Obesity Expert James Levine, MD, PhD, Appointed Chief of Endocrinology at UH Case Medical Center and Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine

CLEVELAND - Fred C. Rothstein, MD, President, University Hospitals Case Medical Center, and Pamela B. Davis, MD, PhD, Dean, Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, announce the appointment of James Levine, MD, PhD, as Chief of the Division of Endocrinology in the Department of Medicine. Dr. Levine, who is currently Professor of Medicine, Physiology and Bioengineering at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn., will begin in Cleveland on Nov. 1.

Dr. Levine is an internationally renowned expert in obesity and a leader in developing practical weight loss solutions. A best-selling author, he has garnered considerable media attention for his findings that thin people move more than overweight people throughout the course of a day. Among his innovations is the treadmill desk, which allows office workers to continuously walk at about 1 m.p.h. while going about their daily routine at a standup desk. He has developed weight solutions in numerous venues including corporations, school systems and several metropolitan areas.

“Dr. Levine plans to bring his dynamic ideas on weight loss to our academic medical center,” said Richard Walsh, MD, Chairman of Medicine at University Hospitals (UH) Case Medical Center and Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine. “He is one of the most innovative thinkers in this area of medicine, and I am thrilled to have him join our department at the helm of the Division of Endocrinology.”

His laboratory research has focused on obesity and understanding “non-exercise activity thermogenesis” (NEAT), human movement and body weight. He has published more than 150 manuscripts in peer-reviewed journals including Science, Nature, New England Journal of Medicine and Lancet. He is board certified in internal medicine; endocrinology, diabetes and metabolism, and is a nutrition specialist. He is the author of the non-fiction book Move A Little Lose a Lot (Random House, 2009).

Another element of Dr. Levine’s work focuses on children. He has worked with the U.N. on child labor issues. He is the author of the international best seller The Blue Notebook, a work of fiction about childhood prostitution in India. It has been translated into 17 languages and has sold in 21 countries. The proceeds from sales in the U.S. of this book are donated to the International Center for Missing and Exploited Children.

Dr. Levine is a senior scientific adviser to the U.S. government, U.N. and the government of China as well as to nations throughout Africa and to Jamaica. He is a designated “Expert” to the U.N., National Institutes of Health (NIH) and National Science Foundation.

Dr. Levine’s work has been featured in newspapers, magazines and electronic media worldwide, including CNN, BBC, Time, U.S. News & World Report,NewsweekThe New York TimesThe London Times, and Washington Post. He has completed five documentaries for the Discovery Channel and the BBC.

Dr. Levine has received more than 50 national and international awards in science, including the Judson Daland Prize from the American Philosophical Society. He holds several NIH and other federal grants. His treadmill desk is now produced as The Walkstation by Steelcase Inc. The company he founded with business partner John Montague, Muve Inc. which builds the calorie-counting “Gruve” device won the Minnesota Cup Award for most innovative business idea of 2007.

Founded in 1843, Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine is the largest medical research institution in Ohio and is among the nation's top medical schools for research funding from the National Institutes of Health. The School of Medicine is recognized throughout the international medical community for outstanding achievements in teaching. The School's innovative and pioneering Western Reserve2 curriculum interweaves four themes--research and scholarship, clinical mastery, leadership, and civic professionalism--to prepare students for the practice of evidence-based medicine in the rapidly changing health care environment of the 21st century. Nine Nobel Laureates have been affiliated with the School of Medicine.

Annually, the School of Medicine trains more than 800 MD and MD/PhD students and ranks in the top 25 among U.S. research-oriented medical schools as designated by U.S. News & World Report's "Guide to Graduate Education."

The School of Medicine is affiliated with University Hospitals Cleveland Medical Center, MetroHealth Medical Center, the Louis Stokes Cleveland Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center, and the Cleveland Clinic, with which it established the Cleveland Clinic Lerner College of Medicine of Case Western Reserve University in 2002. case.edu/medicine.