Michelle Hauser

Michelle Hauser, MD, MS, MPA, FACP, FACLM, DipABLM, is a Clinical Associate Professor of Medicine and Surgery at Stanford University School of Medicine. She serves as the Obesity Medicine Director of the Stanford Lifestyle and Weight Management Center. Dr. Hauser is also President-elect of the American College of Lifestyle Medicine (2024-Present) and holds board certification in Internal Medicine and Lifestyle Medicine.

Dr. Hauser's educational background includes a Medical Degree from Harvard Medical School, Internal Medicine Residency at Harvard Medical School-Cambridge Health Alliance, and a Master of Science in Epidemiology and Clinical Research from Stanford. She also holds a Master of Public Policy and Administration from Harvard Kennedy School of Government and is a Le Cordon Bleu-certified chef.

Dr. Hauser's research focuses on lifestyle medicine, culinary medicine, obesity treatment, and food insecurity interventions. She combines her medical expertise with culinary skills to develop innovative approaches to chronic disease prevention and treatment. Her work emphasizes the importance of enjoyable, healthy eating as part of sustainable lifestyle changes. She has developed the first comprehensive "Culinary Medicine Curriculum" which is now used in over 100 countries.

Dr. Hauser has made significant contributions to understanding dietary patterns, weight management strategies, and culturally tailored interventions for vulnerable populations, particularly Latinx communities. Her research examines the intersection of food insecurity and obesity, developing integrated approaches to address both conditions simultaneously.

Her scientific achievements have been recognized with numerous awards:

• Champion for Change, Lifestyle Medicine Education Collaborative
• Leonard Tow Humanism in Medicine Award from the Arnold P. Gold Foundation and Harvard Medical School
• Local Hunger Fighter award from Second Harvest Food Bank
• San Mateo Medical Center Above & Beyond Award
• Food Hero Honorable Mention from the City of Cambridge, Massachusetts

As an educator, Dr. Hauser has developed and teaches the Culinary Medicine (Teaching Kitchen) Elective for medical and physician assistant students at Stanford. She has been instrumental in incorporating nutrition and culinary medicine into medical education curricula. Her leadership extends to serving as Study Physician for multiple randomized controlled trials and as Co-Investigator on Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute studies examining the co-treatment of food insecurity and obesity.

Dr. Hauser leads multidisciplinary collaborations through the Stanford Lifestyle Medicine Program, working with diverse healthcare professionals to implement evidence-based lifestyle interventions. Her innovative Medgroup program combines shared medical appointments with telehealth follow-up to improve access to obesity treatment.