Research Training

The Division of Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolism provides clinical research experience for M.D. fellows and bench experience for M.D. and/or Ph.D. fellows and graduate students. Programs and their emphasis are listed below. 

Research Programs

Laurence M. Demers, Ph.D.
As Director of the Core Endocrine Lab, I develop and evaluate methods to optimize accuracy and cost effectiveness of endocrine tests. Other research efforts are currently directed at breast cancer and metabolic bone disease. Breast cancer studies include the clinical evaluation of aromatase inhibitors as second line therapy in patients with postmenopausal breast cancer and the evaluation of estrogen sensitive cell signaling markers of tumor cell growth and metastases. Research in metabolic bone disease includes the evaluation of new biochemical markers of bone turnover to monitor patients with metastatic bone disease and osteoporosis.

Chris Fan, M.D.
Clinical research is directed toward growth hormone replacement in adults. A possible link between idiopathic growth hormone deficiency and physiologic stress is being examined.

Robert A. Gabbay, M.D., Ph.D.
My research focuses on examining new ways to improve the care for patients with diabetes.  We are conducting an NIH-funded three-year clinical trial evaluating the impact of a nurse care management intervention to assist in primary care clinic sites to help patients achieve optimal diabetes outcomes. A new technique to foster behavior change, motivational interviewing, will be an important component of the intervention.  A study is also underway to look at the effect of improving blood glucose control in diabetic patients undergoing coronary artery angioplasty. Several clinical trials are also aimed at examining new drug treatments for diabetes. I continue to be involved in studies evaluating non-invasive ways of measuring blood glucose without the use of needles.  The use of telemedicine in improving diabetes care is also being studied in a randomized controlled trial. I serve on the editorial board of Diabetes Technology and Therapeutics. Finally, we are collaborating with several other investigators here at Penn State College of Medicine and at Penn State University in University Park to develop a comprehensive Penn State Diabetes Center.

Andrea Manni, M.D.
My NIH-funded research addresses the cellular mechanisms controlling breast cancer development, progression and proliferation. My laboratory has shown that polyamines play a fundamental role in breast cancer biology, including metastasis. Inhibitors of polyamine synthesis block breast cancer metastasis in mice and may be used in humans. Finally, we are conducting in vitro basic studies aimed at elucidating the mechanisms of action of polyamines on breast cancer. The results of these experiments could provide a rationale for targeting the polyamine pathway in breast cancer treatment and chemoprevention.

Claudia Gragnoli, M.D., Ph.D.
Our research team is working on the identification of chromosomal loci and genes responsible for early-onset/late onset type 2 diabetes and for other complex polygenic disorders such as polycystic ovary syndrome, obesity, hypertension, dyslipidemia, anxiety and depression.  Monogenic disorders such as MODY (maturity-onset of the young) are also studied.  Our approach is based on parametric and non-parametric linkage and association studies as well as on molecular studies in vitro to establish the biological relevance of gene variants identified in patients.

Michael F. Verderame, Ph.D.
During normal growth and development, every cell responds appropriately to the signals from its environment. Processing of this information (known as signal transduction) is frequently disrupted in cancer.

Supported by a grant from the Pennsylvania Department of Health, my laboratory has focused on signal transduction in breast cancer. The protein tyrosine kinase HER2 is known to be critical for continued growth of a substantial fraction of human breast cancers. Current efforts are designed to understand the role of HER2 in normal breast cells. We use a three-dimensional culture system that more closely resembles normal tissue. This system will ultimately allow us to understand the role of HER2 in breast cancer, and identify critical targets for future drug development.

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