Alison Okada Wollitzer, Ph.D. joined Sansum Diabetes Research Institute in 1987. Dr. Wollitzer serves as Director of Research Administration and Operations and is responsible for contracts and grants, regulatory affairs, human resources, safety, and general operations. She collaborates with senior investigators on numerous studies and projects, including those focusing on type 2 diabetes in youth, obesity in children, diabetes in pregnancy, and outreach to the underserved local population with and at risk for diabetes. She has served on the Cottage Hospital Institutional Review Board since 1989, and was a charter member of Partners for Fit Youth and the Coalition for Community Wellness.
Dr. Wollitzer holds a B.A. in psychology from the University of California, Berkeley and a Diplôme des Hautes Etudes in Experimental Psychology from the University of Paris. She earned a Ph.D. in Adult Development and Family Studies with a minor in Epidemiology from The Pennsylvania State University. She was a National Institute of Aging Fellow and received the Ruth Young Boucke Award for Outstanding Graduate Scholar. Previously, she held positions in the Department of Family Medicine, University of California, San Francisco; the M.D./M.P.H. program, School of Public Health, University of California, Berkeley; Institute of Human Development, University of California, Berkeley; and Cottage Health System. She is the developer of a nationally marketed software program for institutional review boards.