Honoring a pioneer in metabolic health

By Lauren B. Cooper

An endowed scholarship has been created in the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) School of Public Health to honor the memory of a pioneer in metabolic health and passionate advocate for the reversal of Type 2 diabetes through diet.

The Dr. Sarah Hallberg Endowed Scholarship for Diabetes Research and Prevention was created by Brad Hallberg, husband of the late Dr. Hallberg, who treated patients with diabetes and obesity-related diseases before passing away in 2022 from lung cancer at the age of 51.

The scholarship was spearheaded by longtime friend and colleague Kevin Fontaine, Ph.D., the Antoine Lavoisier Endowed Professor of Energetics and Healthy Lifestyles in the School of Public Health. The scholarship is reserved for students focused on Type 2 diabetes research and care with an emphasis on nutrition and metabolic control.

Hallberg and Fontaine hope the scholarship will commemorate Dr. Hallberg’s perseverance, knowledge, and empathy, as well as continuing her legendary research in “food as medicine,” which she championed with a book published before her death, countless lectures across the globe, and a 2015 TEDx Talk that has gained nearly 12 million views.

“My hope is that her memory, her passion, her story stays alive, and that the people who are able to use the scholarship also are going to care about the people they work with,” said Hallberg.

“One of the things that Sarah always discussed is that food is medicine and that we eat well and take care of ourselves. I would love to see that whoever puts this scholarship to good use is able to connect and inspire others to live their best lives.”

Dr. Hallberg was born in 1971 in Ohio and spent a brief time in Birmingham when her father was a finance professor at UAB. She grew up in Illinois and was always interested in fitness, exercise, and nutrition. She received her undergraduate degree from Illinois State University and a medical degree from Des Moines University.

Hallberg, her husband Brad, and their three children settled in Lafayette, Indiana, where as a physician she helped establish Indiana University Health Arnett’s first medical weight loss clinic. Her work with obese patients sharpened her focus on the dramatic effects of nutrition and exercise on Type 2 diabetes, and she became an advocate for its reversal through this approach.

In 2015, she was given an opportunity to present at Purdue University’s TEDx Talk, where she presented her now-famous “Reversing Type 2 Diabetes Starts with Ignoring the Guidelines,” an 18-minute talk on her clinic’s findings that a diet low in carbohydrates and high in fat and fiber can reverse the disease that affects 37 million Americans.

That TEDx Talk provided a global platform to encourage a shift away from disease management and toward disease reversal, sparking interest from many in the medical community due to its bold call to ignore government guidelines for a “balanced” plate. Following the presentation, Hallberg soon joined Virta Health as medical director and principal investigator of its five-year clinical trial that tested the reversal of Type 2 diabetes in patients around the world.

“Dr. Sarah Hallberg was a true pioneer in diabetes reversal and metabolic health,” said Sami Inkinen, founder and CEO of Virta Health. “Working alongside her at Virta was both inspiring and humbling—her dedication to challenging the status quo shifted the medical paradigm away from chronic disease management toward actual disease reversal. She played a pivotal role in developing Virta’s nutrition-first clinical protocol, leading groundbreaking research, and transforming the lives of over 100,000 people and counting.”

It was on Virta Health’s Scientific Advisory Committee and the Atkins Scientific Advisory Committee that UAB’s Fontaine, whose work focuses on diet composition and its effects on obesity, met and started working with Dr. Hallberg.

“She evangelized what we already knew about treating diabetes,” Fontaine said. “Sarah had the energy and enthusiasm to get the message out about this approach. She was so patient-centered.”

Fontaine said Dr. Hallberg infused heart and personality into an approach not widely taught in medical schools. Thanks to the Dr. Sarah Hallberg Endowed Scholarship, however, UAB will be able to recruit graduate students to be trained in the how and why of this revolutionary approach.

“Most people just don’t know the startling and remarkable effects that changing your diet can have on diabetes or other chronic diseases,” he said.

Hallberg went on to became a Fellow in the Aspen Institute’s Health Innovator Fellowship and a member of the Aspen Global Leadership Network; served on the American Board of Obesity Medicine and the American Board of Clinical Lipidology; was a Fellow of the Obesity Medicine Association and the National Lipid Association; and served as both Chair of the Scientific Council of the Nutrition Coalition and a member of its Board.

She took her message to Congress, the Pentagon, local governments, company executives, physician groups, and many others, and served in numerous advisory roles, like for The Nutrition Coalition.

“Sarah was a brave, brilliant, and compassionate human being,” said Nina Teicholz, Ph.D., best-selling author, journalist, and founder of The Nutrition Coalition.” I felt lucky that she committed her time and extraordinary skills to support the mission of The Nutrition Coalition: to reform our nation’s dietary guidelines. She had a talent for educating people about the latest science on obesity and diabetes and a fearless, infectious passion for change.”

Hallberg hopes this one-of-a-kind scholarship at UAB will help keep Dr. Hallberg’s memory alive and continue her vital work.

“Sarah was just an amazing human being,” he said. “She had so much energy and passion for life and living. I feel like the world lost a lot the day she passed. This scholarship can help keep her memory alive and I’m really hopeful for the people and the students who will benefit from it.”

Those interested in contributing to the Dr. Sarah Hallberg Endowed Scholarship for Diabetes Research and Prevention at the UAB School of Public Health can contact Morgan Meadows at (205) 440-8931.