Department of Pediatrics Annual Report – 2020
Endocrinology, Diabetes, and Metabolism
Compassionate, expert care for children and adolescents with hormone disorders
Members of the Division of Endocrinology, Diabetes, and Metabolism conduct over 8,000 patient visits annually, providing comprehensive care for infants to young adults with issues including congenital adrenal hyperplasia, obesity, diabetes, and disorders of the thyroid, growth, puberty, bone, and pituitary gland. Through our clinical programs we:
- Provide endocrine care to obese adolescents who are considering or have undergone bariatric surgery at Columbia’s Adolescent Bariatric Surgery Program
- Evaluate and treat children with bone disease through our pediatric bone mineral density service
- Provide state-of-the-art care with nationally leading outcomes to children and adolescents with diabetes mellitus (DM) at The Naomi Berrie Diabetes Center. The center’s five pediatric endocrinologists, devoted specifically to DM, offer an insulin pump program and educational programs for children with DM, their families, and caregivers.
- Screen newborns as a designated site for the NYS Congenital Adrenal Hyperplasia (CAH) and Newborn Thyroid Screening programs
Research
We are committed to clinical research in diabetes, obesity, adolescent bariatric surgery, polycystic ovary syndrome, premature adrenarche, bone disorders, and infant growth and body composition (including the impact of COVID-19 on infant growth). The Berrie Center is involved in multiple national studies, including Trialnet and TODAY.
Education
Through our fellowship program we educate and train physician-scientists to be experts and leaders in the field. Fellows have the opportunity to participate in state-of-the-art patient care and high-quality research training, and have access to multiple university-based educational activities to enhance their research activities. Our ongoing NIH-sponsored T32 training grant, now entering its 16th year, provides funds for fellows to formulate and execute a research plan under the guidance of a mentor. Our mentors include world-renowned scientists who also have significant research funding.
New Appointments
- Camila Pereira-Eshraghi, MD, Instructor in Pediatrics
- Vidhu Thaker, MD, Assistant Professor of Pediatrics
Honors and Awards
Sharon E. Oberfield, MD
- Named President-Elect of the Pediatric Endocrine Society (formerly the Lawson-Wilkins Pediatric Endocrine Society), 2020
Ilene Fennoy, MD
- Bariatric surgery program (Dr. Fennoy co-director) awarded Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery Accreditation and Quality Improvement Program (MBSAQIP) accreditation as an Adolescent Center for Bariatric Surgery (one of six accredited programs in the U.S. and first in NYC)
Lauren Richter (Recent Graduate Fellow)
- Granted NYU Winthrop Hospital’s Metropolitan Endocrine Award—First Prize
Alyson Weiner (3rd-Year Fellow)
- Recipient of Pediatric Endocrine Society Rising Star Award
Patricia Vuguin, MD, MSc
- Elected Councilor to Eastern Society for Pediatric Research (ESPR)
Kristen Williams, MD
- Received Cystic Fibrosis Foundation EnVision: Emerging Leaders in CF Endocrinology Award
Major Grants
- Institutional Research Training Grant (T32) Training Grant in Pediatric Endocrinology, NIH/National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases; T32DK065522. Program Director/Principal Investigator: Sharon Oberfield.
- TRIGR: Trial to Reduce IDDM in the Genetically at Risk Study, NIH/National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases; 5T32 DK007328-3; Co-Investigator: Barney Softness.
- Hormones: Biochemistry and molecular biology, NIH/National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases; T32DK007328-40, Principal Investigator: Max Gottesman; Mentor: Sharon Oberfield.
- Short Term Training Grant NIH/NLHBI 5T35HL007616-33 Principal Investigators: Arthur Bank, Rudolph Leibel; Mentor: Sharon Oberfield.
- Immunogencity of Nutropin. Genetech. Principal Investigator: Ilene Fennoy.
- TODAY trial: Treatment options for type 2 diabetes in adolescents and youth. NIH/NIDDK; U01DK061230. Rudolph Leibel, Co-Investigator; Robin Goland, PI.
- Skeletal fragility in type 1 diabetes: Glycemic control and bone strength. NIH/National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases; 1R01DK122564-01. Co-Investigators: Aviva Sopher, Kristen Williams.
