Research Team

Neda Rasouli, MD | Director 

Dr. Rasouli received her MD degree from Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Iran. Her internal medicine residency training was at Michigan State University, Lansing, MI and she completed her endocrinology fellowship at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, Little Rock, AR, in 2002. Dr. Rasouli joined the faculty at the University of Colorado, Denver in 2009. She is a physician and a translational researcher at the University of Colorado and Eastern Colorado Veterans Health Care System. Dr. Rasouli has special interest in the management and treatment of patients with diabetes and metabolic disorders associated with obesity. Her research interests include studying the pathophysiology of insulin resistance particularly molecular mechanisms involved in adipose tissue inflammation and lipotoxicity associated with obesity and insulin resistance. In addition, Dr. Rasouli is leading several clinical trials to investigate novel therapeutic interventions in the management of diabetes.

Chelsea Baker, PA-C | Sub-Investigator 

Chelsea received her Masters of Physician Assistant Studies degree from the University of Colorado’s Physician Assistant program in 2015.  Prior to attending PA school, Chelsea worked as a Health Educator and Wellness Coach for the State of Oklahoma. Chelsea’s academic background also includes a BS in Health and Exercise Science and an MS in Physiology, both from the University of Oklahoma. She joined Dr. Rasouli’s Diabetes and Endocrinology Clinical Trial Program in June 2015. Chelsea is delighted with the opportunity to merge her backgrounds in research, wellness and medicine to manage diabetes for patients participating in this important research.

Vatsala Singh, MBBS, MBA | VA Operations Manager & Team Manager 

Vatsala received her MBBS degree from the Baroda Medical College in Vadodara, India, and her HA-MBA degree from University of Colorado Denver. Before joining Dr. Rasouli's research team in January of 2017, she completed one year of clinical rotations at SSG Hospital in Vadodara, India, and worked as a junior doctor and clinic manager at the Bindal Hospital in Sikar, India. Having a medical background and aspiring to develop new administrative skills has led her to the field of academic medicine. As the team's research manager, she gets to integrate her clinical and administrative interests.

Courtney King, BS | Clinical Research Coordinator 

Courtney received her Bachelor of Science degree in Biology from Regis University and has a passion for working in the medical field. She joined Dr. Rasouli's team in August 2019 as a Clinical Research Assistant and has been a Clinical Research Coordinator on the team since November 2020. Since then, she has expanded her interest, knowledge, and experience in clinical diabetes research through her part in various studies. She is excited to continue to explore the clinical research side of medicine.

Reenadevi Agarwal B.H.M.S │ Clinical Research Coordinator

Reena received her B.H.M.S degree from Pune University, India. She completed her one-year residency with Jnana Prabodhini medical trust. She joined Dr. Rasouli’s research team in January 2022. Reena enjoys interacting with the patients and is excited to be part of a well-established and dedicated team. Based on her medical knowledge she will broaden her understanding in clinical research.

Aanchal Gupta, MD │ Clinical Research Coordinator 

I am a fourth-year medical student who just finished her clinical rotations in Michigan and is awaiting graduation. I did my bachelor’s in medical biotechnology from India and went for an MD program to the Caribbean. I have always been passionate about research which originated while I was writing my thesis for undergraduate degree. It became more concrete during medical school and led me to publish a few case reports and papers. I look forward to becoming a physician-scientist one day, understanding human health and disease from a scientific and clinical perspective which makes this position a perfect fit as it offers the best parts of both medicine and research which includes patient interaction and scientific discoveries. I am very excited to join this team and look forward to what this position entails and offers.

Avinash Pyreddy, MD │ Clinical Research Coordinator 

Avinash received her Bachelor of Science in Human Biology from North Carolina State University. From there, he went to the Caribbean for medical school and is hoping to apply to residency in the future. He is interested in starting his own clinical trials in the future once he has been practicing as a physician for a while. He joined Dr. Rasouli's research team in March 2022. Avinash is excited to learn more about the clinical trial process and hopes to learn as much as he can for preparation for future clinical trials.

Rachel Nwogo, BS │ Clinical Research Coordinator 

Rachel received her Bachelor of science in Molecular Neuroscience from the university of South Dakota. There she worked as a Research Assistant in a motor-cognitive lab helping create new experimental treatment plans for Parkinson patients. She passionate about the medical field and hopes to go to medical school in future. She joined Dr Rasouli lab as a Clinical Research Coordinator in May 2022 and is excited in learning more about academic medicine and the field of endocrinology. At leisure time, Rachel loves travelling and experiencing new cultures and food.

Mahdiyah Muwwakkil, BS │ Clinical Research Assistant 

Mahdiyah attended Regis University to get her Bachelor of Science in Biology and a minor in Psychology.  At Regis she worked to complete research in toxicology and has a passion for biological research. She joined Dr. Rasouli's Team in May of 2022 as clinical research assistant. Prior to joining the team Mahdiyah has experience working in clinical settings and in the future hopes to continue a career in research. Mahdiyah is excited to be a part of the team and to learn about clinical research and research practices.

Marjan Rezaei, MD │ Clinical Research Coordinator 

Marjan received her MD degree from Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran. She practiced medicine as a family physician and general practitioner at primary health care centers in Iran. Beside her role as a physician, she cooperated with Endocrinology Research Center at Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences as a research assistant. Her interest in conducting research in the field of obesity and metabolic disorders has led her to joining Dr. Rasouli’s team as a Post-Doc Research Scholar in May 2023. Marjan is excited about working in an international environment and she looks forward to learning more about clinical trials.

Wyatt Pfau, BS │ Clinical Research Coordinator 

Wyatt received his Bachelors of Science in Biology from Duke University. There he worked as an undergraduate research assistant in a pharmacology lab helping perform pre-clinical trials on potential treatments for drugs of abuse. He has a passion for the medical field and plans to attend medical school in the future. He joined Dr. Rasouli’s team in June of 2023 as a clinical research coordinator and is enthusiastic to learn more about medicine and clinical research.

Benjamin Brenner, BS │ Clinical Research Coordinator

Ben recently received his Bachelor of Science in Biology and Neuroscience from Brandeis University. On campus he worked as an undergraduate research assistant in a psychology lab investigating the effects of numerous environmental stimuli on the coping abilities of college students. He hopes to one day attend medical school and become a physician. Ben was excited for the opportunity to join Dr. Rasouli's team in September of 2023 and is eager to gain more clinical experience.