Katherine Williams

Research Project Coordinator, PittVax Influenza Studies University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Department of Family Medicine; formerly Internal Medicine and Endocrinology and Metabolism staff physician and Research Associate, research physician University of Pittsburgh Graduate School of Public Health Department of Epidemiology.

Both clinical and research interests focus on understanding ways to prevent disease, including influenza A randomized-controlled clinical trial recruitment of more than 200 children and young adults. Also conducted research registry re-recruitment of more than 100 older adults to study the immunologic effects of influenza vaccine.

Dr. Williams’ prior research interests focused on diabetes, specifically endocrine and metabolic alterations of insulin resistance associated with both Type 1 and 2 diabetes and the ways in which these alterations can be studied and manipulated to manage diabetes and prevent complications. This includes:

Experience with behavioral weight loss programs and the early phases of the large-scale multicenter Diabetes Prevention Program (DPP)

Complications of Type 1 diabetes over several years of work with the 30-year Epidemiology of Diabetes Complications (EDC)

Multi-center study experience with the Epidemiology of Diabetes Interventions and Complications (EDIC) study

Metabolic aspects of both Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes through collaborations with UPMC Positron Emission Tomography (physicists, engineers, chemists, and staff)

Genetics and autoimmune complications of Type 1 diabetes related to body weight through work with the large database for the First-Degree Relatives (FDR) of Type 1 Diabetes study