Endocrine Investigators
About
Our clinical faculty members have a wide range of clinical and research interests, and the division has active research programs with state-of-the-art facilities. Please explore the links below to discover the research in some of our Endocrine labs.
Eugene J. Barrett, MD, PhD
Primary Appointment:
Professor, Department of Medicine, Division of Endocrinology and Metabolism (secondary appointment in Pediatrics)
Director, UVA Diabetes Center
Past President, American Diabetes Association
Research Interests:
Inflammation, fibrosis, the progression of kidney disease, acute kidney injury
Ananda Basu. MD MBBS and Rita Basu, MD
The Integrated Carbohydrate Physiology and Translation Laboratory of Ananda Basu, M.B.B.S., M.D., and Rita Basu, M.D., focuses on understanding the integrative physiology of glucose metabolism in people with diabetes and people without diabetes.
Research Interests:
- The pathophysiology of prediabetes, type 1 diabetes, type 2 diabetes, and hypoglycemia
- The role of excess cortisol and carotid bodies in regulating blood glucose in people with and without diabetes
- The biology of metabolic syndrome
- Understanding subcutaneous glucose transport and continuous subcutaneous glucose sensing in type 1 diabetes
- Accelerating closed-loop control for the development of an artificial pancreas for type 1 diabetes that will deliver insulin automatically and with an individualized precision never before possible
Sue Brown, MD
Primary Appointment:
Professor of Medicine, Endocrinology, and Metabolism
Research Interests:
Treatment options for type 1 diabetes with a focus on automated insulin delivery systems.
Robert Carey, MD, MACP
Primary Appointment:
Professor of Medicine
Dean Emeritus, School of Medicine, University of Virginia
David A. Harrison III Distinguished Professor of Medicine
Research Interests:
Dr. Carey’s research is focused on understanding the pathophysiologic mechanisms of hypertension. He is studying the function of dopamine and angiotensin receptors in the kidney, heart, and peripheral blood vessels. His laboratory has pioneered the discovery of the function of renal D1-like receptors and angiotensin AT-2 receptors. Current projects involve the role of AT-2 receptors in sodium excretion and hypertension, the interaction of dopamine receptors with angiotensin receptors within the kidney, and the role of extracellular renal cyclic GMP in pressure-natriuresis.
Silas Culver, MD
Primary Appointment:
Assistant Professor of Medicine, Endocrinology, and Metabolism
Research Interests:
- The role of ATP6AP2 in renal lipotoxicity (fatty kidney) in the setting of metabolic syndrome, including fatty acid uptake and lipid metabolism.
- The function of ATP6AP2 in proximal tubule transport of metabolites.
- The regulation of renal sodium retention and its effects on blood pressure during obesity.
- The role of ATP6AP2 in adipose tissue lipid accumulation and metabolic dysfunction.
Leon S. Farhi, PhD
Primary Appointment:
Associate Professor of Research, Medicine: Endocrinology and Metabolism
Research Interests:
Understanding the mechanisms that regulate glucagon secretion, glucose homeostasis, and growth hormone release. Mathematical modeling of hormone networks. Diabetes, hypoglycemia, artificial pancreas technology.
Heather Ferris, MD, PhD
Primary Appointment:
Assistant Professor of Medicine, Department of Medicine
Clinical Investigator in Residence, Department of Neuroscience
Research Interests:
People with Type 2 diabetes are at increased risk for cognitive decline and Alzheimer’s. Our research uses cell and animal models to study the impact of diabetes on the brain. In particular, we are interested in:
- How insulin regulates cholesterol synthesis in the different cell types of the brain and how this impacts brain energetics and function.
- The potential role of oxidized cholesterol species as signaling molecules in the brain in diabetes and Alzheimer’s disease.
- Understanding the role of insulin in the pathogenesis of Alzheimer’s disease.
Daniel J. Haisenleder, PhD
Primary Appointment:
Associate Professor of Research, Medicine: Cardiovascular Medicine
Research Interests:
Regulation of pituitary gene expression.
