The image above represents the expertise, skills and passion of our members. They cover a vast array of research areas, from computational genomics to inpatient hyperglycemia prevention, islet biology to vascular therapeutics, stem-cell-based high content screening to adipogenesis, and novel obesity provider platforms to diabetes technologies. By bringing all of these skills and passions into the same conversation, we can make a difference in metabolic disease.
Job Openings
Several postdoctoral positions are available at the Weill Center for Metabolic Health. Detailed information is available here.
Selected publications from center members (2023-25)
Koundouros et al, and John Blenis. Direct sensing of dietary ω-6 linoleic acid through FABP5-mTORC1 signaling. Science 387, eadm9805 (2025). DOI:10.1126/science.adm9805.
Rubinelli et al, Olivier Elemento, Baran Ersoy, Annarita Di Lorenzo. Suppression of endothelial ceramide de novo biosynthesis by Nogo-B contributes to cardiometabolic diseases. Nat Commun. 16, Article number: 1968 (2025)
Itkin et al, David Redmond, and Shahin Rafii. Transcriptional activation of regenerative hematopoiesis via microenvironmental sensing. Nat Immunol 26, 378–390 (2025).
Li et al, Rebecca Craig-Schapiro, David Redmond, and Shahin Rafii. Vascularization of human islets by adaptable endothelium for durable and functional subcutaneous engraftment. Sci. Adv.11, eadq5302 (2025). DOI:10.1126/sciadv.adq5302.
Prescott et al, Risca VI*, Schwartz RE*, David Y* (*All corresponding authors). A nucleosome switch primes hepatitis B virus infection. Cell 188, 1–16 (2025)
Rebecca Craig-Schapiro, Li et al, Qiao Zhou, Shahin Rafii & David Redmond. Single-cell atlas of human pancreatic islet and acinar endothelial cells in health and diabetes. Nat Commun 16, 1338 (2025). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-024-55415-3.
Sun et al. and Greenblatt, M.B. A vertebral skeletal stem cell lineage driving metastasis. Nature 621, 602–609 (2023)
Aronne LJ, Sattar N, Horn DB, et al. Continued Treatment With Tirzepatide for Maintenance of Weight Reduction in Adults With Obesity: The SURMOUNT-4 Randomized Clinical Trial. JAMA. Published online December 11, 2023. doi:10.1001/jama.2023.24945
Luo et al and Huangfu D, Beer MA. Dynamic network-guided CRISPRi screen identifies CTCF-loop-constrained nonlinear enhancer gene regulatory activity during cell state transitions. Nat Genet. 55(8):1336-1346 (2023)
Rubio-Navarro et al. and Lo, J.C. A beta cell subset with enhanced insulin secretion and glucose metabolism is reduced in type 2 diabetes. Nat Cell Biol (2023).
Tang et al. and Chen, S. A multi-organoid platform identifies CIART as a key factor for SARS-CoV-2 infection. Nat Cell Biol 25, 381–389 (2023).
Yang et al, Schwartz RE, and Chen S. SARS-CoV-2 infection causes dopaminergic neuron senescence. Cell Stem Cell. 2024 Feb 1;31(2):196-211.e6.
Yang et al., Schwartz RE, and Chen S. Human vascularized macrophage-islet organoids to model immune-mediated pancreatic β cell pyroptosis upon viral infection. Cell Stem Cell. 2024 Aug 30:S1934-5909(24)00293-5.
Bhardwaj et al. and Brown, K.A. Obesity promotes breast epithelium DNA damage in women carrying a germline mutation in BRCA1 or BRCA2. Sci Transl Med 15, eade1857 (2023).
Touhamy et al, Alonso LC, Aronne LJ, Shukla AP. Carbohydrates-Last Food Order Improves Time in Range and Reduces Glycemic Variability. Diabetes Care. 2024 Dec 17:dc241956. doi: 10.2337/dc24-1956. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 39688621.
Sinha Gregory N, et al. and DCCT/EDIC Research Group. Diabetes Risk Factors and Bone Microarchitecture as Assessed by High-Resolution Peripheral Quantitative Computed Tomography in Adults With Long-Standing Type 1 Diabetes. Diabetes Care. 2023 Nov 29 PMID: 38029518.
Murphy et al. and Apostolou E. 3D Enhancer-promoter networks provide predictive features for gene expression and coregulation in early embryonic lineages. Nat Struct Mol Biol. 2023 Dec 5. PMID: 38053013.
