Curriculum
The Division of Endocrinology offers a comprehensive academic program including weekly clinical case conferences, monthly journal clubs, radiology rounds and frequent invited speaker sessions.
Fellows will be provided didactics covering the full array of endocrine and diabetes topics as well as a board preparation course. Fellows will participate in research meetings with their chosen research groups. There are numerous hospital-wide academic offerings including weekly Pediatric Grand Rounds and Professorial Rounds, which is a multidisciplinary case-based conference at which fellows are encouraged to present interesting cases. The institution offers a standardized Fellows’ core curriculum, biostatistics course and wellness course. Additionally, fellows have the opportunity to participate in advanced degree programs through the George Washington University. Fellows will teach residents and students during their inpatient weeks at the bedside and through dedicated Friday morning teaching conferences.
Fellows will also have the opportunity to spend a week at Diabetes Camp as part of their clinical training.
Training
First Year
During the first year, the fellows primarily focus on clinical training by caring for a wide variety of inpatients including those with primary endocrine disorders admitted to the endocrine service and consults rendered to other services in the hospital including Oncology, Emergency Department, NICU and PICU. Fellows will spend approximately 14 weeks on the inpatient service during their first year and in addition will be part of a night float system. The remainder of the first year will be spent rotating through outpatient clinics as well as a research rotation when fellows will have time to explore research options for their second and third years.
In addition to general pediatric endocrinology and diabetes clinics, fellows participate in numerous specialized multidisciplinary pediatric endocrine clinics, including:
- Bone health
- Cancer survivors
- Disorders of sexual differentiation
- Endocrine genetics
- Gender development
- Growth clinic
- Lipid disorders
- Obesity and bariatric surgery
- Pituitary/Neurosurgery-endo clinic
- Reproductive endocrinology
- Thyroid nodule and thyroid cancer
- Turner syndrome
- Type 2 diabetes
Fellows will have the opportunity to learn from well-trained diabetes educators about basic skills and technology in diabetes including insulin pump and continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) education and will attend the Children’s National run diabetes camp for one week during the summer.
Fellows will attend three to five half days of attending’s clinic during their outpatient weeks. Fellows will have one continuity clinic every week and follow their own cohort of patients through the three years of the fellowship.
Second and Third Year
During the second and third year, the fellows will primarily focus on their research and quality improvement projects. By the end of the first year, they are expected to have identified their research project and mentor. Funding for two years of research is guaranteed to all accepted fellows.
The Division of Endocrinology offers the opportunity for research in many areas of endocrinology. Andrew Dauber, M.D., chief of Endocrinology, work focuses on novel etiologies of short stature, and he leads a multi-center study integrating genomics with electronic health records to identify patients with undiagnosed genetic growth disorders. Dr. Dauber is also leading innovative clinical trials of novel therapeutics for genetic conditions causing short stature. Eric Vilain, M.D., the director of the Center for Genetic Medicine Research, leads a national network of researchers exploring the genetic basis of disorders of sexual differentiation. Nadia Merchant, M.D., is a pediatric endocrinologist and geneticist with a focus on ways to improve bone health and endocrine management of children with complex genetic conditions. Randi Streisand, Ph.D., conducts multiple studies using behavioral interventions to improve diabetes care. Roopa Kanakatti Shankar, M.B.B.S., M.S., leads our Turner Syndrome registry and is part of the InsighTS National Registry with a focus on optimal hormone replacement and outcomes in patients with Turner syndrome. Shideh Majidi’s, M.D., associate director of Diabetes Services, research focuses on behavioral health and psychosocial aspects of care in youth and young adults with type 1 diabetes. She additionally uses quality improvement methodologies to improve clinical care in diabetes and is the primary investigator for the T1D Exchange Quality Improvement Collaborative.
Additionally, fellows will be given the opportunity to work on research projects with mentors throughout the institution as well as in the pediatric endocrinology program at the NIH.
Fellows will be required to present their work at national meetings and submit a manuscript prior to the end of the fellowship.
Fellows will work on the inpatient service for six weeks per year in their second and third year and be part of the night float. They will continue to do one half-day continuity clinic every week and may substitute one to two of their clinics per month with specialty clinics of their choice.
Research
The Division of Endocrinology offers the opportunity for research in many areas of endocrinology. Andrew Dauber, M.D., chief of Endocrinology, work focuses on novel etiologies of short stature, and he leads a multi-center study integrating genomics with electronic health records to identify patients with undiagnosed genetic growth disorders. Dr. Dauber is also leading innovative clinical trials of novel therapeutics for genetic conditions causing short stature.
