Karen Donato, S.M.

Coordinator of Overweight and Obesity Research Applications
National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute
National Institutes of Health

 

As the coordinator of overweight and obesity research applications for the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, Karen Donato works to educate health professionals and high-risk individuals about obesity by developing activities for national education programs such as the National Cholesterol Education Program (NCEP) and the National High Blood Pressure Education Program (NHBPEP). She serves as the Coordinator of the We Can!® national education program to help prevent overweight and obesity in children and youth. She also works to develop educational activities on overweight and obesity issues for minority populations.

Previously, she served as Executive Director of the Expert Panel on the Clinical Guidelines to the Identification, Evaluation, and Treatment of Overweight and Obesity in Adults, the first Federal "evidence-based" report on overweight and obesity treatment issues.

She has spent her career in a number of positions for the National Institutes of Health, serving as the Coordinator of Nutrition Education and Special Initiatives, Coordinator for Patient and Professional Nutrition Education, and the Acting Chief of the Health Education Branch.

She holds a master’s in nutrition from the Harvard School of Public Health.