Ingrid Libman MD

Ingrid Libman, MD, PhD, is an Associate Professor in the Division of Pediatric Endocrinology and Diabetes at Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh of UPMC. She also holds a secondary appointment in the Department of Epidemiology, Graduate School of Public Health, University of Pittsburgh. Her scientific interests focus on the etiology, prevention and treatment of diabetes in childhood, with particular emphasis on the effect of obesity and insulin resistance in type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM). Dr. Libman obtained her MD at the Universidad Nacional de Rosario, Argentina and then pursued a Masters followed by a PhD in Public Health at the University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Upon graduation, her clinical interest and desire to become a clinical researcher led her to complete a residency program in pediatrics followed by a fellowship in pediatric endocrinology, both at Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh. She then joined as faculty.

As part of her PhD thesis, she described a dramatic rise in the incidence of T1DM in the adolescent population, particularly in African Americans. This was followed by the finding that some children have characteristics of both type 1 and type 2 diabetes disease processes, in particular African Americans, who had evidence of β cell autoimmunity but also clear characteristics of insulin resistance, including overweight and acanthosis nigricans. A significant career contribution to the literature was the first recognition that obesity was present in children with T1DM with rising frequency over decades. She is currently exploring the effect of overweight and insulin resistance on early CVD risk factors and markers in children with T1DM. Her continued interest in this field has led to her current role as study co-chair of a multicenter US clinical trial to assess the efficacy and safety of metformin in overweight children with T1DM.