Subspecialty	Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolism
Gender	Male
E-mail	derek.leroith@mssm.edu
Education and Training	MD, University of Cape Town Med School
	Ph.D., University of Cape Town
	Senior Resident, The Middlesex Hospital
	Residency, Internal Medicine, University of Cape Town
	Internship, Internal Medicine, University of Cape Town

Prior to joining the faculty of Mount Sinai School of Medicine in 2005 as Professor of Medicine and Chief of the Division of Endocrinology, Diabetes and Bone Disease, Dr. LeRoith was Chief of the Diabetes Branch at the National Institutes of Health's National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases. This is the largest program devoted to the study of diabetes within the intramural program of the NIH. He has published over 500 original research papers, reviews and editorials and edited a number of books on Diabetes and IGF-related topics. He is also the senior editor of a major textbook on Diabetes, now in its third edition.

In the News

Dr. LeRoith discusses awareness and prevention of diabetes in The Daily News feature The Daily Check Up. View the PDF.

Education and Training	MD, University of Cape Town Med School
	Ph.D., University of Cape Town
	Senior Resident, The Middlesex Hospital
	Residency, Internal Medicine, University of Cape Town
	Internship, Internal Medicine, University of Cape Town
Board Certification	Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolism

Subspecialty	Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolism
Board Certification	Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolism

Dr. LeRoith is Director of the Metabolism Institute and a PF Applicant for the Mount Sinai Alcoholic Liver Disease Research Center.

Specific Clinical/Research Interest:
The role of insulin and the insulin-like growth factors in pathological states including diabetes, growth, bone disorders and cancer.

Postdoctoral Fellows: Yingjie Wu, Ruslan Novosyadlyy, Radoslav Sadic, Danielle Lann.

Research Personnel: Hui Sun

Summary of Research Studies:
The laboratory of Derek LeRoith, MD, PhD, focuses on understanding the insulin and insulin-like growth factors in disease states. His current research includes studies using animal models of Type 2 diabetes and understanding the pathophysiology of the disorder as well as response to various established and newly discovered therapies. Using these models the laboratory is studying the effects of hyperlipidemia on the progression of the disease as well as on the vascular complications. These studies involve both phenotyping the metabolic responses using in vivo techniques such as hyperglycemic-euglycemic clamps, as well as in vitro cell culture studies on inflammatory cells and adipocytokines that are involved in the vascular complications. In addition, this model is being used to study the effects of diabetes on bone, a common disorder. Another set of studies involves the insulin-like growth factor system and its role in cancer. These involve both cell culture studies of the insulin-like growth factor-1 receptor signaling pathways that affect cell cycle proteins, ER stress, cell survival, migration and cell proliferation. The animal models include gene-deletion studies of the IGF system; both IGF-1 and the IGF-1 receptor and effects on breast and colon cancer and metastases. These and other on-going studies are expected to identify novel targets for cancer therapy.

Yakar S, Nunez NP, Pennisi P, Brodt P, Sun H, Fallavollita L, Zhao H, Scavo L, Novosyadlyy R, Kurshan N, Stannard B, East-Palmer J, Smith NP, Perkins SN. Increased tumor growth in mice with diet-induced obesity: Impact of ovarian hormones. Endocrinology 2006 Dec; 147(12): 5826-5834.

Kim CH, Pennisi P, Zhao H, Yakar S, Kaufman JB, Iganaki K, Shiloach J, Scherer PE, Quon MJ, LeRoith D. MKR mice are resistant to the metabolic actions of both insulin and adiponectin: discordance between insulin resistance and adiponectin responsiveness. American Journal of Physiology-Endocrinology and Metabolism 2006 Aug; 291(2): E298-E305.

Kim H, Haluzik M, Gavrilova O, Yakar S, Portas J, Sun H, Pajvani U, Scherer P, LeRoith D. Thiazolidinediones improve insulin sensitivity in adipose tissue and reduce the hyperlipidaemia without affecting the hyperglycaemia in a transgenic model of type 2 diabetes. Diabetologia 2005; 47(12): 2215-2225.

Zhang Y, Karas M, Zhao H, Yakar S, LeRoith D. 14-3-3 sigma mediation cell cycle progression is p53-independent in response to IGF-I receptor activation. JBC 2004; 279(33): 34353-34360.

Wu Y, Cui K, Miyoshi K, Hennighausen L, Green JE, Setser J, LeRoith D, Yakar S. Reduced circulating insulin-like growth factor I levels delay the onset of chemically and genetically induced mammary tumors. Cancer Res 2003; 63(15): 4384-4388.