Endocrinology & Metabolism

John Wysolmerski, MD, Section Chief

Silvio Inzucchi, MD, Clinical Chief

Yale Obesity Research Center

YSM Dean Nancy J. Brown, MD, announced the establishment of the Yale Obesity Research Center in March 2023. Led by Ania Jastreboff, MD, PhD, the center aims to improve the lives of persons with obesity through cutting-edge research that facilitates the development and application of novel therapies. The center’s research targets such obesity-related diseases as type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and certain types of cancer.

Program for Mitochondrial Biology and Intermediary Metabolism

Launched by Richard Kibbey, MD, PhD, in January 2023, the Program for Mitochondrial Biology and Intermediary Metabolism brings together investigators of all aspects of metabolism to research the fundamental mechanisms of mitochondrial metabolism and chemical biology. The crosscutting program aims to improve collaboration, provide education, promote publications, offer innovative technologies, and obtain funding.

Karl Insogna Retires From Clinical Duties

Karl Insogna, MD, touched many lives through his laboratory and clinical practice throughout his 40-year career. He is credited with advances in treating several skeletal diseases, including osteoporosis and X-linked hypophosphatemia. On July 1, 2023, Insogna became the Ensign Professor Emeritus of Medicine (Endocrinology) and officially hung up his stethoscope.

New Faculty

The section welcomed Carolina Gonzalez-Lopez, MD, as an instructor of medicine in October 2023. She was previously a Yale clinical fellow in endocrinology. Sachin Majumdar Jr., MD, also joined the section in 2023 as the director of the Smilow Endocrine Neoplasia Program.

Research

A Phase III clinical trial showed that preserving insulin-producing beta cells is just one of the benefits of teplizumab, a monoclonal antibody. Led by Kevan Herold, MD, the trial also suggested improvements in other clinical parameters, including reduced reliance on insulin medications, higher-grade hypoglycemia, glucose time in range, and overall quality of life.

A study led by Mireille Serlie, MD, PhD, found that while detecting nutrients in the stomach induces brain activity changes in lean people, such brain responses are diminished mainly in people with obesity. These differences in brain activity may help explain why some people have difficulty losing weight and maintaining weight loss.

Kasia Lipska, MD, MHS, and researchers demonstrated a systematic approach to weighing the pros and cons of adjusting for social risk factors to measure clinician quality. The approach led to a consensus to adjust this measure for three social risk factors: low Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality Socioeconomic Status Index; low physician-specialist density; and Medicare-Medicaid dual eligibility.

A team led by Gerald I. Shulman, MD, PhD, identified a new process that shows promise in delaying the development of liver fibrosis in patients with nonalcoholic steatohepatitis or nonalcoholic fatty liver disease.

Silvio Inzucchi, MD, led a subgroup analysis of the Dapagliflozin Evaluation to Improve the Lives of Patients with Preserved Ejection Fraction Heart Failure (DELIVER) trial, showing that in patients with heart failure with mildly reduced or preserved ejection fraction, oral dapagliflozin (Farxiga) improved outcomes in those with normoglycaemia, prediabetes, and type 2 diabetes.

Honors and Awards

Diana Athonvarangkul, MD, PhD, received a 2023 Young Investigator Award from the American Society for Bone and Mineral Research, and a KL2 Scholar Award from the Yale Center for Clinical Investigation (YCCI).

Ania Jastreboff, MD, PhD, received the Clinician of the Year Award from The Obesity Society. Jastreboff leads research into the rapidly changing landscape of anti-obesity pharmacotherapy.

Ana Luisa Perdigoto, MD, PhD, received a K08 Career Development Award from the National Cancer Institute for her study “Elucidating Mechanisms of Checkpoint Inhibitor-induced Diabetes.”

Rachel Jamison Perry, PhD, received the Endocrinology and Metabolism Section’s New Investigator Award from the American Physiological Society (APS). Perry researches the links between obesity, metabolism, and cancer.

Elizabeth Sanchez Rangel, MD, received a K23 award from the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK) to support her work to determine whether improving glycemic control in poorly controlled type 2 diabetic subjects will restore glucose brain transport kinetics. She will use classic metabolic studies methodology and state-of-the-art brain nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy techniques to obtain her data.

Gerald I. Shulman, MD, PhD, received the 2023 European Association for the Study of Diabetes–Lilly Centennial Anniversary Prize. The award recognizes individual researchers who have made landmark achievements in the pathogenesis of diabetes. Shulman also received renewed funding from the NIDDK to support the Yale Center for Metabolic Phenotyping in Live Models of Obesity and Diabetes (Yale MPMOD).

In Memoriam

Robert S. Sherwin, MD, died on March 31, 2023, at age 80. He was a world-renowned endocrinologist and diabetes researcher who oversaw the growth of clinical and translational research at Yale, and a mentor known for his kindness, warmth, patience, and generosity.

Rosa Hendler, MD, a physician-scientist who worked closely with Sherwin throughout her career, passed away on October 22, 2023.