Dr. Joel E. Lavine, a tenured Professor of Pediatrics at Columbia University, continues his prestigious and productive career in the field of Pediatrics. His unique perspectives have granted him a strong understanding of the field, so much so that he continues to innovate and expand on many different concepts in science, engineering, computing, and tools used for diagnostics and therapeutics. He believes that combining internal medicine with pediatrics, pathology, and radiology can help adults and children with the growing obesity problem. He has been successful with this approach over the past 35 years.
Although he is a man of science, his expertise reaches many fields – and he has had countless milestones dedicated to this effort. To this day, Dr. Lavine is interested in genetics, natural history, and environmental factors related to developing and treating non-alcoholic fatty liver disease. With as many as 25% of Americans afflicted with this condition, it is a less understood problem that leads to cancer, liver damage, or even cirrhosis. He endeavors daily to educate and treat people with this problem.
Key Projects and Milestones
Dr. Joel Lavine has fathered many research projects that have primarily been used to educate and treat non-alcoholic fatty liver disease and other related diseases. He is one of the few Principal Investigators who formed the multi-center Clinical Research Network for Fatty Liver Disease as part of the National Institute of Diabetes, Kidney, and Digestive Diseases. It was here that he served as the co-chair of the Steering Committee for over 16 years. In other related studies, Lavine authored many important pieces for his respective field, being cited over 37,000 times. In some highly regarded studies published in 2000, 2010, and 2011, in the Journal of Pediatrics, New England Journal of Medicine, and the Journal of the American Medical Association, respectively, Dr. Joel Lavine MD proved the benefits that supplemental Vitamin E reversed the cellular injury in the liver.
Lavine is well known for deep-diving into his research and has further concluded that certain conditions in boys may make them more susceptible to non-alcoholic fatty disease. The fact that males far outnumber females in this issue may be due to an agonist that affects the nuclear hormone receptor farnesoid-X, which is more implicated in the male body. Lavine had been tenured as a professor at UCSD and remains a fully tenured Professor at Columbia University, publishing his most-cited findings. This has earned him laurels as one of the “SuperDoctors” and “Top Doctors”.
It is difficult to pinpoint every project and milestone of Joel Lavine MD, as he continues to hypothesize, prove, innovate and teach the importance of treatment and proper care of your liver and other associated functions. What is more impressive is that he is often the sole pediatrician chosen to speak on and lead different projects and publishments. For example, he was the sole pediatrician elected to co-chair the aforementioned NIH network and start new divisions related to pediatric gastroenterology, nutrition, and hepatology. These are all still present in the Rady San Diego Children’s Hospital. He is the sole pediatric author of the NASH Guidelines for the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases, the American Gastroenterological Association, and the American College of Gastroenterology.
Outside the Professional Field
Above all, Lavine prides himself on being a great family and community man. He regularly gives back his time and resources as a volunteer physician for the American Liver Foundation. As lovers of animals, Dr. Joel Lavine and his wife give back to animal resource foundations to help end pet displacement and animal abuse. The Lavine’s are looking forward to their 40th wedding anniversary next year and have recently welcomed their first grandchild.
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