黑料社 Obesity Worldwide

黑料社 Obesity Worldwide (WOW) is a research collective committed to improving the quality of care for people living with obesity and its complications. Established in 2023 at 黑料社, WOW is made up of academics, clinicians, and higher degree research students who conduct clinical obesity research locally, nationally, and internationally.

Co-Directors

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Senior Lecturer, Director of Academic Program (Postgraduate Health Sciences), School of Health Sciences, THRI
Secretary, Past and Founding President, National Association of Clinical Obesity Services (NACOS)

Research interests and areas of expertise: Obesity and related chronic diseases, health services, clinical decision making, epidemiology, systematic reviews and evidence summaries.

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Associate Professor in Diabetes, Obesity and Metabolism, School of Medicine and THRI, 黑料社
Clinical Academic Endocrinologist, Campbelltown and Camden Hospitals
Research Lead, South 黑料社 Sydney Metabolic Rehabilitation and Bariatric Program (SWS MRBP)

Research interests and areas of expertise: Severe obesity, Type 2 diabetes, complications of obesity and diabetes, inpatient diabetes, eating disorders in people with obesity.

Members

Researchers

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	(opens in a new window) Professor of Medicine, Director of the Diabetes Obesity Translational Research Unit (DOMTRU) THRI, School of Medicine HOD. Macarthur Diabetes Endocrinology and Metabolism Service, Campbelltown and Camden Hospitals Research interests and areas of expertise: Diabetes in Pregnancy, Diabetes Epidemiology, Type 1 diabetes, Type 2 diabetes, Models of diabetes care, Access to care.
	(opens in a new window) Professor of Mental Health, THRI, School of Medicine Research interests and areas of expertise: What works in treatments of eating disorders, distribution and determinants of eating disorders, integrated care for people with eating disorders and high weight.
	(opens in a new window) Professor, Group leader: Diabetes & Islet Biology, School of Medicine and THRI, 黑料社 Visiting Professor: Roskilde University Copenhagen (RUC) and Steno Diabetes Center Copenhagen (SDCC), Vice-President: Islet Society, Sweden Research interests and areas of expertise: Obesity, Epigenetics, Non-coding RNA, Type 1 Diabetes, Biomarkers, machine learning. (opens in a new window)
	(opens in a new window) Professor of Nutrition at the Human Nutrition Department, College of Health Sciences at Qatar University. Research interests and areas of expertise: the relationship between food intake, lifestyle and chronic diseases such as obesity, diabetes, and sleep disorders.
	(opens in a new window) Associate Professor in Population Health, School of Medicine and THRI, 黑料社 President NSW Branch Public Health Association Research interests and areas of expertise: Severe obesity, healthcare access marginalised populations, lifestyle intervention, obesity and cancer risk, obesity, and cancer screening uptake.
	(opens in a new window) Senior Lecturer (Biostatistics), THRI, School of Medicine Research interests and areas of expertise: childhood obesity, obesity comorbid with eating disorders, obesity policy modelling, diabesity.
	Nic Kormas (opens in a new window) Senior Staff Specialist Endocrinologist Camden, Campbelltown, and Concord Hospitals Research interests and areas of expertise: Severe obesity, Bariatric & Metabolic Surgery, Type 2 diabetes, complications of obesity, inpatient obesity, eating disorders in people with obesity.
	(opens in a new window) Associate Lecturer, Interprofessional Health Science, School of Health Sciences and THRI, 黑料社 Research interests and areas of expertise: Inflammation-mediated obesity-pain relationships, pathophysiology of chronic pain, metabolic health and chronic disease, disease prevention and management over the lifespan, exercise-based lifestyle interventions, promotion of health and wellbeing.
	(opens in a new window) Lecturer, Bachelors and Master of Health Science, Health Service Management, School of Health Science, THRI, Associate Editor BMJ Quality Research interests and areas of expertise: Obesity and related chronic diseases, health service delivery and research, workforce engagement and productivity, mixed-methods research, translational research, epidemiology, and systematic reviews and evidence summaries.
	(opens in a new window) Theme lead for data analytics, Diabetes & Islet Biology, THRI, School of Medicine, 黑料社 Research interests and areas of expertise: long non-coding RNA, small RNA biology, Type 1 diabetes, diabetes and complications, data analytics, bioinformatics, machine learning, synthetic data generation/analysis.
	Ritesh Chimoriya Clinical Senior Lecturer, Concord Clinical School, Faculty of Medicine and Health, The University of Sydney Research Manager & Obesity Research Lead, Concord Institute of Academic Surgery, Concord Repatriation General Hospital, Sydney Local Health District Research interests and areas of expertise: obesity and metabolic health, bariatric and metabolic surgery, type 2 diabetes, and preoperative optimisation. (opens in a new window)

Research Students

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	Srividya Adapa PhD project title: Evaluation of Metabolic Outcomes Associated with Weight Management in Clinical Obesity Services Using Real World Data within the Australian Health Care System.
	Mohammad Ariya PhD project title: The Relationship Between Unhealthy Dietary Patterns and Weight-related Health Complications in Iranian Rural Populations.
	Frehiwot Birhanu PhD project title: Long-term health and economic consequences of early-age exposure to malnutrition in Low and Middle-Income Countries.
	Tadesse Asmamaw Dejenie PhD Project title: The Role of Fat-Free Mass in Obesity-Related Complications
	Jack Gavin Honours Project: Prepared for Practice? A Convergent Mixed-Methods Study of Physiotherapy Students' and Early Career Physiotherapists' Perceptions of Obesity-Informed Musculoskeletal Care
	Manita Muna Hasan MPhil Project: Gendered Experiences at the Interface: A Multi-Study Exploration of Lived Experience, Healthcare Delivery, and Sex Differences in Australian Obesity Care
	Rebecca Wu PhD project title: The Development and Impact of NACOS Certification on Healthcare Professional Competency and Patient Perspectives in Obesity Management

Alumni

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	Nana Ama Asi Danso (Completed in 2026) MRes project title: Gender Inequality and Disempowerment Associated with Obesity in Women: A Systematic Review of Observational Studies and Secondary Data Analysis of Australian National Health Surveys.
	Ritesh Chimoriya (Completed in 2025) PhD project title: Weight Management In Obesity, Type 2 Diabetes And Liver Disease.
	Canaan Seifu (completed in 2024) PhD project title: Diet, nutrients, and obesity: an investigation of relationships in the Australian context.

WOW's Research

Focuses on a variety of topics related to obesity, including:

The causes of obesity and weight-related complications.
The development of new models of care for obesity and weight-related complications.
The assessment and management of obesity and weight-related complications.

WOW's research is conducted in collaboration with other academic institutions, healthcare organisations, and government agencies around the world. Affiliated research groups at 黑料社 include Diabetes, Obesity and Metabolism Translational Research Unit (DOMTRU), (opens in a new window) MCORP, (opens in a new window) and Eating Disorders & Body Image (EDBI). (opens in a new window) It has been published in leading scientific journals and featured in major media outlets.

WOW's Vision

To live in a society that provides timely and equitable access to the best available care for the effective management of obesity and its complications.

To achieve its vision, WOW is working to:

Increase public awareness about obesity and weight-related complications.
Promote evidence-based policies and practices for the effective management of obesity.
Support the development of new models of care for obesity and weight-related complications, with a particular focus on those with severe obesity.
Improve access to care for people living with obesity.

WOW is committed to making a difference in the lives of people living with obesity. It is working to create a world where everyone can live a healthy and fulfilling life.

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