ENDOCRINOLOGY - Key Persons
Job Titles:
- Assistant Professor of Medicine
Biography
Dr. McKee grew up in the St. Louis area. She received her Bachelor of Science in Cellular & Molecular Biology from Tulane University followed by medical education at Trinity College in Dublin, Ireland. She completed her residency training at a combined Internal Medicine and Primary Care program at Rush University and Cook County Hospital in Chicago, Illinois. Following residency, she completed her fellowship training in Endocrinology, Diabetes & Metabolism at Saint Louis University. After fellowship, she became a certificated diabetes care and education specialist and was the medical director of the Diabetes Clinic at Saint Louis University.
She joined the Division of Endocrinology, Metabolism & Lipid Research in December 2020. She focuses on inpatient glycemic management at Barnes Jewish Hospital to improve inpatient diabetes care. Her expertise extends to design and implementation of inpatient glycemic protocols, novel approaches to diabetes management in the hospital including continuous glucose monitoring and hybrid-closed loop devices and non-insulin therapies.
Research Interests
Dr. McKee's research interests include innovative approaches to inpatient diabetes management, disparities in technology utilization and outcomes in type 1 diabetes, and novel therapies for type 2 diabetes.
She is also an EPIC physician builder with a keen interest in leveraging the electronic medical record as a clinical decision tool and modality to deploy population health initiatives.
She is the principal investigator of the T1D Exchange QI Collaborative for the Washington University in St. Louis site and also an advisor for the Diabetes Technology Interest Group for the American Diabetes Association.
I was born and raised in Cincinnati, Ohio before moving to Akron, Ohio for college at the University of Akron. I completed medical school at Northeast Ohio Medical University and my Internal Medicine residency at Cleveland Clinic Akron General. While I am extremely thankful for my time in Northeast Ohio, I am excited to move to St. Louis to start my fellowship training in Endocrinology. Outside of medicine, I am an avid reader and enjoy spending time with my dog Boba and friends and family
Job Titles:
- Associate
- Program Director
- Associate Professor of Medicine / Associate Program Director, Endocrinology, Diabetes & Metabolism
Brian Peng is from California, where he did his medical training at the University of California, San Diego, and subsequent residency in Fresno, CA. He is excited to be pursuing fellowship training in St. Louis and to participate in research.
Job Titles:
- Department Accounting Assistant
Job Titles:
- Program Coordinator
- Program Coordinator, Endocrinology, Diabetes & Metabolism / Division of Endocrinology, Metabolism & Lipid Research
Job Titles:
- Member of the BJH Team
- CDCES, Diabetes Project Manager
Job Titles:
- Chief of the Division
- Chief, Division of Endocrinology, Metabolism and Lipid Research
- Division Chief
Clay F. Semenkovich, MD, is Chief of the Division of Endocrinology, Metabolism and Lipid Research and Professor of Medicine and of Cell Biology and Physiology. He is also founding Program Director of the Building Interdisciplinary Research Careers in Women's Health (BIRCWH) Program at the University. He has served on numerous national panels and National Institutes of Health study sections, and has editorial responsibilities with a number of scientific journals. Named in Best Doctors in America and America's Top Doctors, Dr. Semenkovich has received several Washington University teaching awards. A Distinguished Alumni Scholarship was established in his name in 2003 by the Washington University Medical Center Alumni Association. Dr. Semenkovich also received the 2006 Alumni/Faculty award from the same organization, and currently holds the Irene E. and Michael M. Karl Professorship, an endowed chair in the School of Medicine at Washington University.
I was born and raised in San Juan, Puerto Rico were I completed my undergraduate and medical education at the University of Puerto Rico. My husband and I then relocated to St. Louis for my Internal Medicine Residency at Washington University in St. Louis. We have enjoyed our time here and decided to stay for fellowship.
Job Titles:
- Instructor in Medicine
- Assistant Professor of Medicine
Biography
Dr. Rajaa Almourani's journey with medicine started at the University of Damascus School of Medicine in 2001. Following her completion as a medical student in 2007, Dr. Almourani continued her medical education as a resident in the Damascus University Hospital system from 2007 to 2009.
