Each of the President’s lectures this year brings a different perspective of the mission and the work of the college to the Annual Meeting. There is something for everyone here. The discussions will address career paths for exercise professionals, the history of primary care sports medicine, the use of exercise therapy to address obesity in youth, and promotion of evidence-based behavioral therapies in underserved communities.

Thursday’s Lectures

“First in Friendship, Fourth in Obesity: Solving Complex Health Challenges through Parks and Recreation Partnerships”

Sarah Armstrong, M.D., is a pediatrician specializing in the treatment of childhood obesity.  She has established comprehensive treatment programs originating in the clinic and projecting into community practice incorporating the best in nutrition- and exercise-based behavioral interventions.  Her research in this area is groundbreaking and provides lessons for those interested in community-based obesity interventions in kids.

“50 Years of Sports Medicine and the Anterior Cruciate Ligament”

John Bergfeld, M.D., FACSM, 28^th President of the ACSM (1984-85), is an orthopedist sports medicine surgeon.  He started the first primary care sports medicine program in Cleveland fifty years ago. During his lecture he will touch on the history of the sports medicine field and treatment of one of the major medical challenges enduring today—anterior cruciate ligament injury.

Saturday’s Lectures

“Leadership Matters- An Outlier's Accidental Journey from Coach to PI to Chancellor”

Tim White, PhD, FACSM, 38^th President of the ACSM (1994-95), will discuss his journey from being an exercise physiologist and scientist to leading the largest higher educational institutions in the world—the University of California system. His message will resonate with young ACSM scientists and professionals about charting career paths.

“Overcoming Disparities in Physical Activity: We Need to Dig Deeper”

Melicia Whitt-Glover, PhD, FACSM, is a leader in community-based physical activity interventions in underserved communities. Her work in health disparities has spanned twenty years. During this time, she has been engaged in research and evaluation projects designed to identify effective strategies to promote adherence to national recommendations for physical activity, diet, and healthy weight gain to address disparities in chronic disease morbidity and mortality. Dr. Whitt-Glover will share her learnings with all of us about this important work.

Learn more about sessions and special presentations at the 2020 ACSM Annual Meeting here. 

William E. Kraus, M.D., FACSM, is the 63rd president of the American College of Sports Medicine. He is a Professor of Medicine in the Division of Cardiology Medicine and the Director of Clinical Translation at the Duke Molecular Physiology Institute. He is a clinician scientist with research interests in the use of exercise for favorable mediation of cardiometabolic risk; in the role of skeletal muscle adaptations in mediating that risk; on using molecular markers to personalized lifestyle medicine approaches to disease prevention and in the study of how we can use a better understanding of gene-environment interactions to focus preventive measures in cardiovascular medicine. Dr. Kraus' clinical focus is in the areas of cardiovascular prevention with a focus on lifestyle modification, and cardiac rehabilitation. He is the author of over 250 peer reviewed publications and 215 abstracts.