Manzo et al, Elemento O and Di Lorenzo A. Rewiring Endothelial Sphingolipid Metabolism to Favor S1P Over Ceramide Protects From Coronary Atherosclerosis. Circ Res. 2024 Apr 12;134(8):990-1005.
Sinha S, Hassan N, Schwartz RE. Organelle stress and alterations in inter-organelle crosstalk during liver fibrosis. Hepatology (2023).
Stamateris et al., Sharma RB, Redmond D, Alonso LC. Noncanonical CDK4 signaling rescues diabetes in a mouse model by promoting β cell differentiation. J Clin Invest. 133(18):e166490 (2023)
Craig-Schapiro, R., et al. Shahin Rafii & David Redmond. Single-cell atlas of human pancreatic islet and acinar endothelial cells in health and diabetes. Nat Commun 16, 1338 (2025).
Matsui et al, McGraw TE, Lo JC & Pitt GS. Multiple beta cell-independent mechanisms drive hypoglycemia in Timothy syndrome. Nat Commun 15, 8980 (2024).
Gu et al, Rafii S, Zhou Q. A MTA2-SATB2 chromatin complex restrains colonic plasticity toward small intestine by retaining HNF4A at colonic chromatin. Nat Commun. 2024 Apr 27;15(1):3595. .
Altorki et al, Elemento O, McGraw TE. Neoadjuvant durvalumab plus radiation versus durvalumab alone in stages I-III non-small cell lung cancer: survival outcomes and molecular correlates of a randomized phase II trial. Nat Commun. 2023 Dec 19;14(1):8435.
Chong et al. Hao M, and Chen S. Checkpoint kinase 2 controls insulin secretion and glucose homeostasis. Nat Chem Biol. 2023 Nov 9. PMID: 37945898.
Altorki et al, Elemento O, and McGraw TE. A signature of enhanced proliferation associated with response and survival to anti-PD-L1 therapy in early-stage non-small cell lung cancer. Cell Rep Med. 2024 Mar 19;5(3):101438.
Li et al and Rafii S. Vascularization of human islets by adaptable endothelium for durable and functional subcutaneous engraftment. Sci Adv. 2025 Jan 31;11(5):eadq5302.
Sasset et al. and Di Lorenzo, A. Nogo-A reduces ceramide de novo biosynthesis to protect from heart failure. Cardiovasc Res 119(2):506-519 (2023)
Muntner et al. and Safford MM. Predicted Cardiovascular Risk by the PREVENT Equations in US Adults With Stage 1 Hypertension. Hypertension. 81(9):1976-1985 (2024)
Jacquet et al and Maxfield FR. Microglia degrade Alzheimer’s amyloid-beta deposits extracellularly via digestive exophagy. Cell Rep, 43 (12), 115052 (2024)
Lin et al. Schwartz RE, Ersoy BA, and Goncalves MD. Epinephrine inhibits PI3Kα via the Hippo kinases. Cell Rep. 42(12):113535, (2023)
Kudo et al. and Teruel MN. Context-dependent regulation of lipid accumulation in adipocytes by a HIF1α-PPARγ feedback network. Cell Syst. 2023 Dec 20;14(12):1074-1086.
Yammine et al., Goncalves MD, Lo JC, and McGraw TE. Spatiotemporal regulation of GIPR signaling impacts glucose homeostasis as revealed in studies of a common GIPR variant. Mol Metab. 2023 Dec;78:101831.
Ma et al. and Lo JC. Adipsin and Adipocyte-derived C3aR1 Regulate Thermogenic Fat in a Sex-dependent Fashion. JCI Insight. 2024 May 7:e178925.
Krishnan et al. and Safford MM. Perspectives of Black Adults Living with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease on Barriers to Cardiovascular Disease Prevention. Ann Am Thorac Soc. 2023 Dec 11.
Cortada et al and Lo JC. Cross-species single-cell RNA-seq analysis reveals disparate and conserved cardiac and extracardiac inflammatory responses upon heart injury. Commun Biol 7, 1611 (2024).
Grant et al and Safford MM. Patient Perceptions of Provider Race Concordance and Quality of Chronic Illness Care. J Gen Intern Med. 2025 Jan 22. doi: 10.1007/s11606-024-09025-w.
Homan et al and Lo JC. Complement 3a Receptor 1 on Macrophages and Kupffer cells is not required for the Pathogenesis of Metabolic Dysfunction-Associated Steatotic Liver Disease. Elife. 2025 Jan 08;13:RP100708.
Lin et al and Pitt GS. Interneuron FGF13 regulates seizure susceptibility via a sodium channel-independent mechanism. Elife. 2025 Jan 8;13:RP98661.
