Physician Investigator (Cl) Endocrine Division, Mass General Research Institute

Assistant Professor of Pediatrics Harvard Medical School

Assistant Pediatrician Pediatrics-Pediatric Endocrinology, Massachusetts General Hospital

MD 2005

amenorrhea; apolipoproteins b; bone and bones; bone metabolism; calcitonin; calcium; calcium homeostasis; dietary supplements; ergocalciferols; fractures stress; hypoparathyroidism; parathyroid hormone-related protein; phosphorus; rickets; vitamin d deficiency; x-linked hypophosphatemia

Dr. Mitchell's research is concerned with factors which promote optimal bone growth and mineralization during childhood and adolescence, with a goal of preventing osteoporosis and fractures in adults. She is currently investigating bone accrual and microarchitecture in children with type 1 diabetes, a condition known to increase the risk of bone fragility.

Her goal is to better understand why patients with diabetes are at increased risk of fracture in order to be able to design and test therapies to strengthen bones in this population.

In addition, Dr. Mitchell is interested in rare disorders of calcium and phosphate metabolism including hypoparathyroidism, pseudohypoparathyroidism, and X-linked hypophosphatemic rickets.

In particular, her research has demonstrated extremely high rates of kidney disease among patients treated for hypoparathyroidism. Ongoing studies are investigating determinants of renal disease in this population as well as novel, targeted therapies.