About Us

Although much emphasis has been placed on identifying risk genes in various endocrinopathies and metabolic disorders, translating these findings to biological targets for treatment is still a challenge. Research into the factors, mechanisms, and genetic risk for disorders such as thyroid cancer, obesity, diabetes, and skeletal diseases, among others, requires repositories of human biological specimens annotated with clinical information including disease duration, outcomes therapy, and demographics. Further research will help us understand predictive biomarkers and potentiate design of sequential, combination, or personalized treatment regimens for patients with various endocrine disorders. A properly administered and annotated tissue bank and an associated patient registry will facilitate the acquisition and appropriate distribution of tissue and blood samples to investigators.

Our clinical and translational research center and comprehensive endocrine biobanking system was inspired by the success of various principal investigator’s cohort within our division.

  • Mark Anderson, MD, PhD and his group studied patients with unusual clinical histories of abnormal glucose metabolism, developmental abnormalities of the pancreas, or other associated immune defects and related-endocrine disorders. His studies aim to identify novel genetic defects that predispose patients to metabolic and endocrine disorders.
     
  • Edward Hsiao, MD, PhD created the Biospecimens and Skeletal Tissues for Rare and Orphan Diseases Genetics (BSTROnG) cohort, which focuses on obtaining medical data and biobanking specimens in patients with metabolic bone diseases. He has collected, processed, and stored over 200 patient samples and used this cohort to support several publications.
     
  • Suneil Koliwad, MD, PhD and his group created the Inflammation, Diabetes, Ethnicity, and Obesity (IDEO) cohort, consisting of more than 180 adults living in the San Francisco Bay Area, to investigate the association of ethnicity with obesity, type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM), and other obesity-related complications. IDEO collects demographic, medical, dietary, and lifestyle data in addition to blood and adipose tissue.