Panel of experts will talk GLP-1 therapies and health care
GLP-1 therapies and their role in reshaping health care will be the focus of this semester Connell School of Nursing Pinnacle Lecture, which will feature an interdisciplinary panel of experts. The event will be held March 23 in the Yawkey Center Murray Room, beginning at 5 p.m.
The Dr. Maureen P. McCausland Pinnacle Keynote Speakers will be Ariana Chao ™10, M.S.™11, an associate professor at the Johns Hopkins School of Nursing with a joint appointment in the School of Medicine; Katelyn O™Brien, a clinical pharmacy specialist at Boston Medical Center; and Alexander Turchin, M.D., associate professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School and director of quality in diabetes at Brigham and Women Hospital.
The speakers will discuss nutrition, diabetes, obesity, and medication management. CSON Assistant Professor Patricia Underwood, an endocrine nurse practitioner for the VA Boston Healthcare System, will serve as moderator. An audience Q&A will follow the panel discussion.
Clockwise from upper left: Ariana Chao '10, M.S. '11; Katelyn O'Brien; Alexander Turchin; and Patricia Underwood.
Internationally recognized for her leadership in obesity treatment, Chao is the director of research at the Healthful Eating, Activity and Weight Program at Johns Hopkins, where she also practices clinically as an obesity medicine nurse practitioner. Her program of research is focused on the development and testing of innovative behavioral and pharmacological treatments for obesity and related eating behaviors that improve physical and mental health. She has published more than 100 articles. Her work has been supported by the National Institutes of Health as well as foundation and industry sponsors. Chao holds a doctorate in nursing science from Yale University and completed a postdoctoral fellowship at the University of Pennsylvania.
O™Brien is a certified diabetes care and education specialist in Boston Medical Center adult Endocrinology Department. She graduated with a Doctor of Pharmacy degree from the University of Connecticut School of Pharmacy and completed her post-graduate residency training at VA Boston Healthcare System. In 2025, she was named the Boston University Outstanding Champion in Continuing Education. The 2026 Diabetes Care and Education Specialist of the Year, she has presented extensively on diabetes technologies and cardio-renal metabolic management of type 2 diabetes.
Dr. Turchin research focus is on studying advanced methods of real-world evidence data analytics, including natural language processing, causal inference, and predictive modeling, and applying these methods to investigations of treatment and outcomes of patients with diabetes and other chronic cardiometabolic conditions. He is an associate editor of Diabetes, Obesity and Cardiometabolic CARE and served as the founding chair of the Health Care Delivery & Quality Improvement Interest Group at the ADA. He is a Fellow of the American College of Medical Informatics whose research has led to more than 130 papers and book chapters.
Pinnacle is free and open to all Boston College students, faculty, staff, and alumni, as well as preceptors and practitioners.
To register for the event, or learn more about the lecture series, go toÌýbc.edu/pinnacle.