Dr. Philip Zeitler
Phil Zeitler, M.D., Ph.D. is Professor of Pediatrics and Head of the Section of Pediatric Endocrinology at the University of Colorado. He is also Chair of the Department of Endocrinology at Children’s Hospital Colorado and Medical Director of the Children’s Hospital Colorado Clinical Translational Research Center of the Colorado Clinical Translational Science Institute.
Dr. Zeitler received his MD, PhD from Duke University (1985) and completed pediatric residency at the University of Washington (1988) followed by a post-doctoral fellowship at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital in physiology and biophysics.
Dr. Zeitler’s research group studies the physiologic and psychological aspects of obesity and insulin resistance in adolescents with type 1 and type 2 diabetes and in special populations. Dr. Zeitler was Chair of TODAY2, an NIH-funded, multi-center trial examining clinical outcomes in adolescents with type 2 diabetes and co-investigator in RISE, an NIH consortium exploring ways to improve beta cell function in adolescents with prediabetes and recent onset type 2 diabetes. Dr. Zeitler co-chaired the ADA guidelines on the evaluation and management of Type 2 Diabetes in youth in 2018 and the ISPAD guidelines on the management of type 2 diabetes in 2022
Dr. Nadia Merchant
Nadia Merchant, MD, FAAP, FACMG is a Pediatric Endocrinologist and Geneticist, Assistant Professor of Pediatrics, UT Southwestern, Dallas, Texas; Children’s Health, Dallas, Texas. Her clinical roles are focused on Bone Clinic, Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy Clinic, Skeletal Dysplasia Clinic and general Endocrine and Diabetes
Her research interest is in bone health, growth disorders, improving the management of endocrinopathies in genetic disorders with special interest in skeletal dysplasias, Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy, X-linked adrenoleukodystrophy and calcium disorders.
Dr. Merchant is a part of DEI Committee for ACMG (American College of Medical Genetics), Executive Committee Member for Section of Endocrinology (SOEn) for AAP (American Academy of Pediatrics), Skeletal Disorders Gene Curation Expert Panel for ClinGen. In the Optimize DMD she is the chair of Obesity Working Group; Member of the Osteoporosis Working Group. Contact Information: nadia.merchant@utsouthwestern.edu
Dr. Cuixia Tan
Cuixia Tian, MD is ABPN board-certified Pediatric Neurologist specialized in neuromuscular disease. She is an Associate Professor and Attending physician at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center, and affiliated faculty member at University of Cincinnati College of Medicine. Her research is focused on clinical trials and studies in pediatric neuromuscular diseases including DMD, SMA, BMD, CMD and Myotonic dystrophy.
She is leading the multidisciplinary comprehensive neuromuscular care program, also as clinical director of PPMD certified Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy care clinic and clinical director of Muscular Dystrophy Association clinic.
She is an active member of World Muscle Society, American Academy of Neurology, and Child Neurology Society. She is collaborating with both national and international neuromuscular specialists for multi-center and multidisciplinary studies, including participating as consortia member of CTAP and D-RSC. She has been awarded and led many clinical trials and studies sponsored by NIH, MDA, PPMD and industrial sponsors.
She is member of the OPTIMIZE DMD Consortium as working groupmember for both Weight and Osteoporosis management groups.
Dr. Diana Barucha-Goebel
Diana Bharucha-Goebel, M.D. is Director of the Neuromuscular Program and Associate Professor in the Division of Neurology at Children’s National Hospital in Washington, D.C., and the Division of Pediatrics and Neurology at the George Washington University School of Medicine & Health Sciences and Clinical Research Collaborator at the National Institutes of Health (NINDS/ NNDCS).
Her work centers on early onset neuromuscular diseases, with a particular focus on the evaluation and identification of disease-focused outcome measures in rare disease as it pertains to better understanding functional outcomes for clinical trial readiness. Dr. Bharucha-Goebel is the recipient of the Dodge Young Investigator Award (Child Neurology Society), MDA Tribute Award, American Society for Gene and Cell Therapy Career Development Award, and World Muscle Society Elsevier Award.
She works in the Optimize DMD consortium on the Weight Management Study Group to review and evaluate the impacts and management of corticosteroid related side effects in the Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy population.
Dr. Jaclyn Tamaroff
Jaclyn Tamaroff, MD, MSCI is a Assistant Professor of Pediatrics, Division of Pediatric Endocrinology and Diabetes, Vanderbilt University Medical Center.
Dr. Tamaroff’s research program focuses on the interaction between glucose and insulin metabolism and cardiac disease in neuromuscular disorders, specifically Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) and Friedreich’s ataxia (FRDA). She is currently investigating the utility of wearable technology in DMD to assess glycemia, activity, heart rate, and sleep and the relationship between these parameters. Additional ongoing studies are evaluating insulin sensitivity in DMD and the potential relationship to cardiomyopathy. Finally, she will be leading future studies that explore the use of weight-management medications in individuals with DMD.
