SEVENTH ANNUAL OBESITY RESEARCH INITIATIVE SYMPOSIUM

FEBRUARY 17, 2027

ITINERARY and KEYNOTE SPEAKER

ORI Symposium Itinerary

8:45-9:00	Check in
9:00-9:05	Welcome
9:05-9:20	Student Oral Presentation
9:20-9:35	Student Oral Presentation
9:35-11:00	Student Poster Competition, Coffee
11:00-11:15	Student Oral Presentation
11:15-11:30	Student Oral Presentation
11:30-11:35	Dr. Jamie Cooper, Keynote Speaker Introduction
11:35-12:15	Keynote Speaker- Darleen Sandoval, PhD, Professor in Pediatrics and Medicine at University of Colorado Anschutz
12:15-12:30	Award Presentations and Final Remarks

KEYNOTE SPEAKER

A smiling woman with her arms crossed, wearing a dark jacket over a white shirt at an obesity research symposium.

Darleen Sandoval, PhD

Professor in Pediatrics and Medicine at
University of Colorado Anschutz

Dr. Sandoval is currently Professor in Pediatrics and Medicine at University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus with a primary appointment in the Section of Nutrition and a secondary appointment in Endocrinology. Dr. Sandoval received her Ph.D. in Exercise Science at Arizona State University and did a Postdoctoral Fellowship at Vanderbilt University in the Division of Endocrinology. Dr. Sandoval’s work focuses on the role of the gut-brain axis in regulation of metabolism. She has two general themes to this work. One is focused on understanding the role of the gut hormone glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) on glucose homeostasis and how dysregulation of GLP-1 is involved with the onset of type 2 diabetes mellitus. The other is focused on understanding the mechanisms underscoring the success of surgery, but also how bariatric surgery impact physiology. She has over 100 publications on this work and is funded by the NIH and American Diabetes Association.