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Kristen Nadeau, MD

Childhood Obesity and Diabetes in Relation to Cardiovascular Disease
 
  • Kristen Nadeau, MDAssociate Professor of Pediatrics, Department of Pediatrics, School of Medicine, University of Colorado School of Medicine
  • MD, University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health, Madison, WI
  • 2005 The Denver Children’s Hospital Travel Award for the Western Pediatric Research Meeting
  • 2006 Center for Women’s Health Research Junior Faculty Research Development Award

"In part due to my Native American Heritage, I worked on several Indian Health Service clinics on reservations, and have seen many people with diabetes. In particular, I was concerned by the greater numbers of Native American women with gestational diabetes and children with type 2 diabetes. This was my reason for picking a career in pediatric endocrinology and research in type 2 diabetes. During my pediatrics residency and my pediatric endocrinology fellowship, I realized that research would allow me to continue my academic and research pursuits, while also allowing me to potentially help more than just a single patient at a time. I seriously began to do research during my fellowship, and extended my training to include a Masters Degree in Research to provide me with the best research training for my chosen field."

What is the Research Goal?

One of Dr. Nadeau’s key research goals is to find treatments for girls with obesity and diabetes that will help prevent or treat cardiovascular disease and help them to be better able to exercise.

Understanding the Research

Dr. Nadeau’s research involves trying to understand the reasons and treatments for cardiovascular disease in people with diabetes, in particular, women. Beginning treatments early in the lifespan may have a great benefit. Therefore her research focuses on youth with diabetes. Dr. Nadeau is working to understand how insulin resistance in youth with type 2 and type 1 diabetes relates to the current and future complications of diabetes, such as heart disease and blood vessel disease, as well as muscle dysfunction and fatty liver disease. Since obesity and type 2 diabetes are increasing in youth, such abnormalities may become more common at increasingly younger ages, and reduce overall lifespan.