Endocrinology

Our research programs continue to expand, now including 15 protocols for the study of disorders of growth, pubertal development, diabetes and body composition.

• Dr. Oberfield's projects focus on the interrelationships of androgens, growth factors and insulin sensitivity in premature adrenarche, polycystic ovarian syndrome, and children born to mothers with pregnancies complicated by diabetes. These studies are funded by industry and the NIH. Dr. Oberfield has been assigned the role of site principal investigator for an NICHD Bone Mine Density in Childhood Study.
  
  
• Dr. Oberfield, along with third year fellow Dr. Natasha Leibel, have just started a pilot study of the pattern of fat distribution in children with premature adrenarche, a possible link to development of the “metabolic syndrome” in adulthood.
  
  
• The Division has three projects that involve novel treatment of pediatric endocrine patients. Dr. Gallagher 's study of the "Effect of Growth Hormone and GnRH agonist Therapy on Height, Growth Velocity, Bone Mineral Accrual and Body Composition in Congenital Adrenal Hyperplasia" won a prize for Assistant Professors of Pediatrics. Dr. Fennoy continues to recruit boys with pubertal failure for a study on the efficacy of a new method for androgen therapy. The division will be part of a multicenter project on the efficacy of a newly available growth factor for treatment of growth disorders.
  
  
• In collaboration with the Naomi Berrie Diabetes Center, the Pediatric Endocrine Division has expanded its research related to type I diabetes, as well as to the epidemic of childhood obesity and accompanying type II diabetes. Second year fellow Dr. Nicole Sherry was awarded a three year fellowship training grant from the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation/Lawson Wilkins Pediatric Endocrine Society. She has started both animal and human studies of islet cell transplantation in the laboratory of Dr. K. Herald of the Naomi Berrie Diabetes Center. Drs. Vargas, Horlick, and Fennoy are co-investigators with Dr. Michael Rosenbaum in a study to test the effects of a unique school based diet and exercise program on risk factors for type II diabetes in Hispanic adolescents. This is supported by a grant from the Columbia Diabetes and Endocrinology Research Center. Dr. Fennoy will expand this study to schools in Harlem with African American students. Dr. Barney Softness and Dr. Robin Goland (co-director of the Naomi Berrie Diabetes Center), investigators in the multicenter TRIGR project, are recruiting infants for this trial to reduce type I diabetes in children who are genetically at risk. Dr. Softness is also a co-investigator with Dean Lamster of the Columbia University Dental School in a NIH sponsored oral health project for children and adolescents with type I diabetes.
  
  
• Dr. Shulamit Lerner was awarded a NIH K12 investigator grant for young investigators.  In her first post-fellowship year, she is performing state of the art research in the area of diabetic complication and the Receptor for Advanced Glycation End-Products (RAGE) in the laboratory of Dr. Ann Marie Schmidt.