After moving to the United States, Dr. Almourani worked at Edward A. Doisy Research Center in St. Louis in 2013, and later completed her US medical internship at St. Louis University Hospital from 2014 to 2015. Dr. Almourani then completed her training as an internal medicine resident at the University of Missouri, Columbia, followed by a clinical fellowship 2017-2019 in Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolism at the same institution.
In August of 2019, Dr. Almourani moved back to St Louis and at that time joined the Faculty at Washington University in the Division of Endocrinology, Metabolism and Lipid Research, where she works currently as an Instructor of Medicine.
Clinical Interests: In her practice, Dr. Almourani sees patients with a variety of endocrine diseases, providing outpatient management to her patients at the Medicine Multispecialty Center in the Center for Advanced Medicine, as well as in West County, making sure that they receive the best care possible with the most up-to-date treatment available. She has a special interest in following type 1 diabetes patients, and providing them with the latest technology in diabetes management. She also has a special interest in the effect of over-the-counter supplements on the endocrine system, especially over-the-counter thyroid medications and the various side effects they may cause.
Job Titles:
- Professor of Medicine and Obesity Research Division of Geriatrics and Nutritional Science
Job Titles:
- Professor of Medicine and of Pathology and Immunology
Biography
Jeremiah (Jake) was born and raised in New Hampshire. He completed his undergraduate (B.S.) degree in Microbiology at the University of New Hampshire (UNH) in Durham, NH and his doctorate (Ph.D.) degree in Pharmacology and Toxicology at Dartmouth College in Hanover, NH in the lab of John Hwa, M.B.B.S., Ph.D., focusing on the structural and functional characterization of the human prostacyclin (hIP) receptor and naturally-occurring variants. Afterward, Jake ventured north to the easternmost province of Canada, where he attended medical school at Memorial University of Newfoundland (MUN) in the provincial capital of St. John's. He returned to New England and spent a number of years in Connecticut, where he conducted postdoctoral research at Yale University and the Yale Cardiovascular Research Center (YCVRC) in New Haven, CT, as well as worked as a Scientific Writer and Editor at the Jackson Laboratory for Genomic Medicine (JAX-GM) in Farmington, CT before going on to complete his Internal Medicine residency training and an additional year as Chief Resident at Yale-New Haven Medical Center and Yale-Waterbury Hospital in New Haven and Waterbury, CT. He started as a fellow in the Division of Endocrinology, Metabolism and Lipid Research at Washington University in St. Louis and became faculty as an Instructor in Medicine in October, 2022.
Job Titles:
- Associate Professor, Otolaryngology - Head & Neck Surgery
Job Titles:
- Assistant Professor of Medicine
Job Titles:
- Department of Internal
- Department of Medicine
Job Titles:
- Associate Professor, Otolaryngology - Head and Neck Surgery Chief
Kai Jones is from Tulsa, Oklahoma and completed residency and medical school at Washington University School of Medicine and Barnes Jewish Hospital. Her research mentor is Dr. Bernal Mizrachi. Her clinical mentor is Dr. Cynthia Herrick.
Job Titles:
- Professor, Surgery Section of Minimally Invasive Surgery
Job Titles:
- Supervisor Clinical Office
Job Titles:
- Special Project Assistant
Job Titles:
- Assistant Professor
- Radiology
Job Titles:
- Assistant Professor of Medicine
Job Titles:
- Assistant Professor, Oncology
Job Titles:
- Associate Professor of Medicine
Job Titles:
- Assistant Professor, Oncology
I attended UT Austin for my undergraduate degree before completing my Masters in Medical Sciences at UNT Health Science Center in Fort Worth, Texas. I then received my medical degree at the TTUHSC Paul L. Foster School of Medicine in El Paso, Texas, and stayed on in El Paso to complete my Internal Medicine residency before coming to WashU to pursue a fellowship in Endocrinology.
I have a broad scope of interest, but am most interested in developing a strong foundation in general Endocrinology to become the best clinician I can possibly be. In the interim, I'd like to explore various fields within the specialty to determine if one in particular may spark a passion for a niche specialization.
I was born and raised in a small city called Vadodara in Gujarat, India. I completed my medical school at Smt. N.H.L. Municipal Medical College in Ahmedabad and internal medicine residency at The Christ Hospital in Cincinnati, OH. My current interest in endocrinology extends to all aspects, and I look forward to my fellowship, where I will learn, grow, and develop my expertise.
