The U-M Medical School Department of Internal Medicine Division of Metabolism, Endocrinology & Diabetes holds regularly scheduled conferences, including our weekly clinical and research conferences, in addition to several annual educational memorial lectures.
Clinical Conference
The weekly clinical conference covers topics of interest in endocrinology. Speakers include faculty from the division, fellowship trainees, and guest speakers. Clinical cases are often used as a springboard for discussions of endocrine disorders, including patient care issues and reviews of the current research. Once a month, the conference is run by the Metabolism, Endocrinology & Diabetes (MEND) Consult team and is devoted to reviewing the interesting patients seen on the Consult Service.
Research Conference
The weekly research conference covers a wide range of topics in molecular and cellular research, organ physiology, and clinical research. Speakers include the division faculty and staff, Michigan Medicine researchers performing endocrinology-related work, and invited outside speakers.
This annual lecture is in honor of Stefan S. Fajans, MD and recognizes a renowned diabetes investigator and/or physician who has made significant contributions to the field.
Dr. Fajans was active professor emeritus of the Division of Metabolism, Endocrinology & Diabetes, and was recognized nationally and internationally as a distinguished endocrinologist and leader in the study and treatment of diabetes. He worked at the U-M Hospital from 1946 until shortly before his death. He rose to the rank of Chief of the Division of Endocrinology & Metabolism, and was founding director of the NIH-funded Michigan Diabetes Research and Training Center for many years, before becoming active professor emeritus in 1988.
Dr. Fajans' pioneering research included the demonstration of the involvement of amino acids and proteins on insulin secretion. He made novel contributions to the knowledge that diabetes was not a single disease, but consisted of several subtypes with different causes.
He was the first to describe a subtype of type 2 diabetes, Maturity-Onset Diabetes of the Young (MODY). Dr. Fajans co-published the first paper to describe a genetic marker of MODY and the gene itself. From the time of his official retirement, he continued an active research program on MODY. In the last few years before his death, he published five articles in scientific journals on various aspects of diabetes.
Dr. Stefan S. Fajans Biography
Recent Speakers
- 2023-2024: Anna Gloyn, DPhil, Stanford University. “Searching for Diamonds in the Sand: From GWAS to Molecular Insights into Islet Cell Dysfunction”
- 2022-2023: Maureen Gannon, PhD, Vanderbilt University. "Intersection of Prostaglandin E2 and GLP-1 Signaling Pathways to Promote Beta Cell Identity, Proliferation, and Survival"
- 2021-2022: Rochelle Naylor, MD, The University of Chicago Kovler Diabetes Center. "Leveraging Insights from the Monogenic Diabetes Registry to Advance Diabetes Precision Medicine"
The John C. Floyd, Jr. Memorial Fellows Lecture in Endocrinology is named in honor of John C. Floyd, Jr., late Professor Emeritus of Internal Medicine in the Division of Endocrinology & Metabolism and co-founder/former associate director of the Michigan Diabetes Research and Training Center.
An endocrinologist and specialist in diabetes mellitus, John C. Floyd, Jr., MD, was known for his expertise in and dedication to scientific research, medical education, and patient care. Over a career of more than 30 years, his work demonstrated the importance of integrating all of these areas of medical endeavor in establishing patient-centered, innovative care for the specific needs of the diabetic patient. He served on the faculty of the University of Michigan’s Department of Internal Medicine, in the division of Endocrinology & Metabolism (E&M), from 1961 until his retirement 1992 at which time he was appointed Professor Emeritus.
In 2007, the John C. Floyd, Jr., Memorial Fellows Lecture was established by the MEND faculty, with the support of his wife of 54 years, Esther Martin Floyd. Each year, the speaker for the lecture is chosen by the MEND Fellows, who also issue the invitation, schedule and coordinate the visit, and select one of their members to introduce the speaker. The Floyd lecture thus honors Dr. Floyd’s commitment to post-graduate medical education and recognizes his outstanding dedication, contribution, and service in the field of endocrinology at the University of Michigan.
Dr. John C. Floyd, Jr. Biography
Recent Speakers
- 2023-2024: Nicholas A. Tritos, MD, DSc, FACP, Harvard Medical School. “Diagnosis and Management of Cyclic Cushing's Disease - Trials and Tribulations”
- 2022-2023: Mary Elizabeth Patti, MD, Harvard Medical School. "The Roller Coaster of Post-Bariatric Hypoglycemia: Lessons Learned About Intestinal Control of Glucose Homeostasis"
- 2021-2022: Sherri-Anne Burnett-Bowie, MD, MPH, Harvard Medical School. "To D or Not to D: Understanding the Musculoskeletal and Non-Musculoskeletal Benefits of Vitamin D"
The Schteingart Lecture in the Division of Metabolism, Endocrinology & Diabetes (MEND) honors David Eduardo Schteingart, renowned University of Michigan Professor of Internal Medicine for nearly 40 years.
David Schteingart, MD, gained widespread recognition in the field of Endocrinology. Throughout his remarkable career, Dr. Schteingart authored 98 publications in peer-reviewed journals, 33 book chapters, and 80 abstracts. One of his most notable collaborations was with his wife of more than 50 years, Monica Starkman, MD, MS, of the Michigan Department of Psychiatry, and their groundbreaking research on the brain effects of chronic glucocorticoid exposure, using Cushing’s disease as a model.
Dr. Schteingart was also a recognized international expert in the treatment of adrenal cancer. With support from U-M football coach Bo Schembechler in honor of his wife, Millie, who was stricken with adrenal cancer, Dr. Schteingart founded the Millie Schembechler Adrenal Cancer Program in 1993 and served as its Director through 2005. He and his collaborators went on to publish collectively in the New England Journal of Medicine, and the U-M Adrenal Cancer Program gained national and international recognition for its leadership in the management of patients with this rare disease. From these beginnings emanated the current Endocrine Oncology Program of the U-M Rogel Cancer Center.
Dr. Schteingart supported and trained more than 100 young investigators in clinical research across disciplines, including individually mentoring many of them himself. In March 2012, Dr. Schteingart was honored with a special Lifetime Achievement Award for Mentoring in Clinical and Translational Research from the Michigan Institute for Clinical & Health Research (MICHR) for his commitment to excellence in research training.
Dr. Schteingart showed a never-give-up spirit in his academic and personal life. He was committed, through and through, to the essential missions that make the University of Michigan Medical School strong: care of people who needed him, the quest for knowledge, and the passing of that knowledge to others.
Recent Speakers
- 2023-2024: Martin Reincke, MD, “Tips and Traps in Cushing Syndrome: A Never-Ending Story”
- 2022-2023: Lauren Fishbein, MD, PhD, MTR “Pheochromocytoma and Paraganglioma: Predicting Penetrance and Metastatic Disease”
- 2021-2022: André Lacroix, MD, FCAHS "Aberrant Regulation of Steroidogenesis in Adrenal Adenomas and Hyperplasias"