Email

stephanie.sisley@bcm.edu

Positions

Associate Professor

Pediatrics-Nutrition
Baylor College of Medicine
Houston, TX US

Addresses

TCH- Clinical Care Center (Clinic) (Clinic)

6701 Fannin St.
Houston, TX 77030
United States
Phone: (832) 822-3670

Education

MD from Indiana University School of Medicine

05/2005 - Indianapolis, Indiana United States

Residency at Indiana University School of Medicine

06/2008 - Indianapolis, Indiana United States

Clinical Fellowship at Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center

06/2008 - Cincinnati, Ohio United States

Postdoctoral Fellowship at Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center

12/2012 - Cincinnati, Ohio United States

Certifications

Pediatrics

American Board of Pediatrics

Pediatric Endocrinology

American Board of Pediatrics

Obesity Medicine Certification

American Board of Obesity Medicine

Honors & Awards

Associate Program Director

I was the APD for the pediatric endocrinology fellowship for 3.5 years. As a part of that, I developed a Team-Based learning curriculum which was well received by the fellows.

Pediatric Endocrine Fellowship (06/2016 - 12/2020)

Associate Research Director

Working with Dr. Maria Redondo, I help facilitate research activities within the Section of Pediatric Diabetes and Endocrinology. To date, I have helped implement feasibility screening for upcoming studies and creating a database to store research metrics.

Texas Children's Pediatric Endocrinology Division (01/2021)

Professional Interests

• Obesity
• Type 2 Diabetes
• Vitamin D Regulation
• Genetics of Obesity

Professional Statement

As a pediatric endocrinologist, I am well trained in the medical management of obesity and type 2 diabetes. Although I have observed vastly different clinical phenotypes of obesity, I am unable as a clinician to effectively treat these patients with the current medical therapies. Thus, I am highly motivated to increase medical knowledge on the pathogenesis of obesity and diabetes and translate it into more clinically effective therapies, specifically for the pediatric population. During my clinical endocrinology fellowship, I was mentored by Drs. Randy Seeley and Darleen Sandoval, experts in the brain’s control of weight and glucose. I used the knowledge from their expertise to investigate the mechanism behind a common clinical correlation: vitamin D deficiency and different components of the metabolic syndrome (including obesity and type 2 diabetes). I chose to defer accepting a faculty position as a pediatric endocrinologist to invest additional time into research training. My research has shown an important effect of vitamin D directly in the brain to lower blood sugar levels. Additionally, we have shown that loss of the vitamin D receptor in the brain impairs glucose tolerance. We have also developed a new mouse model to identify vitamin D receptor positive cells.

In clinical research, I am the site PI for two different multi-center studies. The first is the Teen-LABS study, led by Dr. Tom Inge and funded by the NIH, investigates the effects of bariatric surgery in adolescents. The second is a pharmaceutical Phase 2 trial funded by Rhythm Pharmaceuticals investigating the effectiveness of setmelanotide to lower body weight in different genetic forms of obesity.

From a clinical standpoint, I am the Medical Director of the Genetic Disorders of Obesity Program at Texas Children's Hospital. Together with Dr. Claudia Soler-Alfonso, a pediatric geneticist, we evaluate the cause of severe weight gain that occurs prior to age 5 years old. We have performed qualitative research with parents of these children that shows these parents face significant barriers within their own family as well as from the medical community as they try to care for their children. Additionally, we are currently building a registry and plan to perform translational studies in the future.

Websites

Selected Publications

• Sisley SR, Arble DM, Chambers AP, Gutierrez-Aguilar R, He Y, Xu Y, Gardner D, Moore DD, Seeley RJ, Sandoval DA "Hypothalamic Vitamin D Improves Glucose Homeostasis and Reduces Weight." Diabetes. 2016; Pubmed PMID: 27217488
• Hailan Liu, Yang He, Jessie Beck, Silvania da Silva Teixeira, Keisha Harrison, Yong Xu, Stephanie Sisley "Defining vitamin D receptor expression in the brain using a novel VDR Cre mouse." J Comp Neuro. 2021 Jun; Pubmed PMID: 33368246
• Redondo MJ, Siller AF, Gu X, Tosur M, Bondy M, Devaraj S, Sisley S. "Sex differences in circulating leptin as a marker of adiposity in obese or overweight adolescents with type 1 diabetes." BMJ Open Diabetes Res Care. 2020 Oct; Pubmed PMID: 33087341
• Athanassaki I, Lyons S, DeSalvo D, Hendrix K, Ebenezer S, McCann-Crosby B, Redondo M, Chen MJ, Uysal S, Sisley S "Diabetes Curriculum for Pediatric Endocrine Fellowship Utilizing Modified Team-Based Learning." MEDEDPORTAL. 2020 Aug; Pubmed PMID: 32821810

Projects

Central Vitamin D in Weight and Glucose Regulation

We are investigating the role of the vitamin D receptor in weight and glucose regulation. This includes the use of genetic mouse models as well as investigations of the interaction of diet with vitamin D receptor action.

Genetic Disorders of Obesity Program Registry and Biobank

(04/2021 - present)

As a part of my clinical interest in uncovering genetic forms of weight gain in children, we are collecting information on all children who come into the GDOP clinic. We hope to use this information to determine better strategies for identifying children who would benefit from genetic testing, how children respond to therapies, and how to better support parents. We are also collecting cheek swabs of children and their parents for genetic analysis by future studies.

Setmelanotide Phase 2 Treatment Trial in Patients With Rare Genetic Disorders of Obesity

Rhythm Pharmaceuticals (12/2019 - present)

The purpose of the study is to determine the effect of setmelanotide (RM-493) on weight, hunger assessments and other factors in patients with rare genetic disorders of obesity.

Teen-Longitudinal Assessment of Bariatric Surgery (Teen-LABS) Adolescent Bariatrics: Assessing Health Benefits and Risk (Teen-LABS)

National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (01/2020 - present)

We are one of the five Teen-LABS clinical centers to assess the short and longer-term safety and efficacy of bariatric surgery in adolescents compared to adults.

Memberships

Endocrine Society

American Association of Pediatrics

Pediatric Endocrine Society

American Association for the Advancement of Science

Funding

Brain Signaling, Metabolism, and Obesity

(02/01/2013 Grant funding from USDA

This grant studies the effect of the vitamin D receptor in the ventromedial hypothalamus of the brain on diabetes and weight.

Brain VDR Regulate Glucose Balance - #1 R01 DK128117-01A1

(04/05/2022 - 03/31/2027) Grant funding from NIH-NIDDK

The proposed research is relevant to public health because low vitamin D levels are associated with multiple diseases including diabetes and hypertension. Additional studies are needed to understand how vitamin D receptors in the brain control glucose. The results from this project will provide fundamental knowledge needed for the development of potentially novel strategies to improve the care of diabetes.