Laura Alonso, M.D., Chief
After a national search, Dr. Laura Alonso will become the next Chief of the Division of Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolism as of September 1, 2019. She will also serve as the Director of the Weill Center for Metabolic Health. An accomplished physician-scientist, Dr. Alonso was previously the George F. and Sybil H. Fuller Term Chair in Diabetes and Director of Beta Cell Biological Studies at the University of Massachusetts Medical School. Dr. Alonso received a B.A. from Harvard College in Biochemistry, an M.D. from the University of Pennsylvania, and trained in Internal Medicine at the University of Chicago and in Endocrinology at the University of Chicago and NYU. She completed postdoctoral fellowship training in stem cell biology with Dr. Elaine Fuchs at the University of Chicago and Rockefeller University, and in pancreatic islet biology with Dr. Andrew Stewart at the University of Pittsburgh.
An elected member of the American Society for Clinical Investigation, Dr. Alonso is a leading investigator on the basic biology of pancreatic beta cell regeneration. She is a standing member of, and has co-chaired, the NIH’s Molecular and Cellular Endocrinology Study Section and serves on the organizing panel for the Scientific Sessions of the American Diabetes Association. She serves on the editorial boards of The Journal of Biological Chemistry, Diabetes, and The FASEB Journal, and is an Associate Editor for Physiological Reports. Dr. Alonso’s research has been published in the top peer-reviewed journals of her field and her studies are funded by the NIH and the American Diabetes Association. In addition to teaching and research, Dr. Alonso currently sees patients in the Diabetes Clinic at the Ambulatory Care Center at UMass Memorial Medical Center.
As Chief of the Division of Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolism, Dr. Alonso will oversee a tripartite mission including patient care, research, and education. In addition to furthering breakthrough research, Dr. Alonso’s record includes the highest level of excellence in patient care and she has trained numerous medical students, residents, and fellows throughout her career. As Director of the Weill Center for Metabolic Health, Dr. Alonso will launch new initiatives in research that will accelerate breakthroughs in the scientific understanding of metabolic health and disease with the goal of advancing cutting edge treatments for diabetes and related metabolic syndromes.
The WDOM welcomes Dr. Alonso to the department and looks forward to celebrating exciting advances ahead in the Division of Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolism.
The WDOM expresses its sincerest thanks to Dr. Julianne Imperato-McGinley who has led the Division of Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolism with remarkable skill and tireless leadership for 25 years. Dr. Imperato-McGinley began her service as Chief when the division was a staff of two and built the division into one of the larger divisions of the Weill Department of Medicine with a Diabetes and Endocrinology ranking of 8 as of the NYP Specialty Rankings US News Best Hospitals 2018-19 report.