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Erik Dutson, MD
University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California

Dr. Erik Dutson is the Surgical Director of the Center for Obesity and Metabolic Health (COMET Program) at UCLA and has been a part of the multidisciplinary approach to the clinical management of obesity at UCLA for seventeen years. He has been actively involved in the American Society of Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery, the American College of Surgeons and the Society for American Gastrointestinal Endoscopic Surgeons, where he serves on several committees and presents research on a regular basis. He has multiple scientific publications on clinical management of obesity, and his role as a patient and clinician educator has required him to maintain an active working knowledge of global research on obesity mechanisms and treatment. In addition to this role, Dr. Dutson is the Executive Director for UCLA's Center for Advanced Surgical and Interventional Technology, a lab dedicated to the development of surgical technologies, computer-assisted surgery, virtual and augmented reality and simulation-based surgical education. Because of collaborative work with Dr. David Klonoff, Dr. Dutson was fortunate enough to be selected to work in an advisory capacity with NASA for many years on their Roadmap to Mars.