Youn Hee Jee, M.D., also focuses on the genetic etiologies of growth, leading translational research laboratory to discover novel molecular pathophysiology of growth disorders and to develop treatment approaches for severe growth disorders using mouse models. Dr. Jee's research also includes underpinning genetic causes of pubertal disorders (premature adrenarche and delayed puberty) that lead to long-term health consequences.
Randi Streisand, M.D., conducts multiple studies using behavioral interventions to improve diabetes care.
Roopa Kanakatti Shankar, M.B.B.S., M.S., leads our Turner Syndrome registry and is part of the InsighTS National Registry with a focus on optimal hormone replacement and outcomes in patients with Turner syndrome.
Shideh Majidi’s, M.D., associate director of Diabetes Services, research focuses on behavioral health and psychosocial aspects of care in youth and young adults with type 1 diabetes. She additionally uses quality improvement methodologies to improve clinical care in diabetes and is the primary investigator for the T1D Exchange Quality Improvement Collaborative.
Publications and Presentations
Selected publications written by our fellows include:
Alkhatib EH, Dauber A, Estrada DE, Majidi S Weekly Growth Hormone (Lonapegsomatropin) Causes Severe Transient Hyperglycemia in a Child with Obesity.
Horm Res Paediatr. 2023 Apr 4. doi: 10.1159/000530522. Online ahead of print.PMID: 37015214
Alkhatib EH, Bartlett D, Kanakatti Shankar R, Regier D, Merchant N. Early molecular confirmation and sodium polystyrene sulfonate management of systemic pseudohypoaldosteronism type I. Frontiers in Endocrinology. 2024 Jan 15; 14. doi: 10.3389/fendo.2023.1297335.
Alkhatib EH et al. Case Report: Insulin hypersensitivity in youth with type 1 diabetes. Front Endocrinol. 2023 Oct 20;14:1226231. PMID: 37929017.
Galetaki DM, Dauber A. C-Type Natriuretic Peptide Analogs - Current and Future Therapeutic Applications. Horm Res Paediatr. 2024 Feb 8. doi: 10.1159/000537743. PMID: 38330932
Galetaki DM, Merchant N, Dauber A. Novel therapies for growth disorders. Eur J Pediatr. 2023 Oct 13. doi: 10.1007/s00431-023-05239-y. PMID: 37831302.
Bustamante VH, Galetaki DM, Dowlut-McElroy T, Kanakatti Shankar R. Anti-Mullerian hormone and spontaneous puberty in a diverse US Turner syndrome clinic cohort: A cross-sectional study. Clin Endocrinol (Oxf). 2023 Sep 14. doi: 10.1111/cen.14971. PMID: 37708074.
Chung ST, Davis F, Patel T, Mabundo L, Estrada DE Reevaluating First-Line Therapies in Youth-onset Type 2 Diabetes. J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 2023 Aug 25:dgad508. doi: 10.1210/clinem/dgad508. PMID: 37624230
Patel, T., Longendyke, R., Kanakatti Shankar, R., Merchant, N. Iodine Deficiency Hypothyroidism in Children in Recent Years: A Re-emerging Issue?, Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolism Case Reports. In press
Selected titles of presentations at national or international meetings include:
Community Perception and Knowledge Assessment of Patients and Families for Endocrine Related Management and Complications in Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy (Despoina Galetaki, Poster at Pediatric Endocrine Society Meeting, 2023)
Gonadotropins and AMH during Minipuberty in Infants with Turner Syndrome (Despoina Galetaki, Poster at Pediatric Endocrine Society Meeting, 2023)
Vosoritide Improves Growth in Selected Genetic Causes of Short Stature: 12 Month Data from a Phase 2 Trial. (Despoina Galetaki, Oral presentation, Pediatric Endocrine Society 2024)
A case of DKA and extreme hypertriglyceridemia: Lessons Learnt. (Despoina Galetaki, poster presentation at Pediatric Endocrine Society 2024)
Improvement of free T4 in newly diagnosed Graves’ Disease patients through a multifaceted quality improvement approach (Einas Alkhatib, oral presentation at American Thyroid Association, 2023)
Feasibility of a multidisciplinary pilot intervention for parent/caregiver diabetes distress (Einas Alkhatib, oral presentation at American Diabetes Association, 2024)
Continuous Glucose Monitoring in Youth with Type 2 Diabetes: Pilot Randomized Controlled 12-week Trial (Tejal Patel, presented at American Diabetes Association and Pediatric Endocrine Society, 2024)