Joe Northup elected 40th President of ASMBS

Dr Joe Northup, Associate Professor of Surgery at Vanderbilt University School of Medicine and Director of Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery at Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville, TN, has been elected the 40^th president of the American Society for Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery (ASMBS), the nation’s largest professional organisation of metabolic and bariatric surgeons and integrated health professionals dedicated to the treatment of obesity and related diseases. 

Joe Northup

Since becoming a member in 2005, Northup has held multiple leadership positions including president-elect, vice-president, member of the Board of Directors and chair of the Access to Care Committee, where he helped spearhead state and national efforts to expand insurance coverage for metabolic and bariatric surgery. He also served as an officer and board member of ASMBS state chapters in Illinois, Ohio/Kentucky and Virginia.

“New therapies, including GLP-1s, changing payer policies, and growing recognition of the safety, effectiveness and durability of metabolic and bariatric surgery are reshaping obesity care,” said Northup. “As more patients seek treatment, ASMBS will work to ensure they and their clinicians understand where metabolic and bariatric surgery fits within the full continuum of evidence-based, comprehensive obesity care.”

Northup has received numerous distinctions and awards from ASMBS, including the National LEAD Award for Excellence in Clinical Care, the Distinguished Service Award for Advocacy and the Committee of the Year Award for the group’s efforts in expanding access to metabolic and bariatric surgery. He also serves as Associate Editor of Surgery for Obesity and Related Diseases (SOARD), the official journal of ASMBS. 

Board certified in general surgery with a Focused Practice Designation in Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery from the American Board of Surgery, Northup has authored numerous scientific publications, contributed to national clinical guidelines on obesity, and is an editor and co-author of the forthcoming third edition of The ASMBS Textbook of Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery.

“Dr Northup is a proven and experienced leader whose unwavering commitment to patients, education and advancing the field of metabolic and bariatric surgery makes him exceptionally well equipped to lead ASMBS and navigate new opportunities for both clinicians and patients during such a transformative period in obesity care,” said Dr Diane M Enos, Chief Executive Officer, ASMBS.