Christoph Buettner, MD, PhD

• Professor of Medicine and Chancellor Scholar
• Chief, Division of Endocrinology, Metabolism & Nutrition
• Vice Chair for Basic Research

• Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School
  Professor with Tenure, Department of Medicine, 2020 - present
• Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai
  Professor with Tenure, Department of Medicine, 2016 - 2020
• Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai
  Associate Professor (with Tenure from 2015), Department of Medicine, 2011-2016
• Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai
  Assistant Professor, Department of Medicine, 2006 - 2011
• Albert Einstein College of Medicine
  Instructor, Department of Medicine, 2004 - 2006

Internship and Residencies
 

• Bellevue Hospital and New York Harbor Health Care System, NYU Medicine
  Internship and Residency, 1999-2002
• Klinikum Innenstadt, Ziemsenstr, Ludwig Maximilians University
  Medicine, Internship and Residency, Munich, Germany, 1995 - 1997

Research Fellowships
 

• Albert Einstein College and Montefiore Hospital
  Clinical Endocrine Fellowship, 2002-2004
• Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Harvard Medical School
  Endocrine Research Fellowship, 1997 - 1999

• Ludwig Maximilians University
  Ph.D., Munich, Germany, 11/1998
• Ludwig Maximilians University
  M.D., Munich, Germany, 11/1994

We study mechanisms of central control of peripheral metabolism and how this is altered in metabolic disease. We employ integrated physiology approaches to deconstruct the role of the brain in orchestrating organ crosstalk such as nutrient flux between adipose tissue and the liver and its relevance in regulating insulin action.

We aim to elucidate the role of the sympathetic nervous system (SNS), adipose tissue lipolysis, lipotoxicity, glucose counter-regulation, and neuroinflammation in the pathophysiology of diabetes and obesity. These studies may provide important insights into mechanisms that drive the development and progression of metabolic disease and allow the identification of novel therapeutic approaches for treating obesity and diabetes.

Ongoing Research Projects:

• Role of the SNS in the pathophysiology of diabetes and obesity
• CNS control of glucose counterregulation
• Metabolic dysregulation in traumatic brain injury (TBI)
• Role of impaired insulin action (peripheral and central) in Alzheimer’s disease (AD)
• The role of circadian rhythms in metabolic control and cognition

Clinical Studies:

• Light, Metabolic Syndrome, and Alzheimer’s Disease
• Metabolic dysregulation in traumatic brain injury (TBI)
• Antibiotics and hypoglycemia

• Member American Association of Physicians
  American Association of Physicians, 2022
• Member Interurban Clinical Club
  Interurban Clinical Club (founded by William Osler), 2016
• Member American Society of Clinical Investigation
  American Society of Clinical Investigation, 2012
• Career Development Award
  American Diabetes Association, 2011
• Dr. Harold and Golden Lamport Research Award
  Endowment by Dr. Harold and Golden Lamport, Sinai selected, 2010
• Hirschl Award
  Hirschl Trust, 2009

Overnutrition causes insulin resistance and metabolic disorder through increased sympathetic nervous system activity

Sakamoto K, et al. Cell Metabolism. 2024 Oct 15:S1550-4131(24)00376-0. doi: 10.1016/j.cmet.2024.09.012. PMID: 39437790.

Brain insulin signalling in metabolic homeostasis and disease

Scherer T, et al. Nature Reviews Endocrinology. 2021 Aug;17(8):468-483. doi: 10.1038/s41574-021-00498-x. PMID: 34108679.

Alternatively activated macrophages do not synthesize catecholamines or contribute to adipose tissue adaptive thermogenesis

Fischer K, et al. Nature Medicine. 2017 May;23(5):623-630. doi: 10.1038/nm.4316. Epub 2017 Apr 17. PMID: 28414329.

Binge drinking induces whole-body insulin resistance by impairing hypothalamic insulin action

Lindtner C, et al. Science Translational Medicine. 2013 Jan 30;5(170):170ra14. doi: 10.1126/scitranslmed.3005123. 

Brain insulin controls adipose tissue lipolysis and lipogenesis

Scherer T, et al. Cell Metabolism. 2011 Feb 2;13(2):183-94. doi: 10.1016/j.cmet.2011.01.008.

NCBI Bibliography