Caroline Apovian
Professor, Medicine and Pediatrics, School of Medicine
Dr. Apovian’s ongoing research includes several areas of weight loss, weight maintenance, and the molecular effects of weight change. In conjunction with the Department of Cardiology, she is looking at weight loss and its effects on endothelial cell function, adipose cell metabolism and inflammation. She has become an expert in the technique for subcutaneous adipose tissue biopsies and has been performing these biopsies on research subjects for over 5 years.
Dr. Apovian is also researching the bariatric surgery population in the Nutrition and WeightManagement Center. In collaboration with Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, she is studying quality of life before and after weight loss surgery. She is also looking at the effects of bariatric surgery on adipose tissue and the effects of a novel meal replacement program on body composition.
Dr. Apovian’s research also includes novel pharmacotherapeutic antiobesity agents, such as leptin. She is currently completing a study designed to quantify the relative inflammatory burden and cytokine expression of adipose cells in human fat stores in obese participants after weight loss treatment with low-fat vs. low-carbohydrate diets.