Division of Endocrinology, Emory University
1639 Pierce Drive, WMRB Room 1301
Atlanta, GA 30322
Phone (404) 727-1391; Fax (404) 727-1300

Education

1963  BA	Swarthmore College, Swarthmore, Pennsylvania
1967  MD	Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts
1967-1969	Internship and Residency; Presbyterian-St. Luke's Hospital, Chicago, Illinois
1969-1971	Center for Disease Control; Lab Program (USPHS) Atlanta, Georgia
1969-1971	Instructor in Medicine, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, Georgia
1971-1974	Fellow in Metabolism, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, Missouri
1974-1979	Assistant Professor of Medicine, Department of Medicine; Member, Center for Endocrinology, Metabolism and Nutrition; Northwestern University Medical School, Chicago, Illinois
1979-1983	Associate Professor of Medicine, Department of Medicine; Member, Center for Endocrinology, Metabolism and Nutrition, Northwestern University Medical School, Chicago, Illinois
1983-current	Professor of Medicine; Associate Professor of Physiology;  Division of Endocrinology and Metabolism, Department of Medicine, Emory University School of Medicine
1983-1999	Director, Division of Endocrinology and Metabolism, Department of Medicine, Emory University School of Medicine
2002-2005	Program Director, General Clinical Research Center, Emory University

Honors

Elliot P. Joslin Research and Development Award, American Diabetes Association
Listed in The Best Doctors in America, 1998-

Academic and Clinical Involvement

Dr. Phillips has been involved with the insulin-like growth factor-I (IGF-I) field since the early 1970s, when he was one of the first to hypothesize that the IGFs were regulated by insulin and nutritional status as well as by growth hormone. He validated such regulation in studies of patients and intact animals, and over the past 20 years has pursued underlying mechanisms at progressive depth. Using a wide range of clinical studies, animal models, cells in culture, and in vitro systems, his laboratory has confirmed the pivotal role of the liver in the regulation of IGF-I production, demonstrated modulation at the level of IGF-I expression and IGF-I gene transcription, identified sequences which appear to mediate the decrease in IGF-I gene transcription associated with diabetes mellitus, and cloned a novel metabolically-responsive factor which contributes to IGF-I regulation via this sequence.

He has also had a major interest in clinical diabetes research , with a focus on improving management of urban patients who historically are poor and underserved. In 1991 he established a registry in the Diabetes Clinic at Grady Memorial Hospital, now containing close to 10,000 patients. The clinic serves a population which is predominantly African-American, with a high prevalence of obesity, poverty, and reduced health literacy. After patient discussion groups revealed problems in understanding and adhering to traditional exchange diets, a simpler "healthy choice" diet was developed. Additional studies showed that a weight loss of 20 pounds in obese patients often did not improve glucose levels, indicating that poor control could not be attributed simply to noncompliance. Examination of decision-making by providers then revealed that therapy was often not intensified despite high glucose levels at patient visits -- identified by Dr. Phillips as "clinical inertia". After demonstrating that interventions focused on overcoming clinical inertia led to improved metabolic control in the diabetes specialty clinic, Dr. Phillips then extended his objectives to a broader patient population, and established that a “feedback on performance” intervention could improve provider behavior and diabetes outcomes in primary care sites. He is now engaged in a major, NIH-funded study aimed at developing a new strategy to screen for prediabetes. If successful, this approach could help to revolutionize diabetes care because patients would be identified early in their natural history of glucose intolerance – at a time when preventive treatments are efficacious, safe, and cost-effective.

Dr. Phillips has been engaged in research, teaching, and the clinical practice of endocrinology for over 30 years, and has published over 150 articles in peer-review journals. He has had NIH funding as the Program Director of a training grant in endocrinology, metabolism, and diabetes, and as the Principal Investigator for research in the areas of both IGF-I physiology and molecular biology, and the process of improving management of urban African-Americans with diabetes. In recent years, he has developed a particular interest in improving healthcare system delivery of diabetes care, and has published a number of papers dealing with clinical decision-making related to diabetes. He has led endocrinology and metabolism research development at both Emory University School of Medicine and the Grady Diabetes Clinic, and work from these groups is frequently presented at national and international meetings, and published in peer-review journals.

Training and Sponsorship Experience

Dr. Phillips has trained and sponsored many fellows and students who are making significant contributions to academic and clinical endocrinology.  A list of his students can be found by clicking here.

