Rate My Professor Darleen Sandoval

Darleen Sandoval, PhD, is Professor with Tenure in the Department of Pediatrics, Section of Nutrition, and in the Department of Medicine, Division of Endocrinology, Metabolism, and Diabetes at the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, a position she has held since September 2020. Previously, she served as Associate Professor at the University of Michigan in Molecular and Integrative Physiology, Nutritional Sciences, Internal Medicine-Metabolism, Endocrinology, and Diabetes, and Surgery from 2017 to 2020, and as Assistant Professor in various roles at the University of Michigan from 2014 to 2017 and at the University of Cincinnati from 2010 to 2014. Earlier appointments include Research Assistant Professor in Psychiatry at the University of Cincinnati from 2005 to 2009. Her academic training includes a PhD in Exercise Science from Arizona State University (2000), MS in Exercise Science from Central Washington University (1996), BS in Exercise Technology from the University of New Mexico (1993), and a Postdoctoral Fellowship in Endocrinology and Metabolism at Vanderbilt University (2001-2004).

Dr. Sandoval's research examines the gut-brain axis in metabolic regulation, focusing on glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) in glucose homeostasis and type 2 diabetes dysregulation, and the physiological mechanisms of bariatric surgery success, including weight loss and improvements in glucose and lipid homeostasis. Utilizing in vivo physiology and genetic mouse models, her lab has produced over 100 publications, including "Physiology of proglucagon peptides: role of glucagon and GLP-1 in health and disease" (Physiological Reviews, 2015), "Mechanisms for the metabolic success of bariatric surgery" (Journal of Neuroendocrinology, 2019), "Glucose metabolism after bariatric surgery: implications for T2DM remission and hypoglycaemia" (Nature Reviews Endocrinology, 2023), "Postprandial metabolomics analysis reveals disordered serotonin metabolism in post-bariatric hypoglycemia" (Journal of Clinical Investigation, 2024), and "Insights into the neurobiology of weight loss after bariatric surgery and GLP-1R agonists" (Neuropharmacology, 2025). Supported by NIH and American Diabetes Association funding, she holds leadership positions as Associate Director of the Colorado Nutrition Obesity Research Center, Director of Faculty Wellbeing for Research Intensive Faculty in Pediatrics, Co-Director of the Department of Pediatrics Junior Faculty Award Program, permanent member of the NIDDK-C study section, and Co-Founder and Co-Chair of the Women's Interprofessional Network of the American Diabetes Association. Honors include nomination for the Helmholtz Young Investigator Diabetes Award (2013) and selection for the AAMC Mid-Career Women’s Leadership Development Workshop (2018).