An endocrinologist with NewYork-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medical Center pursues ongoing basic science and clinical investigations into the interactions between the endocrine system and how fructose drives obesity and affects cancer metabolism.

As COVID-19 cases continued to climb, so did the need to bolster the physician ranks by redeploying residents, fellows, and attendings. In the Division of Endocrinology at NewYork-Presbyterian/Columbia University Irving Medical Center, fellows volunteered to go where they were most needed.

Drs. Ortiz-Pujols and Tchang have been exploring the link between obesity and its association with a higher risk of developing severe symptoms and complications of COVID-19. Why are patients with obesity at higher risk of infection in general?

A large percentage of hospitalized patients with COVID-19 have diabetes. Many have hyperglycemia, increased insulin resistance, and even new presentations of diabetes

According to Dr. Lowe, there has been a three-fold increase in thyroid cancer over the past three decades, with more than 50,000 cases in the United States in 2018, mainly driven by the increased number of early-stage papillary thyroid cancers.

Dr. Goncalves has developed a mouse model that recapitulates the cachexia syndrome as they seek interventions – either dietary or metabolic – to help prevent muscle wasting and fat loss.

We found that insulin production decreases long before a patient is actually diagnosed with type 1 diabetes. Now that we know that a reduction in insulin production begins earlier on, we can diagnose T1D earlier in patients with antibody screening.

The New York Obesity Nutrition Research Center at Columbia University Irving Medical Center continues to pursue groundbreaking discoveries about the causes, complications, and treatment of obesity that are translating into effective interventions across the lifespan.