Recent Publications (most recent from more than 150)

Miller, C.D., Barnes, C.S., Phillips, L.S., Ziemer, D.C., Gallina, D.L., Cook, C.B., El-Kebbi, I.M. Rapid A1c availability improves clinical decision-making in an urban primary care clinic. Diabetes Care 26: 1158-1163, 2003.

El-Kebbi, I.M., Cook, C.B., Ziemer, D.C., Miller, C.D., Gallina, D.L., Phillips, L.S. Association of younger age as a risk factor for poor glycemic control and obesity in urban African-Americans with type 2 diabetes. Arch Int Med 163: 69-75, 2003.

Delea, T.E., Hagiwara, M., Edelsberg, J.S., Oster, G., Phillips, L.S. Use of thiazolidinediones and risk of heart failure in persons with type 2 diabetes mellitus: a retrospective observational cohort study. Diab Care 26: 2983-2989, 2003.

Ziemer, D.C., Berkowitz, K.J., Panayioto, R.M., El-Kebbi, I.M., Musey, V.C., Anderson, L.A., Wanko, N.S., Fowke, M.L., Brazier, C.W., Dunbar, V.G., Slocum, W., Bacha, G.A., Gallina, D.L., and Phillips, L.S. A simple meal plan emphasizing healthy food choices is as effective as an exchange-based meal plan for urban African-Americans with type 2 diabetes. Diabetes Care 26: 1719-1724, 2003.

Dunlop, B.W., Sternberg, M., Phillips, L.S., Stephenson, J., Duncan, E. Disturbed glucose metabolism among patients taking olanzapine and typical antipsychotics. Psychopharm Bull 37: 99-117, 2003.

Barnes, C. S., Ziemer, D.C., Miller, C.D., Doyle, J.P., Watkins, C. Jr., Cook, C.B., Gallina, D.L., El-Kebbi, I.M., Branch, W.T. Jr., Phillips, L.S. There is little time for diabetes management in the primary care setting (IPCAAD 4). The Diabetes Educator 30: 126-135, 2004.

Villafuerte, B.C., Phillips, L.S., Zhao, W., Rane, M.J. Insulin response element binding protein-1: A novel Akt substrate involved in transcriptional action of insulin. J Biol Chem 279: 36650-36659, 2004.

El-Kebbi, I.M., Ziemer, D.C., Cook, C.B., Gallina, D.L., Barnes, C.S., Phillips, L.S. Utility of casual post-prandial glucose levels in type 2 diabetes management. Diab Care 27: 335-339, 2004.

Hoffman, A.R., Kuntze, J.E., Baptista, J., Baum, H., Baumann, G.P., Biller, B.M.K., Clark, R.V., Cook, D., Inzucchi, S.E., Kleinberg, D., Klibanski, A., Lieberman, S.A., Marcus, R., Melmed, S., Neuman, C., Phillips, L.S., Ridgway, E.C., Robbins, R., Schlechte, J., Sharma, M., Snyder, Pl, Thorner, M., Vance, M.L. Growth hormone (GH) replacement therapy in adult-onset GH deficiency: effects on body composition in men and women in a double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled trial. J Clin Endo Metab 89: 2048-56, 2004.

Hsia, J., Criqui, M.H., Rodabaugh, R.J., Langer, R.D., Phillips, L.S., Allison, M., Bonds, D., Masaki, K., Caralis, P., Kotchen, J.; Women's Health Initiative Investigators. Estrogen Plus Progestin and the Risk of Peripheral Arterial Disease: the Women's Health Initiative. Circulation 109: 620-626, 2004.

The Women’s Health Initiative Steering Committee. Effects of conjugated equine estrogen in postmenopausal women with hysterectomy. The Women’s Health Initiative randomized controlled trial. JAMA 291: 1701-1712, 2004.

Margolis, K.L., Bonds, D.E., Rodabaugh, R.J., Tinker, L., Phillips, L.S., Allen, C., Bassford, T., Burke, G., Torrens, J., Howard, B.V. Effect of oestrogen plus progestin on the incidence of diabetes in postmenopausal women: results from the Women’s Health Initiative Hormone Trial. Diabetologia 47: 1175-1187, 2004.

Rhee, M.K., Slocum, W.P., Ziemer, D.C., Culler, S.D., Cook, C.B., El-Kebbi, I.M., Gallina, D.L., Barnes, C.S., Phillips, L.S. Patient adherence improves glycemic control. The Diabetes Educator 31: 240-250, 2005.

