Wendelin F Slusser, M.D.
Associate Vice Provost of the Healthy Campus Initiative, UCLA

UCLA Fit for Healthy Weight Program: http://fitprogram.ucla.edu

Dr. Wendy Slusser is Associate Vice Provost of the Healthy Campus Initiative, HS Clinical Professor of Pediatrics in the School of Medicine and Public Health, and Co-Founder and Medical Director of the UCLA Fit for Healthy Weight program. She graduated Cum Laude from Princeton University, received her Medical and Masters Degree in Nutrition from the College of Physicians and Surgeons at Columbia University. She completed her internship and residency in Pediatrics at Babies Hospital, Columbia Presbyterian Hospital in New York City. Dr. Slusser joined the UCLA faculty in 1996 and since then has been a leader in community, school, clinic, and family based programs related to health promotion, infant and child nutrition and physical fitness. Dr. Slusser is Board Certified in Pediatrics, a Fellow of the American Academy of Pediatrics and teaches UCLA Pediatric Residents and Public Health Students.

She is currently the lead on the Healthy Campus Initiative and over the last two years led the nutrition pod for the Initiative. She is also the Principal Investigator on the Fit for LA Project that is focused on building the capacity of LAUSD school doctors, nurse practitioners and UCLA pediatric residents in the prevention and management of pediatric obesity; and the Prevention of Childhood Overweight through Parent Training Intervention Project focused on low-income preschool children and their parents. She is currently finishing the production of Our Food Chain Documentary in collaboration with LAUSD. Previous research included positions as principal investigator on the Fruit and Vegetable Bar Intervention study to promote fruit and vegetable consumption among low-income elementary school children in LAUSD. Dr. Slusser is Board Certified in Pediatrics, a Fellow of the American Academy of Pediatrics, and practiced and taught General Pediatrics and health promotion at the Venice Family Clinic for 19 years. She was selected to be a member of the Institute of Medicine committee called Obesity Prevention Policies for Young Children. She is the 2010 recipient of the Robert F. Allen Symbol of H.O.P.E. (Helping Other People through Empowerment) Award presented annually by the American Journal of Health Promotion to an individual who makes an outstanding contribution to serving the health promotion needs of underserved populations or to promoting cultural diversity within health promotion.