My interest in pediatric medicine began with the idea that diseases can be prevented and managed in childhood to avoid complications as adults. My career and research now focus on the complications of chronic diseases that begin in childhood. Type 2 diabetes, cholesterol issues and blood pressure problems, once thought to be adult diseases, are also seen more and more often in young people.
Currently, my research focuses on prevention of diabetes and if diabetes develops, its long-term health consequences. With my work, I try to determine how diabetes may impact the heart, brain and blood vessels. I hope to understand how to prevent diabetes in adolescents and reduce health problems in the future.
I serve as the director of the Adolescent Type 2 Diabetes Program at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center. In this setting, my colleagues and I work as a team to discover the best medical and surgical treatments for youth with Type 2 diabetes. We have a comprehensive clinical team that includes gastroenterologists to assess for fatty liver disease, psychologists, nutritionists, certified diabetes educators and social workers. We also work with the bariatric surgery team to understand how bariatric surgery effects youth-onset Type 2 diabetes and its complications.
I have received several awards and honors, including:
BA: Biology, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX, 2000.
MD: St. George’s University Medical School, Grenada, West Indies, 2004.
Pediatric Residency: Loyola University Medical Center, Maywood, IL, 2007.
Endocrine Fellowship: Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center, Cincinnati, OH, 2010.
Research Fellowship: Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center, Cincinnati, OH, 2011.
MS: Clinical Research, The University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, OH, 2011.
Certifications: The American Board of Pediatrics, Subspeciality Board in Pediatric Endocrinology, Clinical Lipidology.
Type 2 diabetes; obesity; primary and secondary lipid disorders; hypertension; general endocrinology
Endocrinology
Type 2 diabetes; type 1 diabetes; cardiovascular risk factors; lipids and lipoproteins
Endocrinology
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Glycemia, Insulin Sensitivity, and Secretion Improve 3 Months Post-sleeve Gastrectomy in Youth With Type 2 Diabetes. Journal of the Endocrine Society. 2025; 9:bvaf020.
MODY Calculator and Clinical Features Routinely Used to Distinguish MODY From Type 2 Diabetes in Adults Perform Poorly for Youth Clinically Diagnosed With Type 2 Diabetes. Diabetes Care. 2025; 48:e3-e5.
ISPAD Clinical Practice Consensus Guidelines 2024: Type 2 Diabetes in Children and Adolescents. Hormone Research in Paediatrics: from developmental endocrinology to clinical research. 2024; 97:542-570.
APOA2 increases cholesterol efflux capacity to plasma HDL by displacing the C-terminus of resident APOA1. Journal of Lipid Research. 2024; 65:100686.
Clinical Prediction Models Combining Routine Clinical Measures Have High Accuracy in Identifying Youth-Onset Type 2 Diabetes Defined by Maintained Endogenous Insulin Secretion: The SEARCH for Diabetes in Youth Study. Diabetes Care. 2024; 47:2110-2119.
Variant level heritability estimates of type 2 diabetes in African Americans. Scientific Reports. 2024; 14:14009.
6448 Metabolic Profile and Adipose Tissue Distribution of Young Individuals with Turner Syndrome. Journal of the Endocrine Society. 2024; 8:bvae163.1484.
Health markers, depressive symptoms, and community deprivation in a type 2 diabetes multidisciplinary care clinic for youth. Clinical Diabetes and Endocrinology. 2024; 10:21.
Interventions for Children and Adolescents With High Body Mass Index-Implementing the Recommendations in Clinical Practice. JAMA network open. 2024; 7:e2418201.
1436-P: High Prevalence of Exocrine Pancreatic Dysfunction in Pediatric Subjects with Diabetes Mellitus. Diabetes. 2024; 73.
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