Rhee, M.K., Cook, C.B., Dunbar, V.G., Panayioto, R. Berkowitz, K., Boyd, B., Broussard, S., George, C., El-Kebbi, I.M., Lyles, R.H., Phillips, L.S. Limited healthcare access impairs glycemic control in urban African Americans with type 2 diabetes. J Health Care Poor and Underserved 16: 734-736, 2005.

Rhee, M.K., Ziemer, D.C., Caudle, J.M., Kolm, P. D.L., Phillips, L.S. Racial disparities in glycemic control a re abolished by use of a uniform treatment algorithm. Diab Care (submitted, 2006).

Miller, C.D., Ziemer, D.C., El-Kebbi, I.M., Cook, C.B., Gallina, D.L., Doyle, J.P., Phillips, L.S. Use of a “glucose algorithm” to direct diabetes therapy improves A1c outcomes and defines an approach to assess provider behavior. The Diabetes Educator (submitted, 2005).

Rhee, M.K., Ziemer, D.C., Phillips, L.S. Postchallenge glucose rises with increasing age even when glucose tolerance is normal. Diabet Med (in press, 2006).

Phillips, L.S. , Ziemer, D.C., Doyle, J.P., Barnes. C.S., Kolm, P., Branch, W.T., Caudle, J.M., Cook, C.B., Dunbar, V.G., El-Kebbi, I.M., Gallina, D.L., Hayes, R.P., Miller, C.D., Rhee, M.K., Thompson, D.M., Watkins C. An endocrinologist-supported intervention aimed at providers improves diabetes management in a primary care site. IPCAAD 7. Diab Care 28: 2352-2360, 2005.

DeFronzo, R.A., Bergenstal, R.M., Cefalu, W.T., Pullman, J., Lerman, S., Bode, B.W., Phillips, L.S. Efficacy of inhaled insulin in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus not optimally controlled with diet and exercise: a 12-week, randomized, comparative trial. Diab Care 28: 1922-1928, 2005 .

Miller, C.D., Ziemer, D.C., Doyle, J.P., Cook, C.B., El-Kebbi, I.M., Gallina, D.L., Watkins, C. Jr., Barnes, C.S., Walker, G.D., Lyles, R.H., Hertzberg, V.S., McClellan, W.M., Branch, W.T. Jr., Phillips, L.S. Diabetes management by residents in training at a municipal hospital primary care site (IPCAAD 2). Ethnicity and Disease 15: 649-655, 2005.

Ziemer, D.C., Miller, C.D., Rhee, M.K., Doyle, J.P., Watkins, C. Jr., Cook, C.B., Gallina, D.L., El-Kebbi, I.M., Barnes, C. S., Dunbar, V.G., Branch, W.T. Jr., Phillips, L.S. Clinical inertia contributes to poor diabetes control in a primary care site compared to a specialized diabetes clinic (IPCAAD 3). The Diabetes Educator 31: 564-571, 2005.

Bonds, D.E., Lasser, L., Qi, L., Rbzyski, R., Caan, B., Heiss, G., Lieu, J.H., Mason, E., Oberman, A., O’Sullivan, M.J., Phillips, L.S., Prineas, R., Tinker, L. Effect of conjugated equine eoestrogen alone on diabetes incidence: the results of the Women’s Health Initiative. Diabetologia (in press, 2006).

Ziemer, D.C., Doyle, J.P., Barnes, C. S., Branch, W.T. Jr., Cook, C.B., El-Kebbi, I.M., Gallina, D.L., Kolm, P., Rhee, M.K., Phillips, L.S. An intervention to overcome clinical inertia and improve diabetes control in a primary care setting. IPCAAD 8. Arch Int Med 166: 507-513, 2006.

The Women’s Health Initiative Steering Committee. Low-fat dietary pattern and risk of invasive breast cancer. The Women’s Health Initiative randomized controlled dietary modification trial. JAMA 295: 629-642, 2006.

The Women’s Health Initiative Steering Committee. Low-fat dietary pattern and risk of colorectal cancer. The Women’s Health Initiative randomized controlled dietary modification trial. JAMA 295: 643-654, 2006.

The Women’s Health Initiative Steering Committee. Low-fat dietary pattern and risk of cardiovascular disease. The Women’s Health Initiative randomized controlled dietary modification trial. JAMA 295: 655-666, 2006.

