Ginger E. Nicol, MD, CEDS

Research Interest

Metabolic Regulation (& Obesity)

Prevention & Control

Category(ies) of Research

Clinical

Population/Community Based

Descriptor of Research

The association between childhood obesity and psychiatric illnesses was what initially propelled me into obtaining clinical training in general and child psychiatry. However, my primary interest, understanding the underlying mechanisms that lead to increased cardiometabolic risk in this population, is what led me to seek post-doctoral research training under the direction of John Newcomer, MD, an expert in the metabolic consequences of antipsychotic treatment in mentally ill populations. During post-doctoral research training with Dr. Newcomer, I developed expertise in the use of gold standard metabolic testing procedures in children and adults, including the performance of and interpretation of data from euglycemichyperinsulinemic clamps, frequently-sampled IV glucose tolerance tests, Dual Energy X-ray Absorptiometry (DEXA) and Magnetic resonance Spectroscopy, as well as honing my clinical and scientific skill set to include skills in both metabolic and psychiatric clinical research. I have used this combined knowledge to develop both federal and privately funded research protocols further studying metabolic issues in mentally ill children and adolescents.