W. Timothy Garvey, M.D., the C.E. Butterworth, Jr., MD, Professor in Nutrition Sciences, inspired colleagues, students, scientists and many others for more than 15 years as the chair of the Department of Nutrition Sciences. He continues to lead colleagues, students and scientists at UAB. He was founding member and PI of the UAB Diabetes Research Center (DRC) from 2008 to 2025 and continues as Associate Director – the only NIDDK diabetes center located in the Deep South. He has been a leader and active clinical trialist for new medications to treat patients with obesity and diabetes and has co-authored clinical treatment guidelines on behalf of multiple professional societies.
In recognition of Dr. Garvey’s contribution to scholarship and education, The Dr. W. Timothy Garvey Endowed Scholarship has been established to facilitate training of graduate students and post-doctoral fellows (MDs and PhDs) pursuing research careers in cardiometabolic disease. Additional information about Dr. Garvey and the goals of the scholarship are outlined below, and your contributions to further the training of future scientists are encouraged and deeply appreciated.
About Dr. Garvey
He has achieved international recognition for his research in the metabolic, molecular, and genetic pathogenesis of insulin resistance, type 2 diabetes, and obesity. The Garvey laboratory has furthered understanding of the role of the glucose transport system in human insulin resistance. He has authored over 360 publications, and is an elected member of ASCI and AAP, Master of the American Association of Clinical Endocrinology, and Master of the American Board of Obesity Medicine.
A further interest concerns the understanding of obesity as a disease and advancing medical models to improve care of patients with obesity. Dr Garvey has been the lead author on the American Association of Clinical Endocrinology (AACE) Clinical Practice Guidelines for Obesity, coauthor of the AACE diabetes and MASH guidelines, co-author on the AACE/American Society of Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery guidelines for management of patients undergoing bariatric surgery, co-author on the 2019 and 2026 American Diabetes Association (ADA) nutrition recommendations, a member of the Lancet Commission on Obesity, and a coauthor of the ADA Standards of Care for Obesity. He authored the position statement affirming Adiposity-Based Chronic Disease (ABCD) as the diagnostic term for obesity which has been endorsed by both AACE and the European Association for the Study of Obesity (EASO). He has proposed a medically actionable classification system (ICD codes) for ABCD and has helped address the rational use of newer second-generation obesity medications within the context of a complications-centric approach to obesity care. He has established Cardiometabolic Disease Staging (CMDS) for risk prediction of both type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease to guide the intensity of preventive interventions.
Over the decades, Dr. Garvey has mentored and taught junior faculty members, many PhD and postdoctoral students, residents & interns, medical students, endocrine fellows, and physician-scientists. Many of these scientists have emerged as national leaders in research and patient care to the benefit of patients with cardiometabolic disease.
As director of the DRC, the director of NIH-funded training grants (T32), and a member of the UAB Nutrition Obesity Research Center, Dr. Garvey continues to directly touch the work of researchers and trainees across UAB.
Cardiometabolic Disease
What is cardiometabolic disease? This is a disease nexus that includes diabetes mellitus, heart attacks and cardiovascular disease, metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis, hypertension, dyslipidemia, and ultimately chronic kidney disease. The core process driving cardiometabolic disease is insulin resistance which gives rise to both these metabolic and vascular end-stage manifestations. As such, cardiometabolic disease is a leading cause of patient suffering and social costs, and a leading cause of death around the world.
For decades, Dr. Garvey has combined molecular approaches in basic science such as molecular and cell biology with the study of human physiology and patients together with clinical trials establishing safety and efficacy of new medications to gain insight into the causes, treatment, and prevention of cardiometabolic disease and its outcomes. In doing so, he has emphasized the training of the next generation of scientists to further this translational approach to the study of human disease.
What Will the Endowment Do?
Our goal is to raise $100,000 to create a permanent and self-sustaining endowed scholarship in honor of Dr. Garvey to further research training and career development for PhD students, postdoctoral students, and physician-scientists across UAB conducting research in the area of cardiometabolic disease.
Your gift towards this endowment goal will reduce the financial burden associated with training for these developing scientists and help outstanding candidates where affordability is a major obstacle. Funds could also be used to support specific research projects, travel to scientific meetings, coursework, or mini-sabbaticals to learn critical skills or techniques. A committee of senior faculty will responsibly identify the most highly qualified and promising trainees as Garvey scholars and adjudicate and approve how support from the endowment could best further career development.
Give Today
Your gift would represent a fitting tribute to Dr. Garvey’s accomplishments and recognition of the need for future national leaders to advance knowledge in the areas of diabetes, obesity, and cardiovascular disease risk. These efforts are sorely needed to combat the broad-based adverse impact of cardiometabolic disease on patients and to work towards a healthier society.
To give today, simply click the "Give Now" button below. To see more giving options, click the "Pledge Form" button to download a PDF.
For more information, contact Sarah Jenks, assistant director of development, at sjenks@uab.edu or 205-996-5930.