Levitan et al. and Safford MM. Myocardial infarction and physical function: the REasons for Geographic And Racial Differences in Stroke prospective cohort study. BMJ Public Health. 1(1):e000107. (2023)
Letian et al. and McGraw TE. Proximity proteome mapping reveals PD-L1-dependent pathways disrupted by anti-PD-L1 antibody specifically in EGFR-mutant lung cancer cells. Cell Commun Signal. 21(1):58. (2023)
Baquero et al and Gudas LJ. The transcription factor bmi1 increases hypoxic signaling in oral cavity epithelia. Biochim Biophys Acta Mol Basis Dis. 2024 Apr 8:167161.
Mere Del Aguila et al and Gudas LJ. Retinoic acid receptor-β deletion in a model of early pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) tumorigenesis. Am J Cancer Res. 2025 Jan 15;15(1):127-140. doi: 10.62347/XFOT8509.
Cung et al. and Greenblatt MB. The performance of artificial intelligence chatbot large language models to address skeletal biology and bone health queries. J Bone Miner Res. 2024
Melis et al and Gudas LJ. Retinoic Acid Receptor β Loss in Hepatocytes Increases Steatosis and Elevates the Integrated Stress Response in Alcohol-Associated Liver Disease. Int J Mol Sci. 24(15):12035 (2023)
Lucas E, Simmons O, Tchang B, Aronne L. Pharmacologic management of weight regain following bariatric surgery. Front Endocrinol (Lausanne). 2023 Jan 9;13:1043595.
Eljalby et al and Cohen P. Brown adipose tissue is not associated with cachexia or increased mortality in a retrospective study of patients with cancer. Am J Physiol Endocrinol Metab. 324(2):E144-E153 (2023)
Langer et al and Goncalves MD. The proteasome regulates body weight and systemic nutrient metabolism during fasting. Am J Physiol Endocrinol Metab. 325(5):E500-E512 (2023)
Morse et al. and Greenblatt MB. Development of Murine Anterior Interbody and Posterolateral Spinal Fusion Techniques. J Bone Joint Surg Am. 106(8):735-745 (2024)
Kubala et al. and Gudas LJ. NDUFA4L2 reduces mitochondrial respiration resulting in defective lysosomal trafficking in clear cell renal cell carcinoma. Cancer Biol Ther. 2023 Dec 31;24(1):2170669
Yallowitz, AR, Shim J, Xu R, Greenblatt, MB, An angiogenic approach to osteoanabolic therapy targeting the SHN3-SLIT3 pathway, Bone 172, 116761 (2023)
van der Mijn et al, Gudas LJ. Novel genetically engineered mouse models for clear cell renal cell carcinoma. Sci Rep. 2023 May 22;13(1):8246
Tchang BG, et al and Traina A. Effect of semaglutide 2.4 mg on use of antihypertensive and lipid-lowering treatment in five randomized controlled STEP trials. Obesity (Silver Spring). 2025 Jan 5. doi: 10.1002/oby.24202. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 39756397.
Zhao AS, Liu Y, Mulvey JJ, Tchang BG. Treatment of glucocorticoid-induced osteoporosis with concurrent denosumab and romosozumab: a case report. Osteoporos Int. 2024 Nov;35(11):2061-2068
Ray et al. and McGraw TE. Regulated dynamic subcellular GLUT4 localization revealed by proximal proteome mapping in human muscle cells. J Cell Sci. 2023 Dec 1;136(23):jcs261454.
Steinfeld N, Ma CJ, Maxfield FR. Signaling pathways regulating the extracellular digestion of lipoprotein aggregates by macrophages. Mol Biol Cell. 2024 Jan 1;35(1):ar5. doi: 10.1091/mbc.E23-06-0239. Epub 2023 Nov 1.
Choi JJ, Rosen MA, Shapiro MF, Safford MM. Towards diagnostic excellence on academic ward teams: building a conceptual model of team dynamics in the diagnostic process. Diagnosis (Berl). 2023 Aug 11. doi: 10.1515/dx-2023-0065.
Sosa et al. and Greenblatt MB. Capacity for large language model chatbots to aid in orthopedic management, research, and patient queries. J Orthop Res. 2024 Jan 21. doi: 10.1002/jor.25782. Epub ahead of print.
Kern et al. and Safford MM. Associations among claims-based care fragmentation, self-reported gaps in care coordination, and self-reported adverse events. BMC Health Serv Res. 2024 Sep 10;24(1):1045.
