W. Timothy Garvey, M.D., FACE, MABOM, Charles E. Butterworth, Jr., Professor of Medicine and University Professor in the Department of Nutrition Sciences at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, was given the Gerald Reaven Distinguished Leader in Insulin Resistance Award by the World Congress on Insulin Resistance, Diabetes & Cardiovascular Disease (WCIRDC).

Among his many career achievements, Garvey developed Cardiometabolic Disease Staging, which allows clinicians to quantitatively assign risk for Type 2 Diabetes and cardiovascular disease events and mortality, when deciding upon the treatment modality and intensity of weight loss therapy for their patients, within the context of a complications-centric medical approach.

And in 2021, he led clinical trials at UAB for what he called at the time a ‘game changing’ drug, Semaglutide – known today by the brand names Ozempic, Wegovy and Ryblesus. Those trials at UAB and other medical centers around the country, revealed that high-dose semaglutide (2.4 mg/weekly) could prevent and treat diabetes, cardiovascular disease and related complications including osteoarthritis and sleep apnea.

As part of the honor, Garvey delivered the Keynote Lecture at the WCIRDC titled “A Belated Pathway towards Obesity Medicine: from Frustration to an Era of Drug Development that is a Landmark in the History of Medicine” in Los Angeles on December 14, 2024.

“I believe that the current era of drug discovery for obesity will be recognized as a landmark in the history of medicine, on par with the discovery of insulin in 1921, penicillin in 1928, and the polio vaccine in 1955," said Garvey. "New medications and others in development offer unprecedented efficacy for improving health and quality of life for patients with obesity and for treating the complications of this disease which exact such a heavy burden of suffering and social costs around the world."

The award is named after Gerald “Jerry” Reaven, MD, who coined the term Syndrome X — today known as metabolic syndrome — and whose research helped show that insulin resistance could lead to Type 2 diabetes and multiple other diseases.

“People connect Dr. Garvey with obesity, but he has been a huge researcher in carbohydrate metabolism and insulin resistance over the years,” said Yehuda Handelsman, MD, FACP, FNLA, FASPC, FAHA, MACE, chair of WCIRDC.

"When I look back at all my co-authors on publications, colleagues, and trainees, I am struck by the wealth of knowledge and incite that have benefitted my life and career," said Garvey. "I feel like Lou Gehrig, 'the luckiest man on the face of the earth.'"

Since 1987, Garvey’s laboratory has been supported by the National Institutes of Health (NIDDK, NHLBI), the Department of Veterans Affairs, the AHA, JDFI, the ADA, and other agencies.

He came to UAB in 2003 and served as chair of the Department of Nutrition Sciences until 2018. Under his leadership, the department experienced a three-fold increase in extramural research funding and an expansion of educational programs. In 2008, Garvey became the founding PI/Director of the UAB Diabetes Research Center (DRC) – which is one of 17 NIDDK-sponsored centers in the U.S. and the only DRC in the Deep South.

He has provided service as a member of national research review committees for the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation, the American Diabetes Association, the VA Merit Review Program, and the National Institutes of Health, and has served on multiple editorial boards for scientific journals.

He is a member of the American Association of Clinical Endocrinology (AACE), the Endocrine Society, the American Diabetes Association (ADA), and the Obesity Society; he was elected to the American Society for Clinical Investigation and the Association of American Physicians; and has been recognized as Master of the American Association of Clinical Endocrinology and the American Board of Obesity Medicine. He has participated in writing key clinical practice guidelines for obesity (AACE), diabetes (AACE), nutrition therapy (ADA), bariatric surgery (AACE). Metabolic-Dysfunction Associated Steatohepatitis (AACE), and is a member of the Lancet Commission on Obesity.

Previous winners of the Gerald Reaven Distinguished Leader in Insulin Resistance Award have included Ron Evans, Richard Bergman, Phil Scherer, Sam Klein, and Paul Zimmet.