Research in Pediatric Endocrinology

Dr. Gregg’s research interest include early life determinants of risk for type 2 diabetes risk.

The research focus of Dr. Kasa-Vubu's laboratory centers on the interface between energy balance and reproductive function in lean adolescent women. Her studies focus on understanding the impact of the stress axis on the development of the endocrine aberrations associated with the "Athlete's Triad". The ultimate goal is to develop useful and practical paradigms to diagnose over-training, and optimize the beneficial effects of exercise while preventing osteoporosis in this vulnerable population.

Dr Kasa-Vubu’s research also focuses on the other end of the weight spectrum, obese adolescent girls who are increasing at an alarming rate. The insulin resistance inherent to obesity challenges their fertility potential while increasing their long-term risk for heart disease. Her laboratory investigates how insulin resistance alters reproductive function in pubertal young women and what are the best ways to preserve reproductive function while optimizing cardiovascular outcomes and decreasing the risk for diabetes.

The research emphasis of Dr. Menon’s laboratory is to understand the role of the growth hormone/growth hormone receptor axis in health and disease.  The projects currently underway focus on the identification and characterization of the molecular mechanisms regulating expression of the murine growth hormone receptor (GHR) gene in diabetes mellitus.

The experimental approaches being used include in vitro and in vivo genetic experiments. In collaboration with Drs. Mark Sperling, University of Pittsburgh and Derek LeRoith, National Institute of Health, his laboratory is also developing a model for studying the role of the GH/GHR in the intact animal using the strategy of CRE-LOX mediated targeted disruption of the GHR gene. Other areas of research relate to the functional analysis of a novel member of the insulin family of proteins that Dr. Menon’s laboratory had recently cloned.

View Dr. Vazquez's laboratory website.  Dr. Vazquez's research focuses on pre-clinical and clinical studies. Her pre-clinical research program investigates the effect of early life stress on the neurobiological circuits that are thought to play a role in psychopathology and in vulnerability to substance abuse. Neuroanatomical and molecular biology methods are used to study the stress axis brain elements and the brain circuitry related to inhibition of the stress system in the post-natal and post-weaning period. In addition, her laboratory studies the developmental trajectory of genes that may be linked to individual differences in stress responsiveness and anxiety-like behavior.

Dr Vazquez has also pursued her interest on the effect of stress on growth and is developing an animal model to understand psychosocial dwarfism. Her clinical studies focus on understanding the pathophysiology of stress-induced growth failure in children. In collaboration with child and adult psychiatrists she studies children with psychosocial growth failure. She has recently started longitudinal studies investigating the development of the adrenocortical response in infants of depressed mothers, infants with emotional dysregulation, children with high levels of aggression, and in bereaved children.

Research in the Singer Lab is focused on understanding the influence of diet-induced obesity on hematopoiesis and the generation of activated macrophages that lead to metabolic disease. Current projects in the laboratory focus on (1) sexually dimorphic inflammatory responses to high fat diet and (2) Mechanisms driving hematopoietic stem cell myeloid differentiation after high fat diet exposure.

This work in mouse models uses bone marrow transplantation, stem-cell analysis techniques, and metabolic profiling. Understanding the immune physiology after high fat diet exposure in mice and translating these findings to pediatric obesity will lead to future therapeutic and dietary interventions.

Dr. Thomas’ research interest is in osteogenesis imperfect and endocrine sequela of childhood cancer.