Research
The Division of Endocrinology and Metabolism conducts wide-ranging research spanning molecular, translational, and clinical science to advance understanding of endocrine and metabolic health. Investigators study hormone action, nutrient sensing, and energy balance, with emphasis on how these processes influence bone metabolism, diabetes, obesity, and systemic disease. Research in bone biology explores the skeletal system as a dynamic endocrine organ and examines how hormonal and genetic factors regulate mineral homeostasis and metabolism, while clinical studies address osteoporosis, hyperparathyroidism, and bone loss related to nutritional or hormonal disorders.
Diabetes and obesity research focuses on improving both mechanistic understanding and patient outcomes. Laboratory studies investigate mitochondrial function, lipid metabolism, and circadian regulation to uncover new therapeutic targets, while clinical and population-based projects test innovative care models, such as telemedicine and community-based interventions, to enhance self-management and reduce complications. Translational studies further explore how gut, liver, and adipose interactions shape cardiometabolic health.
Together, these research programs form a comprehensive effort to bridge discovery and clinical care, advancing prevention and treatment strategies for endocrine, metabolic, and bone disorders across diverse populations.
Bone Metabolism and Endocrine Function
Researchers in the Division of Endocrinology are advancing understanding of the skeletal system as a dynamic endocrine organ that regulates both bone health and systemic metabolism. Their work spans molecular, translational, and clinical approaches to investigate the hormonal, genetic, and metabolic mechanisms underlying bone development, remodeling, and disease. Clinical research addresses the causes and treatment of osteoporosis and bone loss associated with undernutrition and hormonal dysregulation, as well as strategies to improve the care of patients admitted with fracture. Through NIH-supported studies, researchers in our division aim to uncover new therapeutic strategies to preserve bone health and treat metabolic bone diseases across diverse populations and to improve the clinical care of patients with osteoporosis.
Diabetes Care and Delivery
Divisional researchers are focused on improving diabetes care delivery, self-management, and outcomes across diverse populations, with an emphasis on translating evidence-based interventions into community and clinical settings. Studies investigate models such as the Patient-Centered Medical Home and telemedicine programs to enhance care for adults with type 2 diabetes at high risk of complications. Researchers are also examining strategies to integrate family and health supporter involvement, optimize transitions between inpatient and outpatient care, and deliver effective diabetes education and self-management support. Large-scale clinical trials and quality improvement initiatives further explore lifestyle interventions, sleep disorder management, and the social determinants of diabetes outcomes, all with the goal of developing scalable, practical approaches to improve the health and well-being of people living with diabetes.
Mechanisms of Metabolic Aging
At the Aging Institute, faculty are examining the fundamental mechanisms linking metabolism, cellular stress, and biological rhythms to aging and age-related disease. Studies investigate both the classical 24-hour circadian clock and recently discovered 12-hour cell-autonomous rhythms that regulate gene expression, inter-organelle communication, and metabolic homeostasis. Work spans molecular, cellular, organismal and human studies to understand how fluctuations in metabolites, organelle function, and nutrient sensing influence tissue health and systemic physiology. Using model systems such as mice and Drosophila alongside human-relevant techniques, researchers explore how disruptions in metabolic and rhythmic processes contribute to frailty, disease progression, and the aging process, with the ultimate goal of identifying interventions that preserve cellular function and delay age-associated pathologies.
Molecular Mechanisms of Diabetes and Obesity
In conjunction with the Center for Metabolism and Mitochondrial Medicine, divisional researchers are investigating the fundamental cellular and molecular mechanisms that contribute to obesity, insulin resistance, type 2 diabetes, and metabolic syndrome. Studies focus on mitochondrial energetics and mitophagy, beta cell function, nutrient overload, intracellular lipid metabolism, and the interplay between adipose tissue, liver, and muscle. Using a combination of in vivo, ex vivo, and in vitro models, including transgenic mice, stable isotope tracers, and metabolic flux analyses, researchers explore how metabolic stress, circadian rhythms, and signaling pathways influence energy homeostasis and disease progression. These investigations aim to uncover novel targets for therapeutic intervention, including small molecules that modulate leptin sensitivity or other metabolic regulators. These efforts aim to translate mechanistic insights into innovative strategies for the prevention and treatment of obesity and related metabolic disorders.
Neuroendocrine Research
The division is home to a world-renowned Pituitary Center of Excellence and a Multidisciplinary Adrenal Center. Neuroendocrine focused research in the division includes basic and translational research focused on hypothalamic regulation of appetite and clinical studies investigating the neuroendocrine adaptations to fasting and undernutrition. Additional clinical studies investigating the evaluation and management of patients with pituitary and adrenal disease leverage our extensive experience caring for patients with rare diseases including Cushing’s and acromegaly, and our large referral base. We are a site for many international, industry-sponsored studies investigating new treatments for patients with pituitary and adrenal disease.
Nive Manivannan, MD
Thyroid Research
The University of Pittsburgh/UPMC has revolutionized the standard of care in the evaluation of thyroid nodules. Our expert thyroid endocrinologists and thyroid surgeons collaborated closely with Dr. Yuri Nikiforov, Vice Chair of the Department of Pathology and Professor of Pathology at the University of Pittsburgh, and Dr. Marina Nikiforova, Professor of Pathology at the University of Pittsburgh, who invented a molecular test for the evaluation of thyroid nodules. ThyroSeq launched at UPMC in 2007 and is now used nationally and internationally and has transformed the way in which thyroid nodules are evaluated. Dr. Nikiforov also formed and led the efforts to propose the new term “Non-Invasive Follicular Thyroid Neoplasm with Papillary-Like Nuclear Features” (NIFTP) which was accepted by the World Health Organization in 2017. This partnership between our expert thyroid endocrinologists, thyroid surgeons and thyroid pathologists forms the basis of the Multidisciplinary Thyroid Center at UPMC. Our thyroid endocrinologists also lead national and international industry sponsored clinical studies for new treatments for thyroid disease.
Translational Metabolic Research
One of the Division’s primary foci is translating mechanistic insights into systemic and clinical applications for metabolic disease. Studies examine human energy and glucose metabolism, the role of gastrointestinal hypoxia signaling, intestinal lipoproteins, and gut-immune interactions in obesity, diabetes, and cardiovascular disease. Researchers investigate how environmental, dietary, and molecular cues regulate systemic metabolism, leveraging human clinical studies, organoid models, and animal models. The overarching goal is to develop effective therapeutic strategies and delivery models to improve metabolic health, address obesity-related complications, and enhance the treatment of diabetes and other metabolic disorders in diverse populations.