Blow et al. and Goncalves MD. Profiling of Skeletal Muscle and Adipose Tissue Depots in Men with Advanced Prostate Cancer Receiving Different Forms of Androgen Deprivation Therapy. Eur Urol Open Sci. 2023 Sep 22;57:1-7.
Yao et al and Elemento O, Barnes J, Rameau A. A deep learning pipeline for automated classification of vocal fold polyps in flexible laryngoscopy. Eur Arch Otorhinolaryngol. 2023 Sep 11. doi: 10.1007/s00405-023-08190-8.
Gutierrez I, Bryan J, Baquero E, Safford MM. The association between social functioning and health literacy among rural Southeastern African Americans with hypertension. Health Promot Int. 2023 Jun 1;38(3):daad023. doi: 10.1093/heapro/daad023.
Safford MM et al, The design and rationale of a multicenter real-world trial: The Southeastern Collaboration to Improve Blood Pressure Control in the US Black Belt – Addressing the Triple Threat, Contemp. Clin. Trials 129, 107183 (2023)
Bridge-Comer, P. E., Reilly, S. M. Measuring the Rate of Lipolysis in Ex vivo Murine Adipose Tissue and Primary Preadipocytes Differentiated In Vitro. J. Vis. Exp. (193), e65106, doi:10.3791/65106 (2023).
Upcoming center seminars
Upcoming seminars
March 3, 2025 - Liming Pei, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, University of Pennsylvania. "Mechanistic understanding of heart disease associated metabolic complications." 2:00-3:00pm, Belfer 204.
April 28, 2025 - James D. Johnson, Ph.D. Professor of Medicine, University of British Columbia. 2:00-3:00pm, Belfer 204.
May, 12, 2025 - Anna Gloyn, DPhil, Professor, Pediatrics - Endocrinology and Diabetes, Stanford University. 2:00-3:00pm, Belfer 204.
Past seminars
February 3, 2025 - Mary-Elizabeth Patti, M.D., Associate Professor of Medicine, Harvard Medical School. "Intestinal Regulation of Postprandial Glucose Metabolism: Novel Insights from Patients with Hypoglycemia." 2:00-3:00pm, Belfer 204.
January 13, 2025 - Meng Wang, M.D., Ph.D., Assistant Professor, Division of Nutritional Sciences, Cornell University. "Novel metabolic toxicities caused by endogenous formaldehyde." 2:00-3:00pm, Belfer 204.
December 9, 2024 - Gerald I. Shulman, M.D., Ph.D. George R. Cowgill Professor of Medicine and Cellular & Molecular Physiology, Yale University. "Targeting liver mitochondrial to treat MASLD/MASH and cardiometabolic disease." 2:00-3:00pm, Belfer 204.
October 21, 2024 - Alan D. Attie, Ph.D. Jack Gorski Professor of Biochemistry, University of Wisconsin-Madison. "Mouse Genetics of Metabolic Disease." 2:00-3:00pm, Belfer 302.
September 23, 2024 - Doris A. Stoffers, M.D., Ph.D. Sylvan H. Eisman Professor of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania. "Pancreatic beta cell adaptation to metabolic stress." 2:00-3:00pm, Belfer 204.
