Ronette Kolotkin, PhD

Dr. Ronette Kolotkin, the sole proprietor of Quality of Life Consulting, PLLC, is a research and practicing psychologist who focuses on understanding, measuring and optimizing health-related quality of life. She consults with pharmaceutical companies, academic institutions and other organizations on measurement and interpretation of quality of life assessments used, or to be used, in clinical trials and/or development of products or services. She maintains a private practice, specializing in persons with obesity who wish to improve their quality of life.

She holds faculty appointments in the US and Norway:

• Consulting Professor in the Department of Family Medicine and Community Health at Duke University School of Medicine, Durham, North Carolina

• Professor Emerita at Western Norway University of Applied Sciences, Førde, Norway; Førde Hospital Trust, Førde, Norway; and Morbid Obesity Centre, Vestfold Hospital Trust, Tønsberg, Norway

Dr. Kolotkin is the primary developer of the Impact of Weight on Quality of Life questionnaire (IWQOL-Lite©), a widely used questionnaire that assesses quality of life in adults with obesity, as well as the IWQOL-Kids© for adolescents, and the IWQOL-Lite-Clinical Trials Version (IWQOL-Lite-CT)©. She has published over 100 professional articles, many of which pertain to bariatric surgery.

She received a BA from Trinity College, Hartford, Connecticut, and a PhD in Clinical Psychology from the University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota. For 15 years, Dr. Kolotkin served as Director of the Behavioral Health Program at Duke University's Diet and Fitness Center.