator of several National Institutes of Health-funded research projects examining the role of abdominal surgery in patient's lives and its impact on the healthcare system.  He is a former Robert Wood Johnson Clinical Scholar and currently serves as a contributing editor at the Journal of the American Medical Association. He is a fellow of the American College of Surgeons, and a member of the American Society of Bariatric Surgery, SAGES, and the Seattle Surgical Society.

Brian Grant

For the past nine years, Brian Grant has been employed as the Controller at Light Fabrications, Inc. Brian has always been a "big athletic guy."  He has always been active, playing numerous competitive sports. In September 2004 Brian went to his primary care physician and weighed in at 340 pounds, was on four types of blood pressure medicine, had sleep apnea and had a BMI of 42. That visit to his primary care physician's office sparked a discussion regarding gastric bypass surgery and the benefits it may provide. He and his doctor decided it would be worth investigating, on Brian's behalf, whether it was something he would want to do or not.

During the investigation and consultations with the psychiatrist, nutritionist and surgeons, Brian realized that it wasn't just the surgery that makes gastric bypass successful, but that old habits also need to change. On August 17, 2005, Brian had the gastric bypass surgery. As of July 2006, Brian has lost approximately 120 pounds through surgery, healthy eating and exercise.  His BMI has dropped to 28 and he is now taking only one medication to control his blood pressure. To stay active, Brian rides his bicycle approximately 200 miles per week and has taken up competitive cycling, winning his first race in August 2006.