Thurl Harris, PhD
Primary Appointment:
Associate Professor and Director of Graduate Studies, Pharmacology
Research Interests:
Molecular mechanisms controlling insulin signaling and fat synthesis.
William B. Horton, MD, MSc, FACP
Primary Appointment:
Assistant Professor of Medicine, Endocrinology, and Metabolism
Research Interests:
Epidemiological data indicate that people with type 1 diabetes (T1D) have 8-13 years shorter lifespans than the general population. Similarly, people with T1D have a substantial excess rate of cardiovascular events that occur more than a decade earlier than in the general population. Years of high and variable glucose levels accelerate the journey towards cardiovascular disease (CVD) in T1D. Despite this increased cardiovascular risk, the pathophysiology driving the relationship between CVD and T1D is poorly understood. While interventions that improve mean glycemic, blood pressure, and lipid control have reduced rates of vascular complications, the difference in CVD risk between persons with T1D and the general population endures, unexplained by conventional risk factors. These data suggest that factors independent of hemoglobin A1c normalization drive T1D CVD outcomes. One potential explanation for this is glycemic variability. People with type 1 diabetes experience frequent and wide glycemic excursions (including both hypo- and hyperglycemic excursions) on a near daily basis. Emerging evidence has found that glycemic variability predicts cardiovascular events and mortality in multiple patient populations. We are interested in defining the pathophysiologic mechanisms whereby glycemic variability contributes to CVD in T1D. We are also interested in determining whether therapies that reduce glycemic variability in T1D (i.e., closed-loop artificial pancreas systems) improve cardiovascular health.
Susanna Keller, MD
Primary Appointment:
- Associate Professor of Medicine, Endocrinology, and Metabolism (primary)
- Associate Professor of Cell Biology (secondary)
- Director, UVA Diabetes Center Animal and Cell Characterization Core
Research Interests:
- Insulin signaling
- Insulin-regulated membrane trafficking and associated changes in cellular function and whole body physiology
Su Hee Kim, MD
Primary Appointment:
Assistant Professor of Medicine, Endocrinology, and Metabolism
Research Interests:
- Determining the relative contributions of the predictors of hyperandrogenism in older vs. young women with PCOS
- Determining the relative desirability of metformin vs. oral contraceptives in treating PCOS in women of late reproductive age
Zhenqi Liu, MD
Primary Appointment:
- James M. Moss Professor of Diabetes
- Professor of Medicine
- Past Chief (2012 – 2021), Division of Endocrinology and Metabolism
Research Interests:
My laboratory has long been interested in insulin action in health and diabetes. Currently, the primary focus is on regulating insulin action in the vasculature and its relation to insulin’s metabolic action and the cardiovascular complications of diabetes. We use a variety of rodent models and cultured cells to study the mechanisms of insulin action and conduct clinical research studies in humans with or without diabetes to see how insulin’s vascular actions are regulated in humans with or without insulin resistance and diabetes.
Kaitlin Love, MD
Primary Appointment:
Medicine: Endocrinology and Metabolism
Research Interests:
Vascular dysfunction and insulin resistance in type 1 diabetes
Christopher R. McCartney, MD
Primary Appointment:
Professor of Medicine, Endocrinology, and Metabolism
Research Interests:
Reproductive neuroendocrinology and polycystic ovary syndrome.
Helmy M. Siragy, MD, FACP, FAHA
Primary Appointment:
Professor of Medicine and Endocrinology
Research Interests:
Dr. Helmy M. Siragy developed the microdialysis technique, which led to a Golden Age of revolutionary discoveries about the nature of angiotensin receptors and renal paracrine hormones.
The lab focuses on the biology and pathophysiology of angiotensin subtype receptors in the cardiovascular system. Currently, the lab is conducting pioneering translational research that has a major clinical impact and is related to cardiac ischemia, diabetic kidney disease, local tissue production of aldosterone, and its paracrine functions in the kidney and heart.