International Conference on Nutrition in Medicine, Save the Date: Aug. 13–15, 2026

Adjunct Professor, George Washington University School of Medicine; President, Physicians Committee

Dr. Barnard is the president of the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine and an adjunct professor of medicine at the George Washington University School of Medicine in Washington, D.C. Dr. Barnard has led numerous research studies investigating the effects of diet on diabetes, body weight, and chronic pain, including a groundbreaking study of dietary interventions in type 2 diabetes patients funded by the National Institutes of Health. He has authored more than 80 scientific publications, as well as a number of books. Follow Dr. Barnard on Facebook and on X at @DrNealBarnard.

Vanita Rahman, MD, DipABLM, is the clinic director at the Barnard Medical Center and the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine, where she conducts clinical research, leads nutrition education programs, and provides patient care with an emphasis on nutrition. Dr. Rahman is currently the principal investigator in trials investigating the role of an online nutrition education program in weight loss and diabetes reversal. She is also a clinical instructor in medicine at the George Washington University School of Medicine and frequently speaks at international conferences about the role of nutrition in chronic disease. Dr. Rahman is a board-certified internal medicine and lifestyle medicine physician, certified nutritionist, and personal trainer. She has authored several books on plant-based nutrition and published articles in peer-reviewed medical journals.

Prior to joining the Barnard Medical Center, Dr. Rahman spent more than 15 years practicing internal medicine with Kaiser Permanente, where she launched a very popular and successful plant-based weight loss program. While medications and surgical procedures can be necessary and lifesaving, Dr. Rahman firmly believes that nutrition and lifestyle play a crucial role in the prevention and management of most common diseases. She maintains that it is important to treat all aspects of a patient's health, including diet, exercise, sleep habits, and stress management.

Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine

Dr. Kahleova is director of clinical research for the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine. She is an endocrinologist with a doctorate in human physiology and pathophysiology. Her current research interests focus on dietary treatment of metabolic disease and type 2 diabetes. She conducted several clinical trials with a plant-based diet. The studies proved the power of plant-based nutrition to improve oxidative stress and metabolic control in patients with type 2 diabetes. One of the studies showed that a plant-based diet reduces muscle fat more than a conventional hypocaloric diet in people with type 2 diabetes. This reduction in muscle fat was also associated with improvements in glucose metabolism and insulin sensitivity. Her research proved that eating a large breakfast and lunch is more beneficial than eating six smaller meals a day for patients with type 2 diabetes. She completed her postdoctoral research fellowship at Loma Linda University in California, analyzing data from more than 50,000 people, who were followed for more than seven years, on meal frequency and timing in relationship to body weight regulation.

Dr. Alan Desmond is a consultant gastroenterologist who is dedicated to educating the public on the health benefits of a whole food, plant-based diet. His bestselling book, The Plant-Based Diet Revolution: 28 Days to a Happier Gut and a Healthier You, is available wherever books are sold. His next book, What Your Doctor Isn’t Telling You About Food, will be published in June 2026.

Dr. Desmond has made evidence-based dietary advice an essential part of his practice as a doctor specializing in gut health problems. He has presented at numerous international medical conferences on the benefits of this approach to food, alongside other renowned advocates including Dr. Michael Greger, Dr. Michael Klaper, dietician Brenda Davis, Dr. Kim Williams, and Dr. Neal Barnard. He is an ambassador for Plant-Based Health Professionals UK, a nonprofit group which educates members of the public, health professionals, and policymakers on the incredible health benefits of a plant-based diet. 

Certified in both gastroenterology and general internal medicine, Dr. Desmond completed his medical training in Ireland and Oxford. He has a specialist interest in the role of diet in the prevention and treatment of Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis. A fellow of the Royal College of Physicians, London, he has published several influential research papers in the field of inflammatory bowel disease and is a dedicated advocate for the gut health benefits, and overall health benefits, of a whole food, plant-based approach to nutrition. He lives in South Devon with his wife and three children.

