William Cefalu, M.D.
Responsibilities & Activities
As director of the Division of Diabetes, Endocrinology and Metabolic Disease, I am responsible for setting scientific priorities and providing oversight of all Division activities encompassing a broad research portfolio. Division research interests include funding investigation into basic, clinical and translational research for type 1 and type 2 diabetes including diabetes associated with cystic fibrosis. The Division also funds research programs in endocrine disorders, obesity, neuroendocrinology, and energy balance in addition to studies focused on development, metabolism, and basic biology of liver, fat, and endocrine tissues. Our Division also provides support for training and career development for individuals committed to research in addition to supporting numerous consortia and research centers whose goal is to facilitate and foster both basic and clinical research in areas of disease interest.
I interact with national leadership of professional societies, lay organizations and advocacy groups. My office is also responsible for trans-NIH coordination of diabetes research as I serve as chair of the Diabetes Mellitus Interagency Coordinating Committee (DMICC) and have responsibility for coordination of the planning and implementation of the special appropriation for type 1 research (SDP1).
Committees & Working Groups
- Diabetes Mellitus Interagency Coordinating Committee (DMICC), Chair
- Interagency Coordinating Committee on Human Growth Hormone and Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease Executive Committee, Member
Select Experience
Chief Scientific, Medical and Mission Officer, American Diabetes Association, 2017-2019
Executive Director, George A. Bray, Jr. Endowed Super Chair in Nutrition, Pennington Biomedical Research Center, Louisiana State University, 2012-2017
Professor of Diabetes, Pennington Biomedical Research Center, Louisiana State University, 2003-2017
Fellowship in Endocrinology and Metabolism, David Geffen School of Medicine, Center for Health Sciences at the University of California, Los Angeles, 1983-1986
Internal l Medicine Residency, University of California, Irvine, Veterans Affairs Long Beach Healthcare System 1980-82 (Chief Resident 1982-83)
Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center(LSUHSC) School of Medicine, New Orleans, LA, 1975-1979