The Women’s Health Initiative Steering Committee. Calcium plus vitamin D supplementation and the risk of colorectal cancer. New Eng J Med 354: 684-696, 2006.

The Women’s Health Initiative Steering Committee. Calcium plus vitamin D supplementation and the risk of fractures. New Eng J Med 354: 669-683, 2006.

Phillips, L.S. , Weintraub, W.S., Ziemer, D.C., Kolm, P., Foster, J.K., Vaccarino, V., Rhee, Budhwani, R.H., Caudle, J.M. All prediabetes is not the same: metabolic and vascular risks of IFG100 vs. IFG110. SIGT 1. Diab Care (in press, 2006).

TRAINING AND SPONSORSHIP EXPERIENCE

Rena Vassilopoulou-Sellin, M.D.: Postdoctoral Fellow at Northwestern University; currently Professor of Medicine, University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX

Vina R. Bajaj, M.D.: Postdoctoral Fellow at Northwestern University; then Clinical Instructor in Medicine, University of Cincinnati School of Medicine

Terry G. Unterman, M.D.: Postdoctoral Fellow at Northwestern University; currently Professor of Medicine, University of Illinois

Elyse Glaser, M.D.: Postdoctoral Fellow at Emory University; currently in private practice

Guillermo E. Umpierrez, M.D.: Postdoctoral Fellow at Emory University, currently Associate Professor of Medicine, Emory University

Mushtaq Ahmad, Ph.D.: Postdoctoral Fellow at Emory University; currently Assistant Professor of Medicine, Division of Cardiology, Emory University

David Uhlinger, Ph.D.: Postdoctoral Fellow at Emory University; subsequently Assistant Professor, Department of Biochemistry, Emory University

Gary Sertich, Ph.D.: Postdoctoral Fellow at Emory University, currently in private practice of patent law.

Janet Klein, Ph.D.: Postdoctoral Fellow at Emory University, currently Assistant Professor of Medicine, Department of Medicine, Emory University

Joyce B. Harp, M.D.: Postdoctoral Fellow at Emory University; currently Associate Professor, Department of Nutrition, University of North Carolina School of Medicine

Betty C. Villafuerte, M.D.: Postdoctoral Fellow at Emory University; currently Associate Professor, Department of Medicine, University of Louisville (Dr. Phillips Sponsor on NIH Clinical Investigator Award)

Mary Ellen Sweeney, M.D.: Postdoctoral Fellow at Emory University; currently Assistant Professor, Department of Medicine, Emory University

Peter M. Thule, M.D.: Postdoctoral Fellow at Emory University, currently Assistant Professor, Department of Medicine, Emory University

Juan-li Zhu, Ph.D.: Postdoctoral Fellow at Emory University, subsequently Research Associate, Department of Medicine, Emory University

Shouting Huang, Ph.D.: Postdoctoral Fellow at Emory University, subsequently Vice President of Lao Shi Biomedical Company

Arvind Y. Krishna, M.D.: Postdoctoral Fellow at Emory University; currently Assistant Professor of Clinical Medicine, Northeastern Ohio University College of Medicine.

Edward J. Hunter, Ph.D.: Assistant Professor, Morris Brown College, Atlanta (Dr. Phillips Sponsor on NIH Minority Investigator Supplement)

Annette M. Bernard, M.D.: Clinical Associate Professor, Department of Medicine, Emory University (Dr. Phillips Sponsor on Robert Wood Johnson Generalists Faculty Scholars Program Award), currently in private practice

Thomas R. Ziegler, M.D.: Associate Professor, Department of Medicine, Emory University (Dr. Phillips Sponsor on NIH Clinical Associate Physician Award)

Elizabeth N. Kaytor, Ph.D.: Postdoctoral Fellow at Emory University (Dr. Phillips Sponsor on NIH Individual NRSA Award), currently in practice of patent law

Christopher Miller, M.D.: Postdoctoral Fellow at Emory University (Dr. Phillips Sponsor on NIH Institutional NRSA Award), currently in private practice

Mary K. Rhee, M.D.: Postdoctoral Fellow at Emory University, currently Assistant Professor of Medicine, Emory University (Dr. Phillips Sponsor on NIH Institutional NRSA Award; received individual NRSA Award; Dr. Phillips Mentor on NIH Institutional K12 Award; received NIH K23 Award for which Dr. Phillips is Mentor)