Message From the Chief

The Division garnered international recognition for excellence—The Mount Sinai Hospital was ranked 14th in the nation in Diabetes and Endocrinology by US News and World Report and 28th in the world by Newsweek. I’m particularly gratified that the Division was honored by the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation at their annual Promise Ball as the best type 1 diabetes program in New York City. This honor recognizes Drs. Carol Levy’s and Andy Stewart’s pioneering research on innovative therapies for diabetes.

The Division’s other noteworthy research achievements include the receipt of an National Institutes of Health (NIH) National Cancer Institute Method to Extend Research in Time (MERIT) Award by Dr. Emily Gallagher for her studies of the mechanisms linking elevated triglyceride levels and triple negative breast cancer. A team led by Drs. Stewart and Peng Wang discovered a unique mechanism of action for a class of drugs with the ability to induce adult human insulin-producing beta cells to proliferate.

Mount Sinai’s Center for Post-COVID Care, led by Dr. Zijian Chen, is participating in a multisite study funded by the NIH National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases investigating whether pituitary gland dysfunction contributes to post-COVID fatigue. The Mount Sinai Diabetes Center, directed by Dr. Levy, continued to be the leading center in the New York area for the artificial pancreas. A study from the Center published in 2022 demonstrated that use of an automated insulin delivery system improved glucose control among people with difficult to manage type 2 diabetes.

The Mount Sinai Adrenal Center, directed by Dr. Alice Levine, convened an interdisciplinary group of experts in adrenal disorders and neuroendocrine tumors to develop a clinical pathway for the management of Cushing syndrome due to ectopic adrenocorticotropin production. This pathway was published in the Journal of the Endocrine Society in 2022, one of the leading journals in the field.

Dr. Joshua Safer was a co-author of the World Professional Association for Transgender Health Standards of Care for the Health of Transgender and Gender Diverse People, which provides the latest evidence-based guidelines on the care of these individuals. I co-chaired the first NIH-sponsored meeting on cardiovascular risk in women with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS). This virtual workshop, “Cardiovascular Risk Across the Lifespan for Polycystic Ovary Syndrome,” brought together preeminent experts in cardiology and epidemiology with leading investigators in PCOS to identify critical research needs and knowledge gaps in this understudied field.

The first group of seven fellows entered our combined Endocrinology and Metabolism Fellowship Program in July 2022. This Health System-wide program is now the largest Endocrinology and Metabolism fellowship in the United States. Under the leadership of Drs. Alice Levine, Michael Via, and Tamar Reisman, this program provides unparalleled educational opportunities in a wide range of specialty areas, including adrenal disease, pituitary tumors, thyroid disorders, transgender medicine, reproductive endocrinology, diabetes technologies, and metabolic bone disease. Fellows participate in the care of Mount Sinai’s large and diverse patient population and collaborate on research projects with the Division’s outstanding faculty.

The Division’s accomplishments over the past year reflect its dedication to Mount Sinai’s core mission—to pursue research breakthroughs, educate the next generation of medical leaders, and deliver the most advanced care with compassion and respect. I encourage you to peruse our 2023 Specialty Report to learn more about the innovative work we are doing here in the Division of Endocrinology, Diabetes and Bone Disease.

Andrea Dunaif, MD
Lillian and Henry M. Stratton Professor of Molecular Medicine
Chief, Hilda and J. Lester Gabrilove Division of Endocrinology, Diabetes and Bone Disease, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai