CDI-Metabolism, Obesity, Nutrition & Diabetes Symposium

1. Tips for Science Communication
Facilitator(s): Ananya Sen, PhD, & Shoshanna Fischhoff

2. Negotiating and Landing Your First Dream Job
Facilitators: Chelsea Hepler, PhD & Durga Singer, MD

3. Career Strategizing for Maximal Impact
Facilitators: Richard Auchus, MD, PhD & Randy Seeley, PhD

4. How to Get Your Science Published
Facilitators: Michele Heisler, MD, MPA & Scott Soleimanpour, MD

5. Connecting to the Community
Facilitators: Molly Dwyer-White, MPH & Julie Schmittdiel, PhD

6. Research for Community Impact
Facilitators: Kate Bauer, PhD, MS & Minal Patel, PhD, MPH

7. How AI Affects Your Research - and Your Career
Facilitators: Matthew O’Meara, PhD & Laura Scott, PhD

8. Data management puzzle challenge!
Facilitators: Sara Samuel, MSI & Kate Saylor, MSI

2026 SYMPOSIUM SPEAKERS

Patrice Fort, PhD, MS
Dr. Fort is a trained neuroscientist focusing on the neuroretina and the neuro-glial interaction. Dr Fort did his undergraduate studies at the Claude Bernard University in Lyon (France) before a master’s degree in neuroscience and a Doctorate in Living Sciences from the Louis Pasteur University in Strasbourg (France) with Dr. Alvaro Rendon and Dr. Jose Sahel at the Vision Institute in Paris (France). During his PhD, he uncovered unknown key roles of one of the dystrophin isoforms called Dp71, one as a key player in the regulation of retinal homeostasis by Müller glial cells, and the other as a critical protein for maintenance of lens transparency.

Following his PhD, Dr. Fort pursued his training at the Penn State University (Hershey, PA) where he continued to gain knowledge of retinal physiology and how it is affected by metabolic and neurodegenerative diseases. As he joined the laboratory of Dr. Gardner for his postdoctoral fellowship, he started studying how diabetes affects retinal metabolism and specifically, protein synthesis. This led to the identification of novel mechanisms of regulation of protein synthesis, specific to the retina and different from other insulin-sensitive tissues. During this time, he also identified previously unknown proteome changes, including effects on intrinsic protective mechanisms critical for cellular survival, using proteomic-based discovery approaches. Dr. Fort was recruited by the University of Michigan Kellogg Eye Center in 2010, where he focuses on the function and regulation of these intrinsic protective mechanisms in acute and chronic retinal neurodegenerative disorders, with specific emphasis on diabetic retinal disease. Dr. Fort later joined the department of molecular and Integrative Physiology (MIP) and the Neuroscience graduate program (NGP) of the University of Michigan for which he assists with recruitment and teaches sensory neuroscience to graduate students.

W. Timothy Garvey
Dr. Garvey has achieved international recognition for his research in the metabolic, molecular, and genetic pathogenesis of insulin resistance, type 2 diabetes, and obesity. The Garvey laboratory has made important observations regarding the pathogenesis of human insulin resistance and has furthered understanding of the role of the glucose transport system, adiponectin biology, and glucose toxicity.

Another key interest of Dr. Garvey's is our understanding of obesity as a disease, and advancing medical models to improve the care of people with obesity. Dr Garvey has been a leading contributor and author of numerous American Association of Clinical Endocrinology (AACE) initiatives. These include a position statement and proposition affirming obesity as a disease, the new medical diagnostic term for obesity, an obesity treatment algorithm, evidence-based obesity management guidelines, and a cardiometabolic disease staging system. 

Erin Giles, PhD
Dr. Erin D. Giles earned her PhD in Medical Science at McMaster University (Canada) and completed a postdoctoral fellowship in Endocrinology, Metabolism, and Diabetes at the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus. She started her lab in the Department of Nutrition at Texas A&M University before relocating to Michigan in 2022. She is now an Associate Professor with tenure in the School of Kinesiology, with appointments in Molecular and Integrative Physiology and the Rogel Cancer Center. 

Dr. Gile's research program, funded through the National Institutes of Health (NIH/NCI) and the American Cancer Society, seeks to understand the impact of obesity and menopausal weight gain on postmenopausal breast cancer risk and progression. Using translational models and clinical integration, her lab evaluates the anti-cancer effects of targeted exercise, dietary, and pharmacological interventions - including next-generation anti-obesity medications -on cancer outcomes. The long-term goal of her laboratory is to break the link between obesity and breast cancer by identifying actionable targets to prevent tumor development and improve metabolic health.

Adam Markovitz, MD, PhD
Dr. Adam Markovitz is an assistant professor in the University of Michigan Department of Internal Medicine and Division of General Internal Medicine. He seeks to decrease health care spending and improve population health by identifying new models of paying for health care. His research focuses on value-based payment reforms for physicians and health systems and has been published in The BMJ, Annals of Internal Medicine, Health Affairs, and JAMA Internal Medicine.

Dr. Markovitz received his MD and PhD (health policy economics) from the University of Michigan Medical School and School of Public Health and completed his residency in Internal Medicine (primary care track) at the University of Michigan. His PhD dissertation evaluated changes in spending, risk selection, and the response of frontline clinicians in Medicare accountable care organizations. His dissertation was awarded the Horowitz Foundation for Social Policy Irving Louis Horowitz Award for Overall Most Outstanding Project of the Year. His dissertation was funded by an AHRQ R36 Individual Dissertation Award.

Kevin Pearson, PhD
Dr. Kevin Pearson earned his Ph.D. in Pathobiology and Molecular Medicine at the University of Cincinnati and subsequently completed a postdoctoral fellowship at the National Institute on Aging.  He has risen through the ranks to Professor in the Department of Pharmacology and Nutritional Sciences at the University of Kentucky (UK) College of Medicine.  Dr. Pearson is also the Assistant Dean for Research Engagement for the College of Medicine and is an experienced mentor with a strong record of advancing biomedical training.  His research program, funded largely through NIH/NIEHS, seeks to understand the influence of the in utero environment (diet/maternal exercise/toxic exposures) on disease progression in offspring (particularly obesity and diabetes).  He is a project leader with the UK Superfund Research Center and is the career development leader for the NIEHS-funded P30 Center for Appalachian Research in Environmental Sciences (UK-CARES).  The long-term goal of his laboratory is to prevent childhood obesity and diabetes by using maternal exercise as a non-pharmacological intervention during pregnancy.

Julie Schmittdiel, PhD, MA
Dr. Julie Schmittdiel has devoted her career to advancing approaches to diabetes prevention and care through multi-level partner engagement with patients, clinicians, health care systems, and communities.  Her groundbreaking research addresses the need to improve diabetes prevention outreach strategies and develop innovative approaches to decreasing diabetes incidence across diverse populations. 

JieMei Wang, MD, PhD
Dr. Jiemei Wang, PhD, is an Associate Professor and Director of Research in the Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences at Wayne State University’s Eugene Applebaum College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences. After earning an MD in Clinical Medicine and a PhD in Cardiology from Sun Yat‑sen University (China), and completing an American Heart Association Postdoctoral Fellowship at the University of Pittsburgh, she joined Wayne State in 2016 as an Assistant Professor. In this role, Dr. Wang built and coordinated PharmD student seminar series, taught advanced drug‑action and safety courses, and mentored graduate and undergraduate researchers. 

Dr. Wang was promoted to Associate Professor while assuming the role of Director of Research in 2021. Her laboratory investigates G‑protein‑coupled receptors, unfolded‑protein‑response extracellular vesicles, and microRNA regulation of angiogenesis to create novel therapies for tissue ischemia, diabetic wound healing, and metabolic‑vascular disease. She is the principal investigator on three NIH R01 grants, AHA Established Investigator Award and Scientist Development Award, and a mentor for multiple T32 training grants. She has authored more than 50 peer‑reviewed papers, is co‑inventor on a U.S. Patent for wound‑healing compositions.  Dr. Wang also contributes extensively to peer‑review and funding‑decision processes, having served as a standing member and chair of AHA Fellowship Review Committees (Vascular Endothelial Biology), a reviewer for multiple NIH study sections (including Surgery, Anesthesiology, and Trauma; Basic Biology of Blood, Heart, and Vasculature; multiple Special Emphasis Panels), NIH NIDDK Diabetic Complications Consortium/Pilot & Feasibility Program, the NIH NIDDK Collaborative Program Grant (RM1), the UK Research & Innovation Medical Research Council, and AACP New Investigator Awards. Recently, Dr. Wang has received honors such as AHA Fellow (ATVB Council), AHA Established Investigator, and the EACPHS Faculty Research Recognition Award.