Thomas A. Buchanan, M.D., is Vice Dean for Research and Professor of Medicine, Obstetrics and Gynecology, and Physiology and Biophysics at the Keck School of Medicine of USC. He also serves as Director of the Southern California Clinical and Translational Science Institute, Co-director of the USC Diabetes and Obesity Research Institute, and Chief of the Division of Endocrinology and Diabetes.
Scientifically, Dr. Buchanan conducts research into the etiology, pathogenesis, genetics and prevention of gestational and type 2 diabetes with a focus on diabetes in Hispanic Americans. Buchanan and colleagues have conducted longitudinal studies of high risk individuals to define patterns of change in insulin resistance and insulin secretion that lead to type 2 diabetes. Based on their findings, they then conducted the first successful type 2 diabetes prevention study in the United States. The biological information gained from that study points to a specific pancreatic beta cell defect that is heritable. The group is conducting a large family based study designed to identify the genetic basis for the beta cell defect. Buchanan’s work has garnered him many awards, including the Norbert Freinkel Award and Distinguished Clinical Science Award from the American Diabetes Association and the Mayo Soley Award from the Western Society for Clinical Investigation. He is an elected member of the Association of American
Dr. Buchanan has served on the editorial boards of the American Journal of Physiology: Endocrinology and Metabolism and the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism. He has been an ad hoc reviewer for many other medical journals, including Diabetes, Diabetes Care, Journal of the American Medical Association, the New England Journal of Medicine, and the Journal of Clinical Investigation. He has published and lectured extensively on issues relating to gestational and type 2 diabetes.
Dr. Buchanan received his medical degree from the University of Iowa, where he completed residency training in internal medicine. He completed his fellowship training in endocrinology and metabolism at Northwestern University Medical School, Chicago, Illinois.
