Joan Han, M.D.

Pediatric Endocrinology Research Fellow, Unit on Growth and Obesity, Developmental Endocrinology and Genetics, Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development.

Education
A.B., Harvard College, Cambridge, Massachusetts, 1995
M.D., Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, 1999

Research Interests
Dr. Han's research focuses on the genetic, metabolic, and neuroendocrine factors associated with pediatric obesity. She has a particular interest in the role of brain-derived neurotrophic factor, BDNF, in regulating energy homeostasis. She has studied the association between BDNF haploinsufficiency and obesity in WAGR syndrome, and also conducts phenotype-genotype correlation studies in patients with WAGR syndrome and other chromosome 11p deletions.

Selected Publications:

Brain-derived neurotrophic factor and obesity in the WAGR syndrome. Han JC, Liu QR, Jones M, Levinn RL, Menzie CM, Jefferson-George KS, Adler-Wailes DC, Sanford EL, Lacbawan FL, Uhl GR, Rennert OM, Yanovski JA. N Engl J Med 2008;359:918-27.

Insulin resistance, hyperinsulinemia, and energy intake in overweight children.
Han JC, Rutledge MS, Kozlosky M, Salaita CG, Gustafson JK, Keil MF, Fleisch AF, Roberts MD, Ning C, Yanovski JA. J Pediatr 2008;152:612-7.

Intensive therapies for the treatment of pediatric obesity. Han JC, Yanovski JA. Chapter 21 in Jelalian E, Steele RG, eds. Handbook of Child and Adolescent Obesity: Springer Publishers (2008).

Influence of serum leptin on weight and body fat growth in children at high risk for adult obesity. Fleisch AF, Agarwal N, Roberts MD, Han JC, Theim KR, Vexler A, Troendle J, Yanovski SZ, Yanovski JA. J Clin Endocrinol Metab 2007;92(3):948-54.

Oxygen-uptake efficiency slope as a determinant of fitness in overweight adolescents. Drinkard B, Roberts MD, Ranzenhofer LM, Han JC, Yanoff LB, Merke DP, Savastano DM, Brady S, Yanovski JA. Med Sci Sports Exerc 2007;39:1811-6.

Hyperphagia, severe obesity, impaired cognitive function and hyperactivity associated with functional loss of one copy of the BDNF gene. Gray J, Yeo GS, Cox JJ, Keogh JM, Morton J, Adlam AR, Yanovski JA, El Gharbawy A, Han JC, Tung YC, Hodges JR, Raymond FL, O’ Rahilly S, Farooqi IS. Diabetes 2006;55(12):3366-71.