- EnVision CF: Emerging Leaders in CF Endocrinology II Program. Cystic Fibrosis Foundation. Principal Investigator: Kristen Williams.
Selected Publications
Wilkes M, Thornton J, Horlick M, Sopher A, Wang J, Widen EM, Pierson R, Gallagher D. Relationship of BMI z score to fat percent and fat mass in multiethnic prepubertal children. Pediatr Obes. 2019 Jan; 14(1). PMID: 30117308. PMCID: PMC6309265 [Available on 2020-01-01].
Cousminer DL, McCormack SE, Mitchell JA, Chesi A, Kindler JM, Kelly A, Voight BF, Kalkwarf HJ, Lappe JM, Shepherd JA, Oberfield SE, Gilsanz V, Zemel BS, Grant SFA. Postmenopausal osteoporotic fracture-associated COLIA1 variant impacts bone accretion in girls. Bone. 2019 Apr;121:2221-226.
Cowell WJ, Sjodin A, Jones R, Wang Y, Wang S, Whyatt RM, Factor-Litvak P, Bradwin G, Hassoun A, Oberfield S, Herbstman JB. Pre- and postnatal polybrominated diphenyl ether concentrations in relation to thyroid parameters measured during early childhood. Thyroid. 2019 May; 29(5): 631-641. PMID 30907253.
Wise-Oringer BK, Zanazzi GJ, Gordon RJ, Wardlaw SL, William C, Chung WK, Kohn B, Wisoff JH, David R, Oberfield SE. Familial X-linked acrogigantism: Postnatal outcomes and tumor pathology in a prenatally diagnosed infant and his mother. J Clin Endocrinol Metab, 2019 Jun; jc.2019-00817.
Krishna KB, Fuqua JS, Rogol AD, Klein K.O. Popovic J, Houk CP, Charmandari E, Lee PA. Section Authors: Freire Maria AV, Ropelato G, Yazid J, Mbogo J, Kanaka-Gantenbein C, Luo X, Eugster E, Kline K, Vogiatzi M, Reifschneider K, Bamba V, Garcia Rudaz C, Kaplowitz P, Backeljauw P, Allen DB, Palmert M, Harrington J, Guerra-Junior G, Stanley T, Torres Tamayo M, Bajpai A, Miranda Lora AL, Silverman L, Dayal A, Bamba V, Horikawa R, Miller B, Gyuricsko E, Oberfield S, Tajima T, Popovic J, Rogol A, Garcia Rudaz C, Witchel S, Rosenthal S, Finlayson C, Hannema SE, Castilla-Peon M-F, Vogiatzi M, Yazid Jalaudin M, Horikawa R, Reicq V, Guadalupe-Medina Bravo P. Gonadotropin-releasing hormone analogs (GnRHa) in children: Update by an international consortium. Horm Res Paediatr. 2019 Jul; 18:1-16.
Weiner A, Vuguin P. Diabetes insipidus. Pediatrics in Review. 2020 Feb; 41(2):96-99.
Pena AS, Witchel SF, Hoeger KM, Oberfield SE, Vogiatzi MG, Misso M, Garad Rhonda, Dabadghao P, Teede H. Adolescent polycystic ovary syndrome according to the international evidence-based guideline. Manuscript accepted for publication, BMC Med. 2020 Jan.
Baer TG, Agarwal S, Chen T, Chiuzan C, Sopher A, Tao R, Hassoun A, Shane E, Fennoy I, Oberfield S, Vuguin P. Deficits in bone geometry in growth hormone defiient prepubertal boys revealed by high resolution peripheral quantitative computed tomography (HR-pQCT). Horm Res Paediatr. 2020 Jan. Accepted for publication.
Highlights
Dr. Sharon Oberfield Named President-Elect of the Pediatric Endocrine Society
Sharon E. Oberfield, MD, Professor of Pediatrics and Director of Pediatric Endocrinology, Diabetes, and Metabolism at Columbia University Irving Medical Center, has been elected to lead the Pediatric Endocrine Society (PES).
When a Teenager's Irregular Periods Are Cause for Concern
One common cause is polycystic ovary syndrome, or PCOS, which is difficult to diagnose in adolescents.