Dr. Raedeh Basiri is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Nutrition and Food Studies at George Mason University. Her research interests are assessing the effects of healthy eating on the prevention and treatment of diabetes and obesity. Her research has shown that nutrition interventions have significant positive effects on wound healing in patients with diabetic foot ulcers. The application of findings of her research also saved a patient with diabetic foot ulcers from an amputation. Before coming to Mason, she was a Postdoctoral Fellow in the Department of Nutrition and Integrative Physiology at Florida State University, where she was conducting clinical research on the effects of functional foods in the prevention and treatment of chronic diseases such as diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and osteoporosis. Dr. Basiri is also a registered dietitian and has worked in the field as an RD in the inpatient and outpatient settings. She has been founder and president of Nutrition and Dietetics Specialty Clinic where she consulted individuals with various dietetic and nutritional needs.

Dr. Lawrence J. Cheskin is a Professor at the Department of Nutrition and Food Studies at George Mason University's College of Public Health, Principal Investigator of the Mason Cohort: Health Starts Here study, and an adjunct professor of medicine at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine. He received his medical degree from Dartmouth and postdoctoral training at Yale-New Haven Hospital. He has dedicated his career to research, education, and program building to enhance people’s diets and combat obesity. He founded the Johns Hopkins Weight Management Center, a multidisciplinary clinical research and treatment program.  His work has impacted the problem of obesity through innovative treatment programs and in community-based participatory research among the underserved in urban areas. He is the author of ~250 peer-reviewed journal articles and 9 books.