Wayne Ho
MD, FACP, DABOM, AAHIVS
Founder, Medical and Research Director​
Dr. Wayne Ho is a board-certified internal medicine specialist, obesity and HIV specialist, and an adjunct assistant associate professor of Medical Education at the Keck School of Medicine. He is an experienced clinical trialist, especially in the areas of diabetes and obesity and their related diseases. He has contributed to several research papers and is published in the New England Journal of Medicine.
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Dr. Ho is involved in medicine at all levels: on the local level through direct patient care and a macroscopic level through health policy advocacy and clinical research. He is an active physician obesity advocate and has testified at the state and federal levels advocating for improved patient access to effective treatments, including anti-obesity medications and intensive behavioral therapy. He is also a spokesperson for THE OBESITY SOCIETY. As a professor of Medical Education, he helps shape the future of medicine by training the clinicians of tomorrow. All of these activities fulfills him as a physician and promoter of health.
Education
Undergraduate Education
University of California,
Los Angeles
B.S. in Neuroscience with Departmental Honors
Medical Education
​University of California, San Francisco
M.D. with concentration in Medical Education
Medical Training
West Los Angeles Veterans Affairs/University of California, Los Angeles
Internal Medicine internship and residency
Publications
2008
Ho W, Spiegel BMR. The Relationship Between Obesity and Functional Gastrointestinal Disorders: Causation, Association, or Neither? Gastroenterology & Hepatology. 2008;4(8):572-578.
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Spiegel BMR, Ho W, Esrailian E, et al. Controversies in Ulcerative Colitis: A Survey Comparing Decision-Making of Experts Versus Community Gastroenterologists. Clinical Gastroenterology and Hepatology: the official clinical practice journal of the American Gastroenterological Association. 2009;7(2):168-174.e1. doi:10.1016/j.cgh.2008.08.029.
2025
Aronne LJ, Horn DB, Le Roux CW, Ho W, Falcon BL, Gomez Valderas E, Das S, Lee CJ, Glass LC, Senyucel C, Dunn JP;
SURMOUNT-5 Trial Investigators. Tirzepatide as Compared with Semaglutide for the Treatment of Obesity. N Engl J Med.
2025 Jul 3;393(1):26-36. doi: 10.1056/NEJMoa2416394. Epub 2025 May 11. PMID: 40353578.
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Horn DB, Aronne LJ, Le Roux CW, Ho W, Falcon BL, Gomez Valderas E, Das S, Lee CJ, Glass LC, Senyucel C, Dunn JP;
Tirzepatide Compared to Semaglutide for the Treatment of Obesity: The SURMOUNT-5 Trial Efficacy and Safety. Obes
Facts (2025) 18 (Suppl. 1): 657–829. https://doi.org/10.1159/000545968. PMID: 40435979.
Presentations
2022
Monkeypox Vaccines: What We Know – West Hollywood Monkeypox Town Hall Meeting (live and televised), West Hollywood, CA, July 28, 2022.
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Borderless.lgbt: World’s First LGBT Health and Wellness in Vietnam, Keynote Speech, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam,
November 28, 2022.
2023
Obesity and Inflammation: Addressing the Issue with Expanding Therapeutic Options - National Psoriasis Foundation Collaborative Care Symposium, Santa Monica, CA, August 12, 2023.
2024
Obesity and Inflammation: Addressing the Issue with Expanding Therapeutic Options - National Psoriasis Foundation Collaborative Care Symposium, Chicago, IL, June 15, 2024.
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Improving Obesity Outcomes: Policies for Patient Access in the Health Care System and Workplace, panelist – Chronic
Obesity Prevention and Education Alliance, Sacramento, CA, June 26, 2024.
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Obesity and Inflammation: Addressing the Issue with Expanding Therapeutic Options - National Psoriasis Foundation Collaborative Care Symposium, Los Angeles, CA, September 14, 2024.
2025
Inflammation and Psoriasis: A Conversation on the Interplay and What You Need to Know – American Academy of
Dermatology Symposium, Orlando, FL, March 7, 2025.
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Alliance for Patient Alliance’s National Policy & Advocacy Summit - Health Care Values: Aligning Patients, Clinicians & Policy, panelist, Washington, DC, October 1, 2025.
