Conference Faculty
Dr. Andy Bauer
Andrew J Bauer, MD is a pediatric endocrinologist, a Professor of Pediatrics at the University of Pennsylvania and director of the Thyroid Center at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. Dr. Bauer’s research interests span the spectrum of pediatric thyroid disorders, with a focus on thyroid cancer and familial thyroid cancer predisposition syndromes. Dr. Bauer serves as a medical consultant for the Thyroid Cancer Survivors Association and the International DICER1 registry and works closely with the PTEN Hamartoma Tumor Syndrome foundation.
In 2022, Dr. Bauer and his team launched the International Child and Adolescent Thyroid Consortium in an effort to improve collaboration across pediatric thyroid centers (www.ThyroidCATC.org). Dr. Bauer is currently serving as co-chair of the ATA pediatric thyroid nodule and thyroid cancer guidelines. He also recently served on the American Association for Cancer Research Cancer Predisposition committee to update recommendations on surveillance of pediatric patients with thyroid cancer predisposition syndromes.
Dr. Steven Mittelman
Steven Mittelman, MD, PhD, is the Division Chief and Solomon A and Maria M Kaplan Chair of Pediatric Endocrinology at the UCLA Mattel Children’s Hospital. He also serves as the Associate Vice Chair for Research Workforce Development for the UCLA Children’s Discovery and Innovations Institute. Dr. Mittelman obtained his undergraduate degree in biochemistry at UCLA and then attended the Keck School of Medicine at USC for his medical degree and doctorate. His graduate research in Rich Bergman’s lab focused on understanding how insulin regulates blood sugar and how pancreatic beta cells compensate for obesity-induced insulin resistance. He completed his residency and pediatric endocrinology fellowship at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles in the American Board of Pediatrics Special Alternative Pathway. As faculty at USC, Dr. Mittelman held many roles, including Fellowship Director and Director of the Keck/Caltech Combined MD/PhD Program. Dr. Mittelman moved to UCLA in 2017 and has grown the division from three to ten attending physicians and expanded clinical operations to multiple sites.
Dr. Mittelman’s research focuses on understanding why obese children with acute lymphoblastic leukemia have a 50% higher relapse rate compared to lean children. Using tissue culture and preclinical models, his laboratory was the first to demonstrate that the observed clinical association between obesity and poor leukemia outcome has a biological basis. His lab went on to show that a diet intervention can reverse this effect, leading to improved leukemia outcomes. This finding was translated into a successful pilot clinical trial that reduced the risk of residual leukemia cells after the initial phase of chemotherapy by 70%. This approach is now being tested in a national clinical trial currently open at multiple sites across the country.
Dr. Mittelman’s work has been highly recognized. He has been invited to speak nationally and internationally and has given dozens of interviews for TV, radio, and internet media outlets. He has published 96 peer-revied manuscripts and 17 book chapters, review articles, and editorials. Dr. Mittelman’s research has been supported by multiple grants, including from the NIH National Cancer Institute, Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, Gabrielle’s Angel Foundation, and other funding agencies.
Dr. Speiser
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