Dr. Melanie Jay

Melanie Jay, MD, MS is a Professor of Medicine and Population Health at the New York University Grossman School of Medicine and an expert on obesity. She is a general internist and a board certified obesity specialist who sees patients at the New York Harbor Veterans Health Administration in Manhattan. She Co-Directs the VETCARE Center for Innovation at the New York Harbor VA, which supports health services research. She serves as Director of the NYU Langone Comprehensive Program on Obesity Research and Director of Research Collaboration and Mentorship for the Division of General Internal Medicine. She is passionate about mentoring trainees at all levels, especially those from groups that are underrepresented in science and medicine. She runs a program though the NYU CTSI called STEPPS focused on mentoring and training the next generation of scientists and physicians. Her research focuses on improving the treatment and prevention of obesity and addressing health disparities, particularly in primary care settings. With funding from the National Institutes of Health and Veterans Affairs, she is/has been PI or MPI on 4 large obesity-related behavioral clinical trials and several smaller studies. She has published over 100 peer reviewed articles in top scientific journals. Her work and commentary has been featured on Oprah Daily, CBS News, Hill TV, New York Times, NBC Today Show, and other media outlets and publications. She recently did a TEDx talk about the future of obesity care that was featured as an Editor’s Pick.