Danna Kashlan, MD, MPH

Danna Kashlan, MD, MPH, is an Assistant Professor of Medicine in the Division of General Internal Medicine at Johns Hopkins, specializing in obesity medicine. She sees patients in the Johns Hopkins Healthful Eating, Activity & Weight Program (HEAWP), where she provides comprehensive, evidence-based weight management, including lifestyle counseling, anti-obesity medications such as GLP-1 therapies, body composition and metabolic assessment, and referral for bariatric surgery when appropriate.

Dr. Kashlan completed her undergraduate studies at Loyola University Chicago and earned her Master of Public Health from the American University of Beirut, with a concentration in Health Promotion and Community Health and a certificate in Health in Protracted Crises and Conflict. She received her medical degree from St. George’s University of London, completed her Internal Medicine residency at Advocate Illinois Masonic Medical Center in Chicago, and completed fellowship training in obesity medicine at Johns Hopkins.

Her research focuses on GLP-1 therapies, digital health and health misinformation, including how patients encounter obesity treatment information on social media and how AI tools can support lifestyle counseling. She also shares evidence-based education on obesity medicine and GLP-1 medications with a social media audience of more than 46,000 followers as @obesitydrdannak.

TAG-MS (Johns Hopkins investigator-initiated trial): GLP-1 receptor agonist therapy in patients with multiple sclerosis. Dr. Kashlan provides structured telemedicine-based lifestyle counseling to study participants through the Johns Hopkins Healthful Eating, Activity & Weight Program.

• GLP-1 and anti-obesity medications, Health misinformation and social media, AI and digital health in lifestyle counseling, Body composition and metabolic assessment

Dr. Kashlan’s research examines how patients learn about and use obesity treatments in a digital world. Her cross-sectional content analysis of GLP-1 medication videos on TikTok, accepted for publication in Obesity, characterized who creates the most-viewed content and how often it is misleading. She is leading a study evaluating whether general-purpose large language models (ChatGPT, Claude, and Gemini) give accurate, guideline-concordant nutrition and exercise counseling to patients taking GLP-1 medications. She also serves as Lifestyle Counseling Clinician on TAG-MS, a Johns Hopkins investigator-initiated trial of GLP-1 receptor agonists in people with multiple sclerosis.

• Kashlan D, Chao A, Jaiswal R, Vaidya N, Miao G, Jazayerli C. Who Shapes the GLP-1 Narrative on TikTok? A Cross-Sectional Content Analysis of Search Results. Obesity. In press.
• Kashlan D, Chaudhry Z. Weight gain and obesity management in people with HIV: pathophysiology, antiretroviral therapy effects, and clinical strategies. Top Antivir Med. 2026;34(3):533–544.
• Abdul-Khalek R, Kayyal W, Akkawi AR, et al. Health-related articles on Syria before and after the start of armed conflict: a scoping review for the Lancet–American University of Beirut Commission on Syria. Conflict and Health. 2020;14(1):73.

• Co-author, PEAC (Physician Education and Assessment Center) module, Obesity and Overweight: Diagnosis and Management; author of the Physical Activity section. Johns Hopkins, 2026.
• Developer, obesity medicine training tool for internal medicine residents (pharmacotherapy, lifestyle counseling, and stigma reduction), Advocate Illinois Masonic Medical Center, 2025.

• Physician panelist, Weight-Inclusive Care Panel, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, November 2026
• Who Shapes the GLP-1 Narrative on TikTok? A Cross-Sectional Content Analysis. Poster, American Diabetes Association Scientific Sessions, New Orleans, LA, June 2026
• Case Presentation: GLP-1 Use in Type 1 Diabetes with Inflammatory Complications. ObesityLIVE Webinar Series, Cleveland Clinic, February 2026

• Obesity Medicine Association
• The Obesity Society
• Illinois Obesity Society
• Endocrine Society
• American Diabetes Association
• American College of Physicians
• Syrian American Medical Society
• National Arab American Medical Association

• Peer reviewer, International Journal of Obesity (2026) and Obesity Facts (2026)
• Presenter, Diabetes & Obesity Journal Club, Welch Center for Prevention, Epidemiology & Clinical Research (2025–present)
• Facilitator, Obesity Medicine Rounds, Johns Hopkins HEAWP (2025–2026)
• Small group facilitator, TIME Nutrition & Behavior Course, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine (2026)
• Physician-creator, @obesitydrdannak (TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, Substack): evidence-based education on obesity medicine and GLP-1 medications for more than 46,000 followers