Dr. Joe Alcock University of New Mexico Health Sciences Center, USA

Joe Alcock MD is a Professor of Emergency Medicine at the University of New Mexico Health Sciences Center and was Chief of the Emergency Medicine Service at the New Mexico VA Medical Center. He has an MD from UCLA and a Master of Science in Clinical Research from the UNM... read moreCenter for Translational and Clinical Science.

The recipient of UNM’s Excellence in Teaching award, Dr. Alcock is one of the leaders in the emerging field of Evolutionary Medicine. Since 2008, Dr. Alcock has taught a series of courses on Evolutionary Medicine popular with biology, anthropology, and medical students.

Dr. Alcock’s current research uses evolutionary principles to understand cooperation and conflict in the human gut microbiome related to obesity. One aim of this research is to understand taste and satiety-regulating microbes in the gastrointestinal microbiota in order to promote healthy eating behaviors and prevent obesity. This research has a strong grounding in evolutionary theory and has already generated promising leads in the fight against obesity and related chronic diseases.