Thyroid Research
Joshua Safer
Elizabeth Pearce
Lewis Braverman
Stephanie Lee
In the Thyroid Research Unit, Joshua Safer, M.D., Associate Professor of Medicine and Molecular Medicine, works on the characterization of thyroid hormone action on skin with molecular, cell culture, and in vivo models. Dr. Safer’s lab has determined that epidermal proliferation depends on thyroid hormone. As well, the group found that pharmacological doses of topical thyroid hormone can stimulate epidermal proliferation and hair growth in mice. Recent discoveries include the acceleration of wound healing with topical thyroid hormone and the establishment of the utility of using iopanoic acid as a modifier of cutaneous cell proliferation.
Elizabeth Pearce, M.D., MSc, Assistant Professor of Medicine, runs NIH-supported studies of associations between thyroid hormone status and cardiac function. Dr. Pearce’s work includes epidemiologic work in the fields of thyroid hormone function, iodine nutrition, and related areas.
Lewis Braverman, M.D.,Professor of Medicine, and Sam Pino direct the Iodine Research Laboratory. This lab provides state-of-the-art analysis of iodine in urine, serum, biological tissues, and food samples to researchers and health care providers on a local, regional, and international level. A sensitive assay for measurement of urinary and serum perchlorate has been established as part of a large clinical study to evaluate the effects of low-dose perchlorate on thyroid function, since very low quantities of this anion have been detected as a contaminant in groundwater in several western states and on Cape Cod, Mass.
Dr. Braverman collaborates on studies related to amiodarone; iodine excess and deficiency on thyroid function; the clinical use of recombinant human TSH; and the relationship between hypothyroidism, folic acid deficiency, elevated serum concentrations of homocysteine, and serum lipid fractions.
Stephanie Lee, M.D., Ph.D., Associate Professor of Medicine, maintains an interest in the molecular biology associated with thyroid malignancy.
