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About Dr. Fatima

Fatima Cody Stanford

MD, MPH, MPA, MBA, FAAP, FACP, FAHA, FAMWA, FTOS

Obesity Medicine Physician, Internist, Pediatrician, Scientist, Media Professional, Policy Maker, Activist, Teacher, Entrepreneur, Thought Leader

Dr. Stanford is an Associate Professor of Medicine and Pediatrics who practices and teaches at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH)/ Harvard Medical School (HMS) as one of the first fellowship-trained obesity medicine physicians worldwide. She is one of the most highly cited obesity medicine physician-scientists with over 170 peer-reviewed publications. Dr. Stanford received her BS and MPH from Emory University as an MLK Scholar, her MD from the Medical College of Georgia School of Medicine as a Stoney Scholar, her MPA from the Harvard Kennedy School of Government as a Zuckerman Fellow in the Harvard Center for Public Leadership, and her executive MBA as a merit-based scholarship recipient from the Quantic School of Business and Technology. She completed her Obesity Medicine & Nutrition Fellowship at MGH/HMS after completing her internal medicine and pediatrics residency at the University of South Carolina. She has served as a health communications fellow at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and as a behavioral sciences intern at the American Cancer Society. Upon completing her MPH, she received the Gold Congressional Award, the highest honor Congress bestows upon America’s youth.

An American Medical Association (AMA) Foundation Leadership Award recipient in 2005, and an AMA Paul Ambrose Award for national leadership among resident physicians in 2009, she was selected for the AMA Inspirational Physician Award in 2015. The American College of Physicians (ACP) selected her as the 2013 recipient of the Joseph E. Johnson Leadership Award, and the Massachusetts ACP selected her for the Young Leadership Award in 2015. She is the 2017 recipient of the HMS Amos Diversity Award and the Massachusetts Medical Society (MMS) Award for Women’s Health. In 2019, she was selected as the Suffolk District Community Clinician of the Year for the Reducing Health Disparities Award for MMS. She was chosen for The Obesity Society Clinician of the Year in 2020. In 2021, she was awarded the MMS Grant Rodkey Award for her dedication to medical students and the AMA Dr. Edmond and Rima Cabbabe Dedication to the Profession Award, which recognizes a physician who demonstrates active and productive improvement to the profession of medicine through community service, advocacy, leadership, teaching, or philanthropy. She is the 2021 Recipient of the Emory Rollins School of Public Health Distinguished Alumni Award. In 2022, the National Academy of Medicine selected her as a Scholar in Diagnostic Excellence.

Education and Training.

University
Degree
Year
Specialization
Emory University, Atlanta, GA
BS
05/2000
Anthropology & Human Biology- Major; Dance- Minor
Emory Rollins School of Public Health, Atlanta, GA
MPH
08/2001
Health Policy and Management
Medical College of Georgia School of Medicine, Augusta, GA
MD
05/2007
Medicine
Harvard University Kennedy School of Government, Cambridge, MA
MPA
05/2015
Leadership, Policy, and US Politics
Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA
Fellowship
06/2015
Obesity Medicine and Nutrition
Quantic School of Business and Technology, Washington, DC
MBA
05/2021
Advanced Corporate Level Strategy, Strategic Thinking, US Business Law, Startup entrepreneurship.

Awards and Honors.

2023 – 2025

Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee.
2022 – 2023
National Academy of Medicine Scholar in Diagnostic Excellence.
2022
Department of Nutrition Federal University of Santa Catarina Memorial Award Lecture.
2022
Georgia Society of Endocrinology Dr. Anthony E. Karpas Memorial Lecture Award.
2021
Nutrition Obesity Research Center at Harvard (NORCH) Mentoring for Diversity and Inclusion Award.
2021
Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics Friend of Weight Management Practice Group.
2021
Emory Rollins School of Public Health Distinguished Alumni Award.
2021
Nutrition Obesity Research Center at Harvard Outstanding Manuscript Award.
2021
American Medical Association Dr. Edmond and Rima Cabbabe Dedication to the Profession Award.
2021
Harvard Medical School Young Mentor Award.
2021
Fellow- The American Medical Women’s Association.
2020
The Obesity Society Clinician of the Year.
2020
Massachusetts General Hospital Anne Klibanski Visiting Scholar Award.
2020 – 2021
Quantic School of Business and Technology Merit-Based Scholarship.
2019
Fellow-American Heart Association.
2019
Massachusetts Medical Society Reducing Health Disparities Award.
2019
Massachusetts Medical Society Suffolk Community Clinician of the Year.
2018
NIH Loan Repayment Program- Clinical Research.
2017
Fellow- American College of Physicians.
2017 – 2021
Massachusetts General Hospital Physician Scientist Development Award.
2017
Emory University Top 40 Under 40.
2017
Massacusetts Medical Society Women’s Health Award.
2017
Harvard Medical School Harold Amos Faculty Diversity Award.
2017
Massachusetts General Hospital Nathaniel Bowditch Award Individual Nominee.
2016
Harvard Medical School Donald O’Hara Teaching Award Nominee (Years 1 & 2).
2016
MGH Department of Medicine Sanchez and Ferguson Research Faculty Award.
2016
NIH/ NMA Academic Medicine Fellow.
2016
Fellow- American Academy of Pediatrics.
2016
National Minority Quality Forum Top 40 under 40 in Minority Health.
2015
Fellow-The Obesity Sociey.
2015
American Medical Association Inspirational Physician Award.
2014 – 2015
Harvard University Zuckerman Fellow.
2014
Harvard University Certificate of Excellence in Tutoring.
2013
NIH Loan Repayment Program- Disparities.
2013
American College of Physicians Johnson Leadership Award.
2012
University of S. Carolina School of Medicine Excellence in Ambulatory Care Award- Internal Medicine.
2011 – 2015
Who’s Who in America.
2011
South Carolina Medical Association 1st Place Poster Competition.
2010
American College of Physicians- SC chapter 1st Place Oral Research Competition.
2010
American Medical Association 1st Place Health Policy Poster.
2009
American Medical Association Paul Ambrose Award for Public Health Contribution.
2006
Ruth Jackson Orthopaedic Society Medical Student Scholarship.
2006
National Medical Association 3rd Place Orthopaedic Research Competion.
2005
Student National Medical Association Best Overall Clinical Research Presentation.
2005
Eastern Atlantic Student Research Forum Best Overall Clinical Science Presentation.
2005
National Student Research Forum Best Orthopaedic Surgery Poster.
2005
American Medical Association Foundation Leadership Award.
2003 – 2007
Medical College of Georgia George Stoney Medical Scholar.
2001
Emory College Hall of Fame Inductee.
2001
United States Congress Gold Congressional Award.
2000
Who’s Who in American Colleges and Universities.
2000
Emory University Multicultural Award of Overall Excellence.
2000
Emory University Black Student Alliance Outstanding Leadership Award.
1999
Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. Most Outstanding Collegiate Sorority Member- Southern Region.

1997

Emory University Caucus of Emory Black Alumni Herman Reese Community Service Award

1996

Benjamin Elijah Mays High School Valedictorian.

1996

USA Today High School Academic Team Honorable Mention.

1996

Ebony Magazine Top High School Student.
1996 – 2000
Emory University Martin Luther King Jr. Scholar.
1996 – 2000
State of Georgia Governor’s Scholar.
1995
International Science and Engineering Fair Finalist.