Dr. Kershaw's academic mission is to forward the understanding and treatment of obesity and related metabolic disorders by combining basic and translational research with clinical expertise. Obesity is a global public health threat that is frequently associated with additional metabolic abnormalities including insulin resistance, glucose intolerance, dyslipidemia, and hypertension (the metabolic syndrome). Together these abnormalities contribute to diseases affecting virtually every organ system. Dr. Kershaw's laboratory focuses on defining the mechanisms by which intracellular lipid metabolism (synthesis, storage, hydrolysis, and oxidation) contributes to obesity and associated metabolic disorders. Most recently, Dr. Kershaw's research efforts have focused on pathways of triacylglycerol hydrolysis (lipolysis) – arguably one of the most fundamental processes in metabolism. Dr. Kershaw is working to define how tissue-specific triacylglycerol hydrolysis contributes to metabolic phenotypes, not only in the metabolic syndrome, but also in variety of other diseases ranging from infertility to cancer. Another major focus of her laboratory is to identify and characterize additional proteins and pathways that contribute to metabolic disease. These efforts fall into two main areas: 1) characterizing novel adipocyte-secreted factors (adipokines) and their relationship to metabolic disease in humans, and 2) characterizing novel genes/loci linked to metabolic disease in humans. Dr. Kershaw's laboratory uses a combination of molecular, cellular, physiological, and translational approaches. The ultimate goal is to develop more effective strategies for prevention and treatment of obesity and associated metabolic disorders.
Dr. Kershaw's clinical interests focus on disorders of "fat," including the following core areas: 1) obesity, insulin resistance, diabetes, and metabolic syndrome, 2) pre- and post-operative care for bariatric surgery patients, 3) lipodystrophies, lipomatoses, and rare adipose tissue disorders, and 4) lipid metabolism and dyslipidemias. Dr. Kershaw is board certified in 1) Endocrinology, Diabetes, and Metabolism by the American Board of Internal Medicine (ABIM), 2) Obesity Medicine by the American Board of Obesity medicine (ABOM), and Clinical Lipidology by the American Board of Clinical Lipidology (ABCL).
Dr. Kershaw's educational mission is to facilitate the career development of trainees in the field of Endocrinology and Metabolism with an emphasis on obesity and its complications. She accomplishes this mission through a combination of didactic coursework, hands-on training, and mentoring. In this way, Dr. Kershaw, has contributed to the scientific and academic development of several trainees ranging from undergraduate students to trainees at the T32 and K level. Several of her prior trainees have subsequently secured independent tenure-track research positions, academic positions, and/or positions in pharmaceutical companies. Dr. Kershaw has held several research training leadership positions including serving as the Associated Program Director for Research for the Clinical Adult Endocrine Fellowship Program, as an oversight committee member for the T32 Training Program in Endocrinology, and as a member of the Physician Scientist Training Program Steering Committee at t he University of Pittsburgh.
- BA, Cornell University College of Arts and Sciences, 1991
- MD, Weill Cornell Medical College of Cornell University, 1997
- Residency, New York Presbyterian Hospital - Cornell Campus, 2000
- Fellowship, Division of Endocrinology, Department of Medicine, Beth Israel Deaconess, 2003
- Instructor, Division of Endocrinology, Department of Medicine, Beth Israel Deaconess, 2008
Education & Training
Harmon, D. B., Wu, C., Dedousis, N., Sipula, I. J., Stefanovic-Racic, M., Schoiswohl, G., O'Donnell, C. P., Alonso, L. C., Kershaw, E. E., Kelley, E. E., O'Doherty, R. M. Adipose Tissue Derived Free Fatty Acids Initiate Myeloid Cell Accumulation in Mouse Liver in States of Lipid Oversupply. Am J Physiol Endocrinol Metab. 2018; Epub ahead of print.
Parajuli, N., Takahara, S., Matsumura, N., Kim, T. T., Feraoussi, M., Migglautsch, A. K., Zechner, R., Breinbauer, R., Kershaw, E. E., Dyck, J. R. B. Atglistatin Ameliorates Functional Decline in Heart Failure via Adipocyte-specific Inhibition of Adipose Triglyceride Lipase. Am J Physiol Heart Circ Physiol. 2018; Epub ahead of print.
