The NIDDK welcomes William Cefalu, MD, as the new DEM division director, which became effective August 18, 2019. Dr. Cefalu will set the division’s scientific priorities and interact frequently with the leaders of national professional societies, lay organizations, and advocacy groups. The division provides research funding and support for basic and clinical research and research training in diabetes, and other metabolic and endocrine disorders.

For nearly 35 years, Dr. Cefalu has had a career as a scientist, a health care expert, and a physician. His clinical and basic science research has focused on interventions to improve the metabolic state of people with insulin resistance and type 2 diabetes, and on the cellular mechanisms for insulin resistance. Dr. Cefalu is widely published—with more than 300 publications in journals, books, and book chapters—and has served as the editor of five books on diabetes management. He also served as the editor-in-chief of Diabetes Care from 2012 to 2017.

Dr. Cefalu comes to the NIDDK from the American Diabetes Association (ADA), where he served as the chief scientific, medical, and mission officer. Prior to joining the ADA, Dr. Cefalu was executive director and professor at LSU's Pennington Biomedical Research Center. He has had research support from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) for 25 years and was the principal investigator for two NIH-funded research centers. He has also held academic appointments at Tulane University School of Medicine, Wake Forest University School of Medicine, and at the University of Vermont College of Medicine.

The NIDDK looks forward to Dr. Cefalu bringing his scientific expertise, physician experience, and leadership in the diabetes community to his new role, promoting the mission of the NIDDK Division of Diabetes, Endocrinology, and Metabolic Diseases.