Compassionate, Expert Care for Children and Adolescents With Hormone Disorders

Little boy undergoing thyroid ultrasound examination.

Department of Pediatrics Annual Report – 2024

Endocrinology, Diabetes, and Metabolism

2024 Pediatrics Annual Report banner

2024 marks the 20th year of our NIH-funded T32 training grant, one of only 10 in the country in Pediatric Endocrinology. We have had approximately 30 new publications, nine abstracts this year, and have led numerous presentations at national and international meetings. With our faculty caring for patients at the number one Children’s Hospital in New York, we remain at the forefront of pioneering new studies in Pediatric Endocrinology. 

Members of the Division of Endocrinology, Diabetes, and Metabolism (/about-us/divisions/endocrinology-diabetes-and-metabolism) conduct over 10,000 patient visits annually, providing comprehensive care for infants to young adults with endocrine disorders, including: 

  • Congenital adrenal hyperplasia 
  • Obesity 
  • Diabetes 
  • Disorders of the thyroid 

We are experts in disorders of growth, puberty, and neuroendocrine (pituitary gland) abnormalities. We are also pioneers in advances in disorders of bone metabolism. 

Clinical 

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 New York’s Congenital Adrenal Hyperplasia (CAH) and Newborn Thyroid screening programs 

Promotions 

Honors

Retirement  

  • Barney Softness, MD    
    • Transitioned to the role of Special Lecturer  
  • Gaya Aranoff  
    • Transitioned to the role of Special Lecturer

Major Grants

  • NIH/NIDDK, T-32 training grant (20th consecutive year). (Outstanding priority score for years 21-25, funding pending).  
  • NIH/NIDDK RADIANT Grant, Center for Identification and Study of Individuals with Atypical Diabetes Mellitus (9/10/2018-5/31/2024) 
  • NIH/NIDDK Skeletal Fragility in Type 1 Diabetes: Glycemic Control and Bone Strength (7/1/2019-6/30/2024) 
  • Pfizer Funded, Effects of In Utero SARS-CoV-2 Exposure on Infant Growth in the COVID-19 Mother Baby Outcomes (COMBO) Cohort (9/30/2021-6/2024) 
  • NIH/ NICHD Understanding Skeletal Growth Using Diffusion Tensor Imaging of the Physis and Metaphysis (4/01/2021-3/31/2026)  
  • NIH Using Diffusion Tensor Imaging to Evaluate Skeletal Growth (3/31/2021-3/31/2026) 
  • NIH NIDDK Establishing the Role of OCRL as a Novel Ciliary Gene in Weight Regulation in Human and Murine Models (R21) to Evaluate Skeletal Growth (08/2022-07/2025)  
  • AHA Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons COVID-19 Fund to Retain Clinician-Scientists Grants Program (03/2022-07/2023) 
  • Phizer, 2022 RD, US Growth Hormone Research Agouti-Related Peptide (AgRP) and the GH/IGF-1 Axis in Children (4/01/2023-3/31/2025)  
  • NICHD, The Presentation and Medical Course of PCOS in Adolescents in the United States (7/1/22 – 6/30/2024)    
  • Innovation Nucleation Fund Award, NextGen Chefs: Building Culinary Connoisseurs for Healthy Future Societies through Delicious Wholesome Home Cooking (2022-2024)  
  • Lawrence R Stanberry Ped Fellows Research Grant, Dissecting the Opposing Roles of the Notch1 and Notch2 Receptor in NASH ($3979) (7/1/2024-3/312026) 
  • NIH/ NIDDK, Skeletal Health in Youth with Type 1 Diabetes and Gender Diversity (9/1/2023-6/30/2024) 
  • Pediatric Endocrine Society, 2024 Research Fellowship Award (RFA) Dissecting the Role of Notch Receptors in Obesity-Driven Metabolic Disease (7/01/2024-6/30/2025)  