Babaei, R., Schuster, M., Meln, I., Lerch, S., Ghandour, R. A., Pisani, D. F., Bayindir-Buchhalter, I., Marx, J., Wu, S., Schoiswohl, G., Billeter, A. T., Krunic, D., Mauer, J., Lee, Y. H., Granneman, J. G., Fischer, L., Muller-Stitch, B. P., Amri, E. Z., Kershaw, E. E., Heikenwalkder, M. Jak-TGFß cross-talk links transient adipose tissue inflammation to beige adipogenesis. Sci Signal. 2018; 11(527)
Kotzbeck, P., Giordano, A., Mondini, E., Murano, I., Severi, I., Venema, W., Cecchini, M. P., Kershaw, E. E., Barbatelli, G., Haemmerle, G., Zechner, R., Cinti, S. Brown adipose tissue whitening leads to brown adipocyte death and adipose tissue inflammation. J Lipid Res. 2018; 59(5): 784-794.
Salatzki, J., Foryst-Ludwig, A., Bentele, K., Blumrich, A., Smeir, E., Ban, Z., Brix, S., Grune, J., Beyhoff, N., Klopfleisch, R., Dunst, S., Surma, M. A., Klose, C., Rothe, M., Heinzel, F. R., Krannich, A., Kershaw, E. E., Beule, D., Schulze, P.C., Marx, N. Adipose tissue ATGL modifies the cardiac lipidome in pressure-overload-induced left ventricular failure. PLoS Genet. 2018; 14(1): e1007171.
Schreiber, R., Diwoky, C., Schoiswohl, G., Feiler, U., Wongsiriroj, N., Abdellatif, M., Kolb, D., Hoeks, J., Kershaw, E. E., Sedej, S., Schrauwen, P., Haemmerle, G., Zechner, R. Cold-Induced Thermogenesis Depends on ATGL-Mediated Lipolysis in Cardiac Muscle, but Not Brown Adipose Tissue. Cell Metab. 2017; 26(5): 753-763.e7.
Simcox, J., Geoghegan, G., Maschek, J. A., Bensard, C. L., Pasquali, M., Miao, R., Lee, S., Jiang, L., Huck, I., Kershaw, E. E., Donato, A. J., Apte, U., Longo, N., Rutter, J., Schreiber, R., Zechner, R., Cox, J., Villanueva, C. J. Global Analysis of Plasma Lipids Identifies Liver-Derived Acylcarnitines as a Fuel Source for Brown Fat Thermogenesis. Cell Metab. 2017; 26(3): 509-522.
Falabella, M., Sun, L., Barr, J., Pena, A. Z., Kershaw, E. E., Gingras, S., Goncharova, E. A., Kaufman, B. A. Single-Step qPCR and dPCR detection of diverse CRISPR-Cas9 gene editing events in vivo. G3 (Bethesda). 2017; 7(10): 3533-3542.
Kim, S. P., Li, Z., Zoch, M. L., Frey, M. L., Bowman, C. E., Kushwaha, P., Ryan, K. A., Goh, B. C., Scafidi, S., Pickett, J. E., Faugere, M. C., Kershaw, E. E., Thoreck, D. L. J., Clemens, T. L., Wolfgang, M. H., Riddle, R. C. Fatty acid oxidation by the osteoblast is required for normal bone acquisition in a sex- and diet-dependent manner. JCI Insight. 2017; 2(16)
Rachakonda, V., Wills, R., DeLany, J. P., Kershaw, E. E., Behari, J. Differential impact of weight loss on nonalcoholic fatty liver resolution in a North American cohort with obesity. Obesity (Silver Spring). 2017; Epub ahead of print.
- Cornell University Medical College, Dr. Harold Lamport Biomedical Research Award, 1994
- Cornell University Medical College, Dean's Research Award, 1995
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI), Award for Continuation of Medical Studies (Year 1), 1995
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI), Award for Continuation of Medical Studies (year 2), 1996
- Cornell University Medical College, Alpha Omega Alpha Medical Honor Society, 1996
- Cornell University Medical College, Medical Doctorate with Honors in Research, 1997
- Cornell University Medical College, Janet M. Glasgow Memorial Achievement Award, 1997
- The Endocrine Society, Honorary Membership Award for Endocrine Research and Education, 1997
- Endocrine Fellows Foundation, Endocrine Fellow Research Award, 2002
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI), Physician-Scientist Early Career Award, 2009
