Daniel F. Vatner, MD, PhD, serves as Assistant Professor of Medicine (Endocrinology) at Yale School of Medicine. He earned his BA from Swarthmore College in 1998, followed by a PhD in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology in 2005 and an MD from the University of Chicago Pritzker School of Medicine in 2007. Vatner completed his residency in Internal Medicine at Yale-New Haven Hospital in 2010 and his fellowship in Endocrinology and Metabolism at Yale School of Medicine in 2015. He holds board certification in Endocrinology, Diabetes, and Metabolism from the American Board of Internal Medicine, originally certified in 2012. Currently, he provides patient care in the Endocrinology Service at VA Connecticut and maintains affiliations with the Yale Diabetes Research Center, Molecular Medicine, Pharmacology, and Physiology, as well as the Program in Translational Biomedicine and Yale Combined Program in the Biological and Biomedical Sciences.

Dr. Vatner’s research explores insulin resistance in rodents and humans, focusing on its intersections with dyslipidemia, nonalcoholic fatty liver disease, thyromimetic development, lipoprotein lipase modulation, and glucocorticoid action. His investigations cover hepatic insulin resistance, adipose lipolysis, de novo lipogenesis, and metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis. Notable publications include “Humanized mouse liver reveals endothelial control of essential hepatic metabolic functions” (Cell, 2023), “Rising NAFLD and metabolic severity during the Sars-CoV-2 pandemic among children with obesity in the United States” (Obesity, 2023), “Insulin increases placental triglyceride as a potential mechanism for fetal adiposity in maternal obesity” (Molecular Metabolism, 2022), “Hepatic Insulin Resistance Is Not Pathway Selective in Humans With Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease” (Diabetes Care, 2020), “Altered Catecholamine Stimulated Adipose Lipolysis Contributes to Hepatic Steatosis in Pnpla3I148M Mice” (Cellular and Molecular Gastroenterology and Hepatology, 2025), “Elevation of hepatic de novo lipogenesis in mice with overnutrition is dependent on multiple substrates” (Journal of Lipid Research, 2025), “Altered Molecular Regulation of TUG Is a Central Feature of Insulin-Resistant Human Adipose Tissue” (Diabetes, 2025), “Liver lipid droplet cholesterol content is a key determinant of metabolic dysfunction–associated steatohepatitis” (Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 2025), and “ATGL links insulin dysregulation to insulin resistance in adolescents with obesity and hepatosteatosis” (Journal of Clinical Investigation, 2025).

Professional Email: daniel.vatner@yale.edu