The director of The Miriam Hospital’s Weight Control and Diabetes research center has received a prestigious honor from Brown University, where she serves on the faculty at The Warren Alpert Medical School.

Rena Wing, PhD, a professor of psychiatry and human behavior, recently was presented a 2018 Distinguished Research Achievement Award by the university. She was among just three faculty members to be named as recipients of the annual award.

"Professor Wing was cited as an internationally recognized researcher on the treatment of obesity and related health problems, especially Type 2 diabetes," according to a university announcement. "She has served as president of many national organizations, won dozens of awards, including a lifetime achievement award from the American Psychological Association, and has had continuous National Institutes of Health funding since 1983. Her extraordinary mentorship was also cited, as she has helped dozens of young investigators become major researchers on their own."

Wing, who lives in Jamestown and on Providence’s East Side, directs a research center that is part of The Miriam’s Centers for Behavioral and Preventive Medicine.
Wing is well known for her programmatic research investigating the most effective strategies for long-term weight loss and weight gain prevention in overweight children and adults. She was responsible for designing and implementing the lifestyle intervention in the Diabetes Prevention Program, a NIH multi-center trial that provides the strongest proof to date of the health benefits of weight loss.

Jill Pipher, vice president for research at Brown, presented the award with Brown Provost Richard M. Locke during an April 19 Celebration of Research ceremony at Brown’s Faculty Club.

 “Each of these individual award winners has transformed research fields through deep scholarship and creative solutions to complex problems," said Pipher.
 

Richard Salit

Senior Public Relations Officer
The Miriam Hospital, Newport Hospital, Gateway Healthcare
401-793-7484
[email protected]