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Megan Kelsey MD, MS
(She/Her)
Associate Professor, Pediatric Endocrinology at Children’s Hospital Colorado
- Director of Lifestyle Medicine Endocrinology; Medical Director, Bariatric Surgery Center
- Pediatric Endocrinology General Operations (SOM)
Background
Megan Kelsey, MD, MS, received her BS From University of Notre Dame, her MS from University of Pittsburgh Graduate School of Public Health and her MD from Royal College of Surgeons, Ireland. She currently sees patients at the Children’s Hospital Colorado in the Department of Pediatric Endocrinology, in the Lifestyle Medicine clinics for treatment of type 2 diabetes and in the Bariatric Surgery Clinic.
Research + Funding
Dr. Kelsey’s research broadly focuses on prevention and treatment of type 2 diabetes in youth. As a Ludeman Family Center for Women's Health Research seed grantee, she studied whether the composition of the bacteria in the gut might change during puberty in girls with obesity, who are at the greatest risk for developing youth-onset type 2 diabetes, and how gut bacteria composition relates to how well the body’s insulin works in these girls. Developing a better understanding of contributors to pediatric type 2 diabetes will help us design more targeted prevention strategies, which will have the greatest impact on at-risk adolescent girls.
“I most value the opportunities I have gained in my career for mentorship and collaboration that I’ve gained from being part of the Ludeman Center. The center has also allowed me to establish a wonderful peer network,” Dr. Kelsey says.
Transforming Women’s Health
Dr. Kelsey’s current research is focused on developing a better understanding of the pathophysiology of type 2 diabetes in youth to help design better strategies for prevention. The work she did through the Ludeman Center funding helped support her applications for National Institutes of Health funding to better understand the role of changes during puberty in contributing to cardiometabolic health and disease. Her research focus is well-integrated with her administrative roles as medical director of Adolescent Bariatric Surgery and Lifestyle Medicine, which provides multi-disciplinary care for youth with type 2 diabetes and other obesity-associated conditions.
