Robin Blackstone, MD

Robin P. Blackstone, MD, FACS, holds the Ira A. Fulton Endowed Chair in Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery. She is a Professor in Surgery at the University of Arizona and a Certified Diplomate of the American Board of Obesity Medicine. Dr. Blackstone’s clinical interest are to integrate a large health care system approach to obesity with community engagement and research. She founded the Institute for Obesity and Metabolic Disorders at Banner Health to provide a framework to facilitate that goal. Her research interests are focused on developing a personalized approach to obesity treatment and tertiary prevention within a value framework. Advocacy for the patient with obesity inspired Dr. Blackstone to help establish the Obesity Action Coalition and she worked extensively on incorporating coverage of obesity within the ACA. Dr. Blackstone is the first woman to have served as President of the American Society for Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery in its 36-year history. During her tenure as President she helped to establish one national standard for bariatric surgery with continuous improvement and rigorous data reporting: the Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery Accreditation and Quality Improvement Program. She has a passion for teaching and established a week long didactic and clinical session on Obesity within the University of Arizona School of Medicine - Phoenix, now in its 9th year. Dr. Blackstone earned her M.D. from the University of Texas Health Science Center – San Antonio.