Melanie Cree, MD, PhD
Session Topic: Adolescent Health and PCOS
Dr. Cree is one of the country’s leading pediatric endocrinologists and researchers specializing in polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) in adolescence. She is founder and Director of the Multi-Disciplinary PCOS Clinic at Children’s Hospital Colorado. She sees girls with PCOS who are also overweight.
Dr. Cree’s research focuses on insulin resistance in girls with PCOS, youth with type 1 diabetes and type 2 diabetes. Her research examines the interaction between glucose and fat metabolism and how the interplay leads to insulin resistance, fatty liver disease and early cardiovascular disease. One of her primary projects is studying insulin resistance and cardiovascular disease in adolescents with PCOS. This work is funded by the Center for Women’s Health Research, the American Heart Association, the University of Colorado, and the Thrasher Pediatric Research Foundation. Dr. Cree studies pre-diabetes and heart disease in girls with PCOS. Previous studies have shown that women with PCOS have four times the risk of developing diabetes and have a larger incidence of high blood pressure and development of plaque in their arteries. The purpose of Dr. Cree’s research is to better understand what is happening on metabolic and the vascular level to teenage girls with PCOS and if an intervention of exercise, diet, and medication at an early age will help to mitigate the risk of developing heart disease and diabetes.
Dr. Cree attended medical school and completed her PhD at the University of Texas Medical Branch School of Medicine, and her Residency and Fellowship training were at the University of Colorado (Children’s Hospital Colorado) Program.
Dr. Cree is a member of the PCOS Challenge Medical/Scientific Advisory Board.
