Joseph A. “Joey” Skelton, MD, MS, FAAP, FTOS is a Professor of Pediatrics, and of Epidemiology and Prevention, at Wake Forest University School of Medicine. He serves as Director of Brenner FIT® (Families In Training), an interdisciplinary pediatric obesity treatment, prevention, research, and educational program, and as Associate Director of the Program in Community Engagement. He is also the Director of the Center for Prevention Science in Child and Family Health, and serves as Editor-in-Chief of the journal Childhood Obesity.

He received a BS from Furman University (Greenville, SC), an MD from the University of Tennessee Memphis College of Medicine, and a Masters of Health Sciences Research from Wake Forest University. He completed his pediatric residency, chief residency, and pediatric gastroenterology fellowship at the Medical College of Wisconsin/Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin. He is board certified in Pediatrics and Obesity Medicine.

His research has focused on the treatment of children with obesity. He has worked in the study of attrition from pediatric obesity treatment, and its link to family dynamics. He is funded by the NIH to develop a model of predicting dropout from pediatric weight management, with a focus on family function. His clinical work involves the interdisciplinary treatment of obesity using family-centered approaches, integrating community engagement, culinary medicine, and parenting education.