Job Titles:
- Assistant Professor, Otolaryngology - Head & Neck Surgery
Biography
Samantha was born and raised in West Virginia. She completed her undergrad at Princeton University with a degree in chemistry and then went on to work at Merck as a medicinal chemist. She completed an MD, PhD at the University of Virginia and then came to St. Louis for internal medicine residency at Barnes Jewish Hospital. In 2019, she became an endocrinology fellow, mentored by Jing Hughes, MD, PhD, at the Washington University School of Medicine, Division of Endocrinology, Metabolism & Lipid Research. After which, Adamson became a faculty member in July 2023.
Biography
Sangeeta Adak received her Ph.D in Biochemistry in 2009 from the University of Calcutta, India where she studied the possible risk factors in type 2 Diabetes mellitus and associated cardiovascular disorders. In the same year she joined Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis in Dr. Linda Pike's lab for her postdoctoral studies where her research focused on structure-function analysis of epidermal growth factor (EGF) receptor and characterization of its interaction with other ErbB family members. She then joined in Dr. Clay Semenkovich's lab in 2012 at the Washington University School of Medicine as a postdoctoral research fellow to study lipid metabolism. She was appointed as a Staff Scientist in 2013 and Senior scientist in 2017. Dr. Adak joined the faculty as an instructor in the Division of Endocrinology, Metabolism, and Lipid Research in the Department of Medicine in 2021.
Research Interests
My research interest is based on the role of lipoprotein metabolism, lipid-protein/lipid interaction in diabetes and related metabolic disorders. My current research focus is on peripheral artery disease model involving characterization of genetically engineered in vivo model which offers unique opportunities to manipulate physiology with the goal of a clearer perspective of healthy and diseased states. I am also interested in studying the effect of glucocorticoid receptor post-translational modifications in insulin resistance.
I am also actively engaged in Diabetic research Core and Nutritional Obesity research core by creating an environment that supports important as well as innovative research in diabetes and related metabolic disorders that would likely contribute to discoveries that can be translated to novel treatments for diabetes and its complications.
Job Titles:
- Assistant Professor, Otolaryngology - Head & Neck Surgery
Job Titles:
- Associate Professor of Medicine
Dr. Jasim has obtained her master degree in public health, with Epidemiology focus at Saint Louis University as a Fulbright Scholar. She, then, worked as a post-doctoral fellow in the cancer genetics department at the University of Texas in Houston, MD Anderson Cancer Center before she returned to Saint Louis University School of Medicine to complete her training in Internal Medicine residency.
She pursued her Endocrinology fellowship training at the Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN where she also served as Instructor in Medicine. During her fellowship, she was actively involved in multiple Endocrine societies including the American Thyroid Association, Endocrine Society and served as the Fellow in Training Representative on AACE (American Association of Clinical Endocrinologist) Board of directors. She joined the faculty at the Division of Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolism at Washington University School of Medicine in 2017. She also served as reviewer for Mayo Clinic Proceedings, Journal of Clinical and Translational Endocrinology: Case Reports, AACE Case Reports Journal, and Endocrine Practice.
Research Interests
Dr. Jasim developed an interest in Endocrine neoplasia and related hormonal disorders while working at MD Anderson cancer center in Houston, TX. She subsequently worked with her mentors at the mayo clinic to develop this interest. She focused on the therapeutic outcomes and treatment modalities in advanced metastatic differentiated thyroid cancer and relevant adverse events of available therapies with possible ways to optimize outcomes. She was also involved in clinical trials related to the use kinase inhibitors such as pazopanib and lenvatinib in advanced and progressive malignant pheochromocytoma and paraganglioma. She had multiple poster and oral presentations at the ATA and Endocrine society on this topic. She is looking into optimizing patient experience undergoing treatment for advanced endocrine neoplasia and familial endocrine tumor disorders by approaching it in systematic and multidisciplinary fashion.
Job Titles:
- Assistant Professor of Radiation Oncology
Job Titles:
- Assistant Professor, Surgery Section of Surgical Oncology
Job Titles:
- Assistant Professor, Surgery Division of Surgical Oncology
Job Titles:
- Program Director
- Professor of Medicine / Program Director, Endocrinology, Diabetes & Metabolism
Job Titles:
- Professor, Surgery Section of Surgical Oncology