John A. Batsis, MD, FACP, AGSF
Associate Professor, School of Medicine & The Gillings School of Global Public Health, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
John A. Batsis, MD, FACP, AGSF, FTOS, FGSA, is an Associate Professor at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He received his Medical Degree with Honors from the University of Dublin, Trinity College, in Dublin, Ireland in 2002 after which he completed a medical-surgical internship in Dublin at St. James’ Hospital. He completed his residency training in Internal Medicine and fellowship in Geriatrics at the Mayo Clinic College of Medicine, in Rochester, Minnesota between 2003 and 2008, and is board certified in both specialties. He holds a Certificate in Translational Science Activities from the Mayo Graduate School of Medical Education in Rochester. Dr. Batsis was a faculty member at the Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth from 2008-2020, and currently is a faculty member in the Division of Geriatric Medicine at the University of North Carolina providing primary care to older adults with multimorbidity and frailty.
Dr. Batsis’ research explores the use of technology to improve health in older adults. Specifically, he is a Team Scientist, working with Computer Scientists and Engineers on device development for health promotion. He has recently completed a number of clinical trials in evaluating the impact of weight loss interventions in older adults on physical function in older adults and has over 130 peer reviewed publications. He is funded by the National Institute on Aging (National Institutes of Health) on such projects. Dr. Batsis is an active clinical collaborator with transdisciplinary groups across the country, and is a fellow of the American College of Physicians, the American Geriatrics Society, the Obesity Society and the Gerontological Society of America. He has received a number of clinical and research accolades. He is an active member on the Research Committees of the Gerontological Society of America and the American Geriatrics Society.
Selected Publications
- Batsis JA, Petersen CL, Clark MM, Cook SB, Lopez-Jimenez F, Al-Nimr RI, Pidgeon D, Kotz D, Mackenzie TA, Bartels SJ. A weight-loss intervention augmented by a wearable device in rural older adults with obesity: A feasibility study. J Gerontol A Biol Sci Med Sci. 2021 Jan 1;76(1):95-100. doi: 10.1093/gerona/glaa115. PMID: 32384144; PMCID: PMC7756700.
- Petersen CL, Halter R, Kotz D, Loeb L, Cook S, Pidgeon D, Christensen BC, Batsis JA. Using natural language processing and sentiment analysis to augment traditional user-centered design: Development and usability study. JMIR Mhealth Uhealth. 2020 Aug 7;8(8):e16862. doi: 10.2196/16862. PMID: 32540843.
- Finley DJ, Fay KA, Batsis JA, Stevens CJ, Sacks OA, Darabos C, Cook SB, Lyons KD. A feasibility study of an unsupervised, pre-operative exercise program for adults with lung cancer. Eur J Cancer Care (Engl). 2020 Jul;29(4):e13254. doi: 10.1111/ecc.13254. PMID: 32469129.
- Boateng G, Motti VG, Mishra V, Batsis JA, Hester J, Kotz D. Experience: Design, development and evaluation of a wearable device for mHealth applications. The 25th Annual International Conference on Mobile Computing and Networking (MobiCom '19); 2019 October; Los Cabos, Mexico. New York: ACM; 2012. Article 31. pp. 1- 14.
- Batsis JA, Boateng GG, Seo LM, Petersen CL, Fortuna KL, Wechsler EV, Peterson RJ, Cook SB, Pidgeon D, Dokko RS, Halter RJ, Kotz DF. Development and usability assessment of a connected resistance exercise band application for strength-monitoring. Int J Mechanical Mechantronics Engineering. 2019;13(5):340-348. doi: 10.5281/zenodo. PMID: 31205628.
- Petersen CL, Wechsler EV, Halter RJ, Boateng GG, Proctor PO, Kotz DF, Cook SB, Batsis JA. Detection and monitoring of repetitions using an mhealth-enabled resistance band. IEEE Int Conf Connect Health Appl Syst Eng Technol. 2018 Sep;2018:22-24. PMID: 30984918; PMCID: PMC6456081.
- Batsis JA, Zagaria A, Kotz DF, Bartels SJ, Boateng GG, Proctor PO, Halter RJ, Carpenter-Song EA. Usability evaluation for the Amulet wearable device in rural older adults with obesity. Gerontechnology. 2018 Sep;17(3):151-159. doi: 10.4017/gt.2018.17.3.003.00. PMID: 30631251; PMCID: PMC6322690.
- Batsis JA, Villareal DT. Sarcopenic obesity in older adults: Aetiology, epidemiology and treatment strategies. Nat Rev Endocrinol. 2018 Sep;14(9):513-537. doi: 10.1038/s41574-018-0062-9. PMID: 30065268; PMCID: PMC6241236.
- Boateng G, Batsis JA, Proctor P, Halter R, Kotz D. GeriActive: Wearable app for monitoring and encouraging physical activity among older adults. Int Conf Wearable Implant Body Sens Netw. 2018 Mar;2018:46-49. doi: 10.1109/BSN.2018.8329655. PMID: 29750202. PMCID: PMC5937929.
- Batsis JA, Naslund JA, Gill LE, Masutani RK, Agarwal N, Bartels SJ. Use of a wearable activity device in rural older obese adults: A pilot study. Gerontol Geriatr Med. 2016 Nov 21;2:2333721416678076. doi: 10.1177/2333721416678076. eCollection 2016 Jan-Dec. PMID: 28138502. PMCID:PMC5120773.
- Batsis JA, Gill LE, Masutani RK, Adachi-Mejia AM, Blunt HB, Bagley PJ, Lopez-Jimenez F, Bartels SJ. Weight loss interventions in older adults with obesity: A systematic review of randomized controlled trials since 2005. J Am Geriatr Soc. 2017 Feb;65(2):257-268. doi: 10.1111/jgs.14514. Epub 2016 Sep 19. PMID: 27641543; PMCID: PMC5414418.