Rate My Professor Dana Dabelea

Dana Dabelea, MD, PhD, is the Conrad M. Riley Distinguished Professor of Epidemiology and Professor of Pediatrics in the Department of Epidemiology at the Colorado School of Public Health, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, part of the University of Colorado at Denver. A prominent figure in Health Science, she serves as Director of the Lifecourse Epidemiology of Adiposity and Diabetes (LEAD) Center, founded in 2015, and Associate Dean for Research. Her academic journey began in Romania, where she earned an MD from the University of Medicine and Pharmacy Timisoara in 1990, completed residencies in Internal Medicine (1991-1994) and Diabetes and Metabolic Diseases (1994-1997), and obtained a PhD in Clinical Sciences in 1997. She conducted a postdoctoral fellowship in Diabetes Epidemiology and Field Studies at the National Institutes of Health in Phoenix, Arizona (1997-1999). Joining the University of Colorado in 2001 as Assistant Professor of Preventive Medicine and Biometrics, she advanced to Associate Professor with tenure in 2006, full Professor in 2011, and earned the Distinguished Professor title in 2021.

Dabelea's research focuses on lifecourse epidemiology of adiposity and diabetes, pediatric obesity, type 1 and type 2 diabetes in youth, diabetes prevention, Native American health, and intrauterine exposures. As principal investigator for major NIH-funded studies including SEARCH for Diabetes in Youth, Healthy Start Study, and Environmental Influences on Child Health Outcomes, her work examines diabetes incidence, progression, complications, and early risk factors. Key publications include "Incidence Trends of Type 1 and Type 2 Diabetes among Youths, 2002–2012" (New England Journal of Medicine, 2017), "Association of Type 1 Diabetes vs Type 2 Diabetes Diagnosed during Childhood and Adolescence with Complications during Teenage Years and Young Adulthood" (JAMA, 2017), "Association of Intrauterine Exposure to Maternal Diabetes and Obesity with Type 2 Diabetes in Youth: The SEARCH Case-Control Study" (Diabetes Care, 2008), and "Increasing Prevalence of Type II Diabetes in American Indian Children" (Diabetologia, 1998). She has received the Kelly West Award in Diabetes Epidemiology (American Diabetes Association, 2017), Elizabeth Gee Memorial Award (University of Colorado, 2017), Chancellor’s Distinguished Research Lectureship Award (2024), Graduate School Mentoring Award (2014), and Excellence in Faculty Research (2010). Dabelea has contributed to scientific committees for the American Diabetes Association and editorial roles, enhancing diabetes epidemiology.