Selected Publications 

  • Weiner A, Zhang M, Ren S, Tchang B, Gandica R, Murillo J. Progression from prediabetes to type 2 diabetes mellitus in adolescents: a real-world experience. Front Clin Diabetes Healthc. 2023 May 9;4:1181729. doi: 10.3389/fcdhc.2023.1181729. PMID: 37228785; PMCID: PMC10204924. 
  • Burghard AC, Rahming V, Sonnett Fisher A, Zitsman J, Oberfield SE, Fennoy I. The Relationship Between Metabolic Comorbidities and Post-surgical Weight Loss Outcomes in Adolescents Undergoing Laparoscopic Sleeve Gastrectomy. Horm Res Paediatr. 2023 Jun 23. doi: 10.1159/000531655. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 37356432. 
  • Salama M, Balagopal B, Fennoy I, Kumar S. Childhood Obesity, Diabetes, and Cardiovascular Disease Risk. J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 2023 Jun 16:dgad361. doi: 10.1210/clinem/dgad361. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 37319430. 
  • Nichols P, Rahming V, Weiner A, Sopher AB. Primary Adrenal Insufficiency Masked by an Eating Disorder Diagnosis in an Adolescent Male. JCEM Case Rep. 2023 Aug 9;1(4):luad095. doi: 10.1210/jcemcr/luad095. PMID: 37564900; PMCID: PMC10410646. 
  • Zemel BS, Shepherd JA, Grant SFA, Lappe JM, Oberfield SE, Mitchell JA, Winer KK, Kelly A, Kalkwarf HJ. Reference ranges for body composition indices by dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry from the Bone Mineral Density in Childhood Study Cohort. Am J Clin Nutr. 2023 Oct;118(4):792-803. doi: 10.1016/j.ajcnut.2023.08.006. Epub 2023 Aug 19. PMID: 37598746. 
  • Tillotson CV, Becetti I, Hwu K, Page L, Krishnan S, Stafford D, Stanley T, Vuguin P, Barker JM. Pediatric Endocrinology Milestones 2.0-guide to their implementation. BMC Med Educ. 2023 Dec 20;23(1):985. doi: 10.1186/s12909-023-04862-5. PMID: 38124091; PMCID: PMC10734147. 
  • Miller KM, Bauza C, Kanapka LG, Clements MA, DeSalvo DJ, Hood K, Messer LH, Sherr J, Bergamo K, Criego A, Freiner E, Lyons SK, Monzavi R, Moore W, Prahalad P, Simmons JH, Sulik M, Wadwa RP, Weinstock RS, Willi SM, Williams KM, Laffel LM, and the CITY Study Group. Continuous Glucose Monitoring Provides Durable Glycemic Benefit in Adolescents and Young Adults with Type 1 Diabetes: 12-Month Follow-Up Results. Pediatric Diabetes, vol. 2023, Article ID 6718115, 12 pages, 2023. https://doi.org/10.1155/2023/6718115 
  • Chen-Patterson A, Bernier A, Burgert T, Davis V, Khan T, Geller D, Paprocki E, Shah R, Witchel SF, Pereira-Eshraghi C, Sopher AB, Cree MG, Torchen LC. Distinct Reproductive Phenotypes Segregate With Differences in Body Weight in Adolescent Polycystic Ovary Syndrome. J Endocr Soc. 2024 Jan 9;8(2):bvad169. doi: 10.1210/jendso/bvad169. PMID: 38213910; PMCID: PMC10783242. 
  • Foster SF, Rundle AG, Tsai I, Genkinger JM, Burns NR, Hoepner LA, Abrego MR, Dube S, Nichols AR, Ramirez-Carvey J, Oberfield SE, Hassoun A, Perera F, Widen EM. Postpartum Obesity Is Associated With Increases in Child Adiposity in Midchildhood in a Cohort of Black and Dominican Youth. Curr Dev Nutr. 2024 May 13;8(6):103770. doi: 10.1016/j.cdnut.2024.103770. PMID: 38948110; PMCID: PMC11214177. 
  • Sena C, Della Torre J, Garg E, Zheng H, Partida I, Thaker SK, Woo Baidal J, Shamsian DV, Rausch JC, Thaker VV. Psychological attributes and eating behaviors in 5- to 12-year-old children during periods of stress. Obesity (Silver Spring). 2024 Dec 16. doi: 10.1002/oby.24197. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 39682059.