He is a sought-after podcast guest and has featured on several well-known podcasts, including Deliciously Ella, Plant-Proof, The Doctor’s Kitchen, The Melissa Ambrosini Show, and PCRM’s own The Exam Room Podcast. Dr. Desmond has also been featured in The Sunday Telegraph and Virgin Radio’s Chris Evans Breakfast Show.

Dr. Desmond shares plant-based meal inspiration alongside the latest research in nutritional science and health on www.instagram.com/dr.alandesmond. Join Dr. Desmond’s online course at  www.alandesmond.com/revolution.

A founding member and fellow of the American College of Lifestyle Medicine, Michael Greger, MD, is a physician and internationally recognized speaker on nutrition. His science-based nonprofit, NutritionFacts.org, offers a free online portal hosting more than 2,000 videos and articles on myriad health topics. A graduate of Cornell University School of Agriculture and Tufts University School of Medicine, Dr. Greger is also an acclaimed author. How Not to Die, How Not to Diet, and How Not to Age became instant New York Times bestsellers. More than a million copies of How Not to Die have been sold. All proceeds Dr. Greger receives from the sales of his books and speaking honoraria are donated directly to charity.

Dr. Jenkins is a professor in the departments of nutritional sciences and medicine at the University of Toronto and a staff physician in the division of endocrinology, director of the Clinical Nutrition and Risk Factor Modification Center, and scientist in the Li Ka Shing Knowledge Institute at St. Michael’s Hospital. He was educated at Oxford University.

He has served on committees in Canada and the United States that formulated nutritional guidelines for the treatment of diabetes and recommendations for fiber and macronutrient intake under the joint U.S.-Canada DRI system (RDAs) of the National Academy of Sciences.

Dr. Jenkins’ research area is the use of diet in the prevention and treatment of hyperlipidemia and diabetes. He has more than 400 original publications on these and related topics. His team was the first to define and explore the concept of the glycemic index of foods and demonstrate the breadth of metabolic effects of viscous soluble fiber, including blood glucose and cholesterol lowering. His group developed the cholesterol-lowering concept of the dietary portfolio that has entered guidelines in many jurisdictions (e.g., CCS, Heart UK). He is also co-chair of the International Carbohydrate Quality Consortium (ICQC), which promotes research and recommendations on the use of carbohydrate foods and their components.

Dr. Jenkins believes in the therapeutic value of plant-based diets and their components and that diets that are advocated for have to be environmentally sustainable and reduce the human footprint on the planet.

Aedín Cassidy is chair in nutrition and preventive medicine and director for interdisciplinary research at the Institute for Global Food Security, Queen’s University, Belfast. She is also one of the co-directors of the Co-Centre for Sustainable Food Systems. Her research has focused on determining the relative importance of different flavonoids for health, leading clinical trials, combined with large population-based prospective data, bioavailability, and mechanistic studies.

Dr. Underwood is a board-certified urologist with more than 25 years of urologic surgery experience, including more than 15 years focused on robotic urologic surgery. He was voted president-elect of the American Medical Association in June 2025.

An expert in health care disparities and health care policy, Dr. Underwood was first elected to the AMA Board of Trustees in June 2019 and later as its chair in June 2023. He is a TEDx speaker and active presenter whose appearances include grand rounds, webinars, and TV and radio interviews.

In addition to co-authoring more than 120 peer-reviewed publications, book chapters and published abstracts, he has received millions in research funding from the National Institute of Health and holds patents in the U.S. and Japan for co-developing a biomarker for prostate cancer. He is the co-founder of KAPS Biotechnology LLC, which is currently conducting a larger validation study of its new and novel prostate cancer biomarker.

Raised in Gary, Ind., Dr. Underwood earned his Bachelor of Science degree in biology from Morehouse College, and his Doctor of Medicine and Master of Science in anatomy and cellular biology degrees from the State University of New York, Upstate Medical University, Syracuse, N.Y. He received his general surgery and urologic surgery training at the University of Connecticut Health Center, Farmington, Conn.

