Results for Body Composition

Dr. Zemel's overall research program aims to improve the understanding of lifelong health and how it relates to childhood antecedents of physical growth and maturation, body composition, population ancestry/genetics, and lifestyle factors. Such insight has practical implications for disease prevention and lifelong wellness, as well as broader scientific implications for understanding human plasticity and evolution.

The overarching goal of my research is to help prevent chronic diseases in later life, by focusing on energetic behaviors (sleep, diet, and physical activity) and their impact on body composition during growth and development.

Dr. Kelly is an attending physician in the Division of Endocrinology and Diabetes at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia and a professor of pediatrics at the University of Pennsylvania. Her research focuses on cystic fibrosis, bone and body composition, and endocrine co-morbidities in Down syndrome.

Dr. Vogiatzi's research goals are to improve the health of children with gonadal disorders and understand the role of glucocorticoids, androgens, and sex steroids in health and disease.

Dr. McCormack investigates the intersection of neuroendocrinology and metabolism. Her translational research program involves two areas. The first involves studying those with genetic disorders, including primary mitochondrial diseases and Friedreich's ataxia, with characterized risk for diabetes mellitus. Second, Dr. McCormack focuses on brain disorders associated with excess weight gain, including brain tumor-related hypothalamic obesity syndrome and idiopathic intracranial hypertension.

Dr. Stallings is working on intervention trials involving three chronic diseases with nutrition-related abnormalities resulting in meaningful adverse outcomes: cystic fibrosis (new drugs), sickle cell disease (vitamin A) and chronic pancreatitis (enzyme replacement drug).

Dr. Pacifici's biomedical research spans three decades and has explored mechanisms of skeletal development and growth in fetal and postnatal life. Specifically, his focus has been on identifying the cellular and molecular mechanisms that regulate the differentiation of progenitor cells and permit assembly of distinct skeletal structures, and on aberrations of these mechanisms in pediatric skeletal disorders.