Thomas O. Carpenter, MD, is one of five recipients of the 2022 Yale Medicine Distinguished Clinical Career Award. The award was created in 2020 to recognize and honor the careers of physicians marked by significant accomplishments, exemplary dedication, and important contributions in advancing Yale Medicine, the overall medical profession, and the community.
Dr. Carpenter joined the Yale faculty in 1986 as a pediatric endocrinologist and has become internationally renowned for his work on X-linked hypophosphatemia, a rare genetic condition that affects bones, muscles, and teeth due to an excessive loss of phosphate. He created and has directed the Yale Center for X-linked Hypophosphatemia since 2006, a program that attracts families from around the world. Dr. Carpenter has conducted critically important studies characterizing the mechanisms and pathophysiology of rickets in this disorder, led the field in developing the standards of care for its chronic treatment, and continues to investigate novel and increasingly more innovative therapies and has translated these research discoveries into effective clinical programs. He is a fellow of the American Society of Bone and Mineral Research and the incoming president of the Pediatric Endocrine Society, and has served on advisory panels to the NIH and FDA.
Throughout his career, Dr. Carpenter has been a consummate clinician and teacher. He served as director of the Pediatric Endocrinology Fellowship Program for more than 20 years, and mentored dozens of fellows during this period. Fellows consistently rate his clinic rotations as their favorite. Among his many other roles, Dr. Carpenter chairs both the Pediatric Departmental Appointments and Promotions Committee and the Pediatric Protocol Review Committee, and is a champion of furthering the careers of faculty in the department. He cares deeply about the patients and families under his care; the students, residents, and fellows under his supervision; and his colleagues and collaborators both within and outside the institution.