After his residency, he became the fifth urologist admitted into the prestigious Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Clinical Scholars Program, which he completed in 2002 at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. While in Ann Arbor, he also earned a Master of Public Health degree in health management and policy from University of Michigan, School of Public Health in 2004.

Dr. Howard D. Sesso is an associate epidemiologist at the Division of Preventive Medicine at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, associate professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School, and associate professor of epidemiology at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. He designs and conducts randomized clinical trials and epidemiologic studies, focusing on dietary supplements, nutrition, and lifestyle factors to prevent cardiovascular disease, hypertension, cancer, and other aging-related outcomes. Dr. Sesso is associate director of the Division of Preventive Medicine and director of nutrition and supplement research at the Osher Center for Integrative Health. Dr. Sesso has been involved in several major trials at the Division of Preventive Medicine, helping lead the Physicians’ Health Study (PHS), conducting several ancillary studies in the VITamin D and OmegA-3 TriaL (VITAL), and co-leading the COcoa Supplement and Multivitamin Outcomes Study (COSMOS). He has also conducted several small-scale clinical trials testing dietary supplements and nutrition, plus initiated an Epigenetics Working Group stemming from several research grants across PHS, VITAL, and COSMOS. He has published extensively, teaches courses on clinical trials and epidemiology, and enjoys mentoring students and junior faculty.

Dr. Gemma Newman is a medical doctor and senior partner at a family medical practice in West London. She studied at the University of Wales College of Medicine and has worked in many specialties as a doctor before her current specialty of general practice. She has gained additional qualifications in gynecology and family planning. She is a founding member and ambassador for Plant-Based Health Professionals UK and a member of the British Society of Lifestyle Medicine. Dr. Newman has a specialist interest in holistic health, plant-based nutrition, and lifestyle medicine.

She is regularly invited to teach other doctors and the public via training programs, podcasts, and conferences about the benefits of plant-based nutrition and has featured on many well-known podcasts, including two episodes of The Rich Roll Podcast, Feel Better Live More with Dr. Rangan Chatterjee, and our very own Exam Room Podcast with Chuck Carroll. Dr. Newman has authored The Plant Power Doctor: A Simple Prescription for a Healthier You, which was a No. 1 bestseller in popular medicine and green living. She has also authored her exciting new book, Get Well, Stay Well: The Six Healing Health Habits You Need to Know, which was released earlier this year.

In addition to her own books, she has written chapters for five other published books, including two academic textbooks for Elsevier Academic Press (Plant Based Nutrition for Clinicians and A Prescription for Healthy Living: A Guide to Lifestyle Medicine), two books on alcohol-free living (Janey Lee Grace’s Happy Healthy Sober and Millie Gooch’s The Sober Girl Society Handbook) and one cookbook entitled How to Go Plant Based: The Definitive Guide for You and Your Family by Ella Mills. Dr. Newman hosted five seasons of the award-winning podcast The Wellness Edit. She co-presents the Physicians Committee’s One Healthy World series alongside Chuck Carroll. As a broadcaster she has been featured on ITV, Channel 4, Channel 5, and Sky News Sunrise, as well as BBC Radio. She has featured in magazines including Glamour, Zest, Health, Nourish, and Canadian Vegan magazine, as well as The Daily Telegraph. 

For more than 30 years Christopher Gardner, PhD, Rehnborg Farquhar Professor of Medicine at Stanford and nutrition scientist, has studied what to consume and to avoid for optimal health and how best to motivate individuals to achieve healthy dietary behaviors. He is currently serving on the U.S. Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee and is the past chair of the American Heart Association’s Nutrition Committee. He has conducted and published dozens of human nutrition intervention trials, including trials of Mediterranean, ketogenic, vegan, low-fat, and low-carb diets and their effects on cardiometabolic health. Some of his current interests include stealth nutrition, unapologetic deliciousness, and institutional food settings. He is currently working on personalized nutrition explorations with several colleagues, with particular focus on the gut microbiome. Professor Gardner’s work was recently featured in You Are What You Eat: A Twin Experiment, a Netflix docuseries released in January 2024.