Vance Albaugh, MD PhD DABOM FASMBS

Dr. Albaugh earned his medical degree (MD) from Penn State University College of Medicine and completed his surgical residency at Vanderbilt University. He subsequently completed surgical fellowship training in Advanced Laparoscopic and Bariatric Surgery at the world-renowned Cleveland Clinic. He serves as Assistant Professor of Metabolic Surgery at Pennington Biomedical Research Center and Louisiana State University in the Department of Biological Sciences, as well as Assistant Professor of Surgery at LSU Health Sciences Center in New Orleans. He currently has surgical privileges at Our Lady of the Lake-Ascension, Our Lady of the Lake Regional Medical Center, as well as Baton Rouge General and Woman’s Hospital in Baton Rouge. Dr. Albaugh is board certified by the American Board of Surgery in General Surgery (DABS) and has also completed the Focused Practice Designation in Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery (FPMBS). He also serves on the national committee for the American Board of Surgery as a metabolic/bariatric surgeon. In addition to his surgical board certifications, he is board certified in Obesity Medicine by the American Board of Obesity Medicine (DABOM). Aside from his clinical and surgical work, Dr. Albaugh has completed extensive scientific training, earning his doctorate (PhD) in the physiology of metabolism and body weight regulation while at Penn State. During his surgical residency, he completed a postdoctoral scientific fellowship sponsored by the National Institutes of Health in surgical metabolism and metabolic surgery. Dr. Albaugh’s research interests include various clinical and preclinical studies working to better understand how food and nutrients are sensed within the gastrointestinal tract and how weight loss treatments (e.g. semaglutide/tirzepatide, Bariatric Surgery) alter the communication between the gut and the brain. The overarching goal of his research program is to better understand the “gut-brain axis”, ultimately leading to the development of new and effective treatments and cures for people with diabetes, obesity, and other metabolic disease. His research has been supported by the American Medical Association, National Institutes of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK), American Society for Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery (ASMBS), and the Society of American Gastrointestinal and Endoscopic Surgeons (SAGES). Dr. Albaugh is the co-author of >100 scientific articles, book chapters, invited editorials, and scientific and surgical reviews.