EDUCATION AND TRAINING

M.D., Harvard Medical School, Harvard-MIT, Division of Health Sciences and Technology

Residency, University of Washington Affiliated Hospitals

Chief Medical Resident, Seattle VA Medical Center

Fellowship, University of Washington, Division of Metabolism, Endocrinology and Nutrition

OFFICE ADDRESS

Seattle VA Puget Sound Health Care System
1660 South Columbian Way
UW Mailbox 358280 (111)
Seattle, WA 98108

CURRENT RESEARCH INTERESTS

Neuroendocrine mechanisms regulating appetite, body weight, and glucose homeostasis.  Specific areas of study include the following: 1) Characterizing roles of the orexigenic hormone ghrelin in energy balance and glucose homeostasis; 2) Clarifying hormonal mechanisms that contribute to weight loss and diabetes resolution after bariatric surgery; and 3) Understanding the interplay between homeostatic and hedonic pathways in the regulation of food intake.


REPRESENTATIVE PUBLICATIONS

Cummings DE, Brandon EP, Planas J, Idzerda R, McKnight GS:  Genetically lean mice derived by targeted disruption of the RIIb subunit of protein kinase A.  Nature 382:622-626, 1996.

Cummings DE, Purnell JQ, Frayo RS, Schmidova K, Wisse BE, Weigle DS:  A preprandial rise in plasma ghrelin levels suggests a role in meal initiation in humans.  Diabetes 50:1714-1719, 2001.

Wisse B, Frayo S, Schwartz MS, Cummings DE:  Reversal of cancer anorexia by blockade of central melanocortin receptors in rats.  Endocrinology 142:3292-3301, 2001.

Cummings DE, Weigle DS, Frayo RS, Breen PA, Ma MK, Dellinger EP, Purnell JQ:  Human plasma ghrelin levels after diet-induced weight loss or gastric bypass surgery.  New Engl J Med 346:1623-1630, 2002.

Cummings DE, Clement K, Purnell JQ, Vaisse C, Foster KE, Frayo RS, Schwartz MW, Basdevant A, Weigle DS:  Elevated plasma ghrelin levels in Prader-Willi syndrome.  Nature Medicine 8:643-644, 2002.

Overduin J, Frayo RS, Grill HJ, Kaplan JM, Cummings DE:  Role of the duodenum and macronutrient type in ghrelin regulation.  Endocrinology 146:845-850, 2005.

Cummings DE:  Gastric bypass and nesidioblastosis – too much of a good thing for islets?  New Engl J Med 353:300-302, 2005.

Cummings DE, Foster-Schubert KE, Overduin J:  Ghrelin and the short- and long-term regulation of appetite and body weight.  Physiol Behav 89:71-84, 2006.

Morton GJ, Cummings DE, Baskin DG, Barsh GS, Schwartz MW:  Central nervous system control of food intake and body weight.  Nature 443:289-295, 2006.

Foster-Schubert KE, Cummings DE:  Emerging therapeutic strategies for obesity.  Endocr Reviews 27:779-793, 2006.

Erdie-Lalena CR, Holm VA, Kelly PC, Frayo RS, Cummings DE:  Ghrelin levels in young children with Prader-Willi syndrome.  J Pediatr 149:199-204, 2006.

Cummings DE, Overduin J, Foster-Schubert KE, Carlson MJ:  Role of the bypassed proximal intestine in the anti-diabetic effects of bariatric surgery.  Surg Obes Relat Dis 3:109-115, 2007.

Cummings DE, Overduin J:  Gastrointestinal regulation of food intake.  J Clin Invest 117:13-23, 2007.