John.Batsis@unc.edu
919-966-5945
John A. Batsis, MD
CRC Medical Director, Associate Professor of Medicine
Dr. Batsis has dedicated his professional career to caring for older adults through clinical care, research and education. The privilege of helping older adults maximize their physical function and quality of life through patient-centered, compassionate care serves as a daily motivation in his work. His role as a clinician-researcher allows him to apply scientific principles of inquiry to enhance clinical care for an older adult population. Through learning and discovery, he aims to advance healthy aging by improving goal-directed care and healthcare delivery for older adults.
Dr. Batsis’s academic work focuses on three main areas: (a) understanding the relationships between obesity and sarcopenia (loss of muscle mass, strength and/or function with aging) and important outcomes for older adults; (b) developing multicomponent interventions (diet and exercise) to improve physical function in older adults; and (c) using novel technologies (telemedicine, remote monitoring, Internet-of-Things devices) and collaborating with transdisciplinary scientists (engineers and computer scientists) to improve the health and well-being of older adults.
Read: Dr. John Batsis Presents Keynote at AI Technology Center Consensus Guidelines Workshop
Read: Dr. Batsis Presents at American Diabetes Association Annual Meeting
Read: Dr. Batsis talks to Stat about new weight loss drugs
Watch: Dr Batsis – ‘Everyone has their own secret sauce’
Read: Doctors Assess Opportunities Gained, Lost through Medicare’s Annual Wellness Visits
Read: Batsis Discusses Five Common Medications That Can Cause Weight Gain
In the News
October Faculty Focus: Saroja Voruganti, PhD
October 17, 2018 – Saroja Voruganti, PhD, has covered a lot of ground in her journey to becoming a faculty researcher in nutrition, genetics, and epidemiology at the UNC Nutrition Research Institute. Born into a traditional south Indian family, she grew up in Delhi in northern India where she graduated with an undergraduate degree in nutrition. Then she married and moved to western India. Even as she focused on marriage, home, and raising a family in the traditional Indian way of life, she kept alive her dream of pursuing advanced studies and contributing outside of family life.
Choline in Human Milk Plays a Crucial Role in Infant Memory
October 3, 2018 – Choline is present in human milk, and is especially important for fetal and infant development [2,3]. “The hint that choline is important for infant development comes from the fact that in human milk, the supply of choline remains constant across the first year of life,” says Professor Carol Cheatham from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Other important nutrients, such as docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), are present in large quantities initially, but often level off after a few months.
Culinary twist: Healthy food that helps the community
September 28, 2018 – Good Bowls taps into the UNC innovation network and brings locally sourced meals to lower-income consumers. Social innovation is nothing new at the University of North Carolina at Chapel-Hill. And using its long history of social innovation as a cornerstone, one UNC venture is blazing a trail to improve community health. If you haven’t already heard of Good Bowls, you will.
Celebrating a Decade of Nutrition Discoveries
September 28, 2018 – This October, the NRI proudly marks its tenth anniversary of delving into the science of Precision Nutrition. What began in 2008 with two faculty members and a supporting staff of nine is, today, a bustling center of scientific inquiry and discovery with a staff of 82, which includes 16 principal investigators.
Publications
2026
2025
The Relationship Between a Mediterranean Diet and Frailty in Older Adults: NHANES 2007-2017.
Changes in senescence markers after a weight loss intervention in older adults with obesity.
Editorial: Clinical uses and alternative approaches of frailty determination.
Tailoring Obesity Management to Support Physical Function in Older Adults.
Treating Sarcopenic Obesity in the Era of Incretin Therapies: Perspectives and Challenges.
New Drugs and Same Blind Spots-Rethinking Obesity Care in Later Life.