Dr. Tamaroff was a member of the FRDA Consensus Clinical Management Guidelines Writing Committee (2020-2022) that published updated guidelines for FRDA. She was also a member of the National Institute of Neurologic Disorders and Stroke (NINDS) Common Data Elements Mitochondrial disease, Endocrinology subgroup (2022-2023). Dr. Tamaroff is a member of the OPTIMIZE DMD weight-management working group.
Dr. Sze Choong (Jarod) Wong
Dr. Jarod Wong is Senior Clinical Lecturer/Consultant Paediatric Endocrinologist based at Human Nutrition, College of Medicine, Veterinary and Life Sciences at the University of Glasgow with clinical commitments at the Department of Paediatric Endocrinology, Royal Hospital for Children, Glasgow. Dr. Wong leads the Bone, Endocrine, Nutrition Research Group in Glasgow (BEN-G). For nearly 20 years, Dr. Wong’s research has primarily focused on the impact of chronic disorders, suboptimal nutrition, and glucocorticoid use on growth, puberty, and musculoskeletal outcomes.
Dr. Wong is the Lead of the Bone and Endocrine Working Group and Co-Lead of the Nutrition Working Group for DMD Care UK. Dr. Wong is a Steering Committee Member of DMD Care UK. Dr. Wong is the Chair of the Clinical Committee for the British Society for Paediatric Endocrinology and Diabetes and sits on the Clinical Committee of the European Society of Paediatric Endocrinology.
Dr. Wong is a member of the OPTIMIZE-DMD steering committee; co-chair of the osteoporosis working group and member of the adrenal insufficiency and weight management working group
Dr. Laura McAdams
Laura McAdam MSc, MD, FRCPC is a Physician Director of Ambulatory Services at Holland Bloorview Kids Rehabilitation Hospital and an Assistant Professor, Department of Pediatrics, Temerty Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada. Her clinical focus is rare genetic conditions specifically children who have neuromuscular conditions. She leads the multidisciplinary Neuromuscular Clinic and Rett syndrome clinic and is a Clinician Investigator at the Bloorview Research Institute.
Dr. McAdam’s research focuses on three main areas: enhancing care for children with neuromuscular conditions, advancing rehabilitation for children with rare diseases, and understanding the broader psychosocial impact of living with a rare condition. Through her research she seeks to bridge knowledge gaps, improve patient care, and address the multi-faceted challenges faced by individuals with rare diseases and their caregivers.
Dr. McAdam participates in the Canadian Neuromuscular Disease Registry, Canadian Pediatric Neuromuscular Group, the Neuromuscular Disease Network for Canada and is a member of the Optimizing Management of Endocrine Complications In Optimize DMD, Dr. McAdam is an active member of 2 working groups: growth and puberty working group and weight management working group. She provides the neuromuscular clinic perspective regarding monitoring side effects, collaborating with multidisciplinary teams to personalize child care.
Dr. Maria-Elena Lautatzis
Dr. Meilan Rutter
Dr. Meilan Rutter is Professor of Pediatrics in the Division of Endocrinology at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital and the University of Cincinnati. She completed her training in pediatrics and pediatric endocrinology in the United Kingdom, New Zealand, and the USA, before her appointment as a pediatric endocrinologist at Cincinnati Children’s in 2005.
She provides care for children, adolescents and young adults with a wide spectrum of endocrine conditions, with a clinical and research focus on improving the health of people with endocrine complications associated with Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy (DMD). She has served as the primary endocrinologist for the comprehensive interdisciplinary Neuromuscular Center at Cincinnati Children’s from 2006 and is also a member of the Center’s Leadership Committee. She has contributed to international awareness of the importance of proactively addressing endocrine and bone health issues in people with DMD and has conducted research and co-authored multiple publications in this field. She has been part of the OPTIMIZE-DMD Consortium since its inauguration in 2023.
Within OPTIMIZE-DMD, she serves on the Steering Committee, as co-chair of the Growth and Puberty working group, and as a member of the Weight Management and Bone Health working groups
Dr. Rana Halloun
Bio Coming Soon!
Dr. Roozbeh Pourziaei Manesh
Dr. Roozbeh Pourziaei Manesh is a Clinical Research Associate at the Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario (CHEO) Research Institute. He holds a Doctor of Pharmacy from Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences and an MBA from the University of Ottawa’s Telfer School of Management. Since 2023, he has been an active member of the OPTIMIZE-DMD Consortium, serving as the Secretariat for its Steering Committee.
Dr. Sonum Bharil
Sonum Bharill MD, MHS is an attending physician at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine where she sees patients with diabetes and general endocrine disorders, and at Kennedy Krieger Institute where she sees patients with Muscular Dystrophy. Her research focuses on the effect of increased weight on body composition markers in pediatrics. In DMD, she is studying the effect of increased weight via body composition markers on neurologic, pulmonary and cardiac outcomes. She joined the Weight Management section of the OPTIMIZE DMD Consortium during Pediatric Endocrinology fellowship and is thrilled to be working with a wonderful group! Fun fact: Dr. Bharill speaks English, Spanish and Hindi and loves to travel around the world to explore new cultures and vegetarian cuisine. Her contact information is: sbharil1@jhmi.edu