Dean David Allison Receives Prize for Creativity in Research

Dr. Allison is also a distinguished professor and provost professor at the Indiana University School of Public Health-Bloomington.

Indiana University School of Public Health-Bloomington (IUSPH-B) Dean David Allison will receive the 2022 Hoebel Prize for Creativity, presented by the Society for the Study of Ingestive Behavior (SSIB) in recognition of his "exceptional level of creativity and excellence in research on ingestive behavior." As this year’s honoree, Dr. Allison will receive a plaque, a monetary award, and an opportunity to address the SSIB with a scientific topic.

"This is a tremendous honor," Dean Allison says. "As a scientist, it is important to maintain a balance between open-mindedness to ideas and considerable skepticism. A good scientist must be both comfortable with ignorance, and willing to consider the 'wild idea.' I try to walk this line when I grapple with a problem, and it is humbling to be recognized by my peers for doing so."

A biostatistician and internationally renowned public health expert on obesity, Dr. Allison is an elected member of the National Academy of Medicine and the European Academy of Sciences and Arts, as well as a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the American Statistical Association, Society of Behavioral Medicine, and the American Psychological Association. In 2021, he received the Friends of Albert (Mickey) Stunkard Lifetime Achievement Award from The Obesity Society.

"Dr. Allison focuses on phenomena driving the obesity epidemic—particularly mechanisms driving ingestive behavior—and has had great success in elucidating relevant mechanisms and likely laying the foundation for interventions," says Mount Sinai School of Medicine's Dr. Charles Mobbs, who nominated Dr. Allison for the Hoebel Prize. "Among many examples of his creativity and rigor are a paper he published that showed a previous observation he published was not reproducible. Moreover, his astonishing 10-year record of publishing weekly papers on obesity include some of the most insightful analyses in recent history."

In addition to these accomplishments and accolades, Dr. Allison is a celebrated mentor of dozens of career scientists who conduct groundbreaking research and promote public health around the world. He has served as dean of IUSPH-B since 2017.

For more information about SSIB, visit ssib.org. News about IUSPH-B is always available at go.iu.edu/48bx.