WW is a science-based behavior change company. To ensure our program is up-to-date based on the latest clinical evidence, we enlist highly-regarded experts to inform and advise our brand innovations.
Meet the WW Scientific Advisory Board:
Principal Research Associate and Program Leader in the MRC Epidemiology Unit at the University of Cambridge, UK
Dr. Ahern leads research developing and evaluating interventions to prevent and treat obesity, diabetes, and related metabolic disorders. Her focus is on translating understanding of the psychology of eating behavior and weight management into scalable cost-effective interventions that have sustained effects on behavior and improve mental and physical health. Dr. Ahern leads a portfolio of experimental, observational, and qualitative studies, including large randomized controlled trials with long-term follow up.
Prior to joining the University of Cambridge, Dr. Ahern received her PhD in Psychology from the University of Liverpool in 2008 and completed postdoctoral research at the Centre for Research on Eating Disorders at the University of Oxford and the MRC Human Nutrition Research Unit.
Cheryl A.M. Anderson, PhD, MPH, MS
Professor and Interim Chair of the Department of Family Medicine and Public Health at the University of California San Diego School of Medicine, with a primary appointment in the Division of Preventive Medicine and a joint appointment in the Department of Medicine Division of Nephrology and Hypertension
Dr. Anderson serves as Director of UC San Diego Center of Excellence in Health Behavior Change and Equity. She received her MPH in health behavior and health education from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Public Health, and MS in epidemiology and PhD in nutrition science from the University of Washington at Seattle School of Public Health and Community Medicine. Her research is focused on the role of nutrition in chronic disease prevention. Dr. Anderson has served on the Pan American Health Organization’s Technical Advisory Group on Cardiovascular Disease Prevention through Dietary Salt Reduction, the National Academies of Medicine’s Food and Nutrition Board, and the 2015 US Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee. Currently, she serves on the editorial board of Circulation. Dr. Anderson was elected to the U.S. National Academy of Medicine in 2016.
Professor in the Department of Epidemiology and Prevention and the Department of Medicine at Wake Forest School of Medicine
Dr. Ard is also the Vice Dean for Clinical Research and co-director of the Atrium Health Wake Forest Baptist Weight Management Center, directing medical weight management programs. Dr. Ard’s research interests include clinical management of obesity and strategies to improve treatment outcomes in underserved and underrepresented populations. He has served on several expert panels and guideline development committees, including the 2013 AHA/ACC/TOS Guideline Panel on the Identification, Evaluation, and Treatment of Overweight and Obesity in Adults, and the USDA’s 2020 Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee. He was elected to the U.S. National Academy of Medicine in 2021.
Bishop-MacDermott Family Professor of Psychology Neuroscience, Global Health and Medicine at Duke University
Dr. Bennett directs the Duke Global Digital Health Science Center. Dr. Bennett is also President of the Society of Behavioral Medicine. His research program designs, tests, and disseminates digital obesity treatments, including the interactive obesity treatment approach (iOTA). His recent work demonstrates the effectiveness of coach-led, digital obesity treatments. He has authored more than 125 scientific papers and his research program has been continuously supported by the National Institutes of Health. Prior to joining Duke in 2009, Dr. Bennett served on the faculties of the Harvard School of Public Health and the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. At Duke, Dr. Bennett is a member of Duke's Bass Society of Fellows, is the founding director of Duke's undergraduate major in global health, and has been repeatedly recognized as in the top 5 percent of Duke's undergraduate instructors. He also co-founded two digital health startups: Crimson Health Solutions (acquired by Health Dialog in 2007) and Scale Down (acquired by Anthem in 2017).
Associate Professor of Medicine & Pediatrics (Endocrinology & Pediatric Endocrinology) at Yale University School of Medicine, Director of the Yale Obesity Research Program (Y-Weight), and Co-Director of the Yale Center for Weight Management
Dr. Jastreboff is a med/peds endocrinologist and obesity medicine physician-scientist who specializes in sophisticated use of anti-obesity medication. Dr. Jastreboff conducts clinical translational research, which includes both large multi-center clinical outcomes trials using anti-obesity medication, as well as studies examining the mechanisms of anti-obesity medications.
Professor of Medicine at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Clinical Director of the Northwestern Comprehensive Center on Obesity, and Director for the Center for Lifestyle Medicine in Chicago
Dr. Kushner’s principal research is in patient-health provider communication and lifestyle treatment of obesity. He has also investigated pharmacological and surgical interventions for obesity.
Sylvia Rowe
President of SR Strategy, which addresses the science to communications to policy continuum on a broad range of global health, nutrition, food safety, and risk issues; Adjunct Professor at the University of Massachusetts Amherst and Tufts Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy
Previously, Rowe served as a president and chief executive officer of the International Food Information Council (IFIC) and IFIC Foundation, in Washington, DC. During her 11-year tenure, IFIC established itself as a leader in consumer research and consumer-based communications in nutrition, food safety, and health.
Professor of Health Behavior and Nutrition at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in the Gillings School of Global Public Health, Director of the Communication for Health Applications and Interventions Core in the Nutrition Obesity Research Center and the Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center
Dr. Tate's research focuses on prevention and treatment of obesity and includes innovative approaches involving health communication, technology, and digital media.
The Albert J. Stunkard Professor of Psychology in Psychiatry at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, and the Director of the Center for Weight and Eating Disorders
Dr. Wadden's principal research is on the treatment of obesity by methods that have included lifestyle modification, very-low-calorie diets, exercise, medication, and surgery. He has also investigated the metabolic and psychosocial consequences of obesity and weight loss.