May 13, 2024 - Eileen White, PhD, Deputy Director, Chief Scientific Officer, Rutgers Cancer Institute of New Jersey, Board of Governors Professor, Rutgers. "Autophagy and Cancer Metabolism." 2:00-3:00pm, Belfer 302
April 8, 2024 - Joeva Barrow Ph.D., R.D., Assistant Professor, Division of Nutritional Sciences, Cornell University. "Targeting the NST Silencer AQP1 for the Treatment of Metabolic Disease." 2:00-3:00pm, Belfer 302
March 25, 2024 - Alan Saltiel, PhD, Professor of Medicine, Director at UC San Diego Institute for Diabetes and Metabolic Health. "Regulation of energy homeostasis in metabolism." 2:00-3:00pm, Belfer 302
December 11, 2023 - Shingo Kajimura, PhD, HHMI Investigator and Professor, Division of Endocrinology, Diabetes & Metabolism at Harvard Medical School, “UCP1-independent mechanisms controlling energy balance” 2:00-3:00pm, Belfer 302
November 13, 2023 - John Kirwan, PhD, Executive Director and George A. Bray, Jr. Endowed Super Chair in Nutrition, Pennington Biomedical Research Center. "Metabolic Diseases – Solutions from Cells to Society" 2:00-3:00pm, Belfer 302
May 10, 2023 - Ira Goldberg, MD, Director, Division of Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolism, Clarissa and Edgar Bronfman, Jr. Professor of Endocrinology, NYU Grossman School of Medicine. “Postprandial lipemia, chylomicrons, and CVD” 2:00-3:00pm, Belfer 302
February 8, 2023 - Joseph T Bass, MD, PhD, Director, Center for Diabetes and Metabolism, Northwestern University. "The Circadian Basis for Bioenergetics in Meal Timing and Metabolism" 2:00-3:00pm, Belfer 204
December 14, 2022 - Guy Rutter, PhD, Professor of Medicine at the University of Montreal, Professor of Cell Biology at Imperial College London, and Wellcome Trust Investigator. “Pancreatic β cell heterogeneity and its role in diabetes” 2:00-3:00pm, Belfer 302
November 9, 2022 - Utpal Pajvani, MD, PhD, Associate Professor of Medicine, Columbia University. “Metabolic and neoplastic consequences of reactivated developmental signaling pathways in obesity” 2:00-3:00pm, Belfer 302
October 12, 2022 - Andrew Stewart, MD, Director of Diabetes Obesity and Metabolism Institute, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. “Human Beta Cell Regeneration for Diabetes: A Journey from Impossible to Possible” 2:00-3:00pm, Belfer 302
September 28, 2022 - Michelle Rengarajan, MD, PhD, Instructor in Endocrinology at Harvard Medical School and MGH. “Dissecting the cellular basis of autoimmune endocrinopathies”
September 14, 2022 - Tracy G. Anthony, PhD, Professor of Nutritional Sciences, Rutgers. “Amino acid insufficiency in health and disease”
May 25, 2022 - Stuart Weisberg, M.D, Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Pathology and Cell Biology, Columbia University. "Obesity primes human pancreas for inflammation via macrophage-T cell cross talk"
April 27, 2022 - Stephanie Correa, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, Integrative Biology & Physiology, University of California, Los Angeles. "Integration of reproductive and metabolic cues by neural circuits that control energy balance"
April 13, 2022 - Jeffrey Pessin, Ph.D., Judy R. & Alfred A. Rosenberg Professorial Chair in Diabetes Research, Albert Einstein College of Medicine. "Temporal and spatial cellular heterogeneity of hepatocyte metabolic gene expression"
March 30, 2022 - Jeffrey R. Millman, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Medicine and Biomedical Engineering, Washington University School of Medicine. "Enginneering islets from stem cells for diabetes cell replacement therapy"
March 2, 2022 - Susan K. Fried, Ph.D., Professor of Medicine, Department of Medicine, Division of Endocrinology, Diabetes, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. "Fat Distribution and Metabolic Health in Women and Men"
February 23, 2022 - Merly Vogt, Ph.D., Research Specialist, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Columbia University. "Insulin/IGF-1R signaling plays multiple roles in metabolic programming of future generations"
January 26, 2022 - Daniel Vatner, M.D., Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Medicine, Yale School of Medicine. "Role of the lipogenic master regulator in insulin resistant subjects"
January 12, 2022 - Rebecca A. Haeusler, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Pathology & Cell Biology, Naomi Berrie Diabetes Center, Columbia University Medical Center. "Inter-organ crosstalk by lipoproteins and bile acids in cardiometabolic disease"
December 8, 2021 - Seung Kim, M.D., Ph.D., Professor, Department of Developmental Biology, Stanford University School of Medicine, Director, Stanford Diabetes Research Center. "The actual and the possible: islet replacement strategies for diabetes mellitus"
November 17, 2021 - Richard Kibbey, M.D., Ph.D., Associate Professor of Medicine, Yale School of Medicine. "How beta-cells work: Lessons from the Ox and Caterpillar"
October 27, 2021 - Sona Kang, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, Nutritional Sciences & Toxicology, University of California, Berkeley. "DNA methylation machinery in adipose biology"
October 15, 2021 - Sander Kersten, Ph.D., Professor in Nutrition, Metabolism and Genomics, Chair Division of Human Nutrition & Health, Wageningen University, the Netherlands. "Plasma triglyceride metabolism and diabetes"
September 22, 2021 - Keynote lecture at Center Kickoff. Domenico Accili, M.D., Russell Berrie Foundation Professor of Diabetes in Medicine, Chief of Endocrinology Division, Director of Diabetes Research Center, Columbia University, 2017 Banting Medal for Scientific Achievement, American Diabetes Association. "The ABCC of beta cell failure in diabetes"