Pediatric Endocrinology Team

Academic Key Contact and Fellowship Coordinator:
Joseph Molloy
502-852-3737  |  Email
Fax:  502-852-4189

 Clinical Outpatient Office:  Wendy Novak Diabetes Center and Norton Children's Endocrinology - Novak Center  |  TrialNet

Faculty

Kupper Wintergerst, MD
Professor of Pediatrics
Chief, Division of Pediatric Endocrinology
Director, TrialNet Diabetes Studies
Co-Director, Children's Metabolic Bone Center
Norton Children's Hospital Profile

Dr. Kupper Wintergerst attended medical school at the University of Louisville, pediatric residency at the University of Florida, and pediatric endocrinology fellowship at Stanford University.  In 2006, he moved to Louisville with his family to take a position in the division of Pediatric Endocrinology.  In 2013, he was named Director of the Wendy Novak Diabetes Center at the University of Louisville and Norton Children’s Hospital, and became the Wendy L Novak Endowed Chair of Pediatric Diabetes Care and Clinical Research.  He took the position of Division Chief in 2014.  His primary areas of interest are diabetes, particularly sports activity and    technologies, community education and public health initiatives.

Catalina Cabrera, MD
Assistant Professor of Pediatrics
Fellowship Program Director
Norton Children's Hospital Profile

Dr. Catalina Cabrera is an assistant professor of pediatric endocrinology at the University of Louisville. She completed medical school at the Pontificia Universidad Javeriana in Bogota, Colombia. She then moved to Ohio in 2012 for residency and fellowship training at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center. She joined the Pediatric Endocrinology faculty at the University of Louisville in 2018 after completing her fellowship. Dr. Cabrera enjoys caring for children with general endocrine disorders and has a clinical interest in growth disorders.

Lisal Folsom, MD
Assistant Professor of Pediatrics
Norton Children's Hospital Profile

Lisal Folsom is an Assistant Professor of Pediatrics and Internal Medicine in the Divisions of Endocrinology at the University of Louisville.  She is board-certified in both adult and pediatric endocrinology, and provides endocrine and diabetes care for patients of all ages.  She has a special interest in caring for transgender patients, as well as in easing the transition from pediatric to adult care for patients with type 1 diabetes and other chronic endocrine conditions.

Michael Foster, MD
Associate Professor of Pediatrics
Norton Children's Hospital Profile

Dr. Michael Foster attended medical school at the University of Tennessee before completing his internship and fellowship at University of Minnesota. He initially joined the faculty at UofL in 1982 following his fellowship in pediatric endocrinology at UNC Chapel Hill in North Carolina.  Dr. Foster is the former Dean of Admissions at UofL Medical School and now primarily practices clinical medicine. He has a strong professional interest in growth hormone deficiency.

Prasanthi Gandham, MD
Assistant Professor of Pediatrics
Associate Fellowship Program Director
Norton Children's Hospital Profile

Dr. Prasanthi Gandham is an assistant professor of Pediatric Endocrinology. She completed medical school at the University of Cincinnati before moving to Louisville for her residency in general pediatrics at the University of Louisville and Norton Children's Hospital. She is thrilled to have returned to Louisville after having completed her fellowship in pediatric endocrinology at Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond, Virginia. She enjoys treating general endocrine disorders and has a clinical interest in adrenal insufficiency and hypoglycemia.

Suzanne Kingery, MD
Associate Professor of Pediatrics
Norton Children's Hospital Profile

Dr. Suzanne Kingery earned her Doctor of Medicine at the Medical College of Georgia and completed her pediatric residency at the University of Louisville/Norton Children’s Hospital and fellowship in pediatric endocrinology at Nationwide Children’s Hospital in Columbus, Ohio. She has an active interest in clinical research and in medical education, she previously served as the director of the pediatric endocrinology fellowship program, and as the 2^nd year course director for undergraduate medical students. Dr. Kingery has a strong professional interest in improving the care and quality of life of children with conditions associated with sexual development and in transgender youth.

Bradly Thrasher, DO
Assistant Professor of Pediatrics
Norton Children's Hospital Profile

Dr. Brad Thrasher is an Assistant Professor in Pediatric Endocrinology. He completed residency training at Wake Forest and a fellowship in Pediatric Endocrinology at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.  He joined the faculty at UofL in 2019. He has a strong interest in the business of medicine, Turner Syndrome, and diabetes, especially diabetes in sports.

Sara Watson, MD, MS
Associate Professor of Pediatrics
Norton Children's Hospital Profile

Dr. Sara Watson is an associate professor in pediatric endocrinology. She completed residency training at the University of Louisville and a fellowship in Pediatric Endocrinology at Riley Hospital for Children at Indiana University. Her research interests are in the areas of diabetes and obesity. She is also a co-PI for the Kentucky-Pediatric IDeA Research Center (K-PIRC), a site for the NIH funded IDeA States Pediatric Clinical Trials Network.

Joint Appointments

Lu Cai, MD, PhD
Professor of Pediatrics
Division Chief, Pediatric Research Institute
Divisions of Pediatric Research and Radiation Oncology, Pharmacology & Toxicology

Dr. Lu Cai received his MD in 1983, and Ph.D. in 1990 from Norman Bethune University of Medical Sciences (Currently Jilin University), Changchun, P.R. China. He was trained as a Postdoctoral fellow in Department of Pathology at University of Western Ontario in 1993 - 1995, and Department of Pharmacology and Therapeutics, McGill University in 1995 - 1996, Canada.  He is currently a tenured Professor, with appointments in the departments of Pediatrics, Radiation Oncology and Pharmacology, and Toxicology. In 2013, Dr. Cai was appointed as Director of Pediatric Research Institute, the University of Louisville School of Medicine. Lu Cai’s research interests include three major fields: (1) the hormesis and adaptive response induced by low dose radiation, and its potential clinical application; (2) systemic and reproductive toxicology of environmental exposures such as radiation and heavy metals, and (3) cardiovascular complications of diabetes and/or obesity. In more than 260 peer-reviewed publications in many journals including J Am Coll Cardiol, Circulation, and Diabetes, Dr. Cai has significantly advanced knowledge of the unique biological effects of low-dose radiation, mechanisms driving the diabetes and diabetic complications, identified synergistic or additive effects of environmental exposure with Western-style or high fat diet on metabolic syndrome, and discovered novel preventive and/or therapeutic approaches to these diseases.

Kristi McClary King, PhD
Associate Professor in Exercise Physiology (MS) and Community Health (MEd)
Department of Health and Sport Sciences

Dr. Kristi McClary King is an associate professor in the Exercise Physiology (MS) and Community Health (MEd) programs in the Department of Health and Sport Sciences at the University of Louisville in Kentucky. Dr. King is the principal investigator on multi-year research studies that focus on the improvement of health, specifically through community-based physical activity and nutrition interventions and policies. Dr. King earned her PhD from Southern Illinois University Carbondale, completed post-doctorate training in Physical Activity and Public Health Research with the University of South Carolina’s Arnold School of Public Health and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and is a Certified Health Education Specialist.

Yi Tan, PhD
Assistant Professor of Pediatrics
Divisions of Pediatric Research  and Pharmacology & Toxicology

Dr. Yi Tan is an Assistant Professor at the Department of Pediatrics, University of Louisville. He received his doctorate in Biomedical Engineering at Chongqing University (Chongqing, China) in 2004 and was a postdoctoral fellow at Jinan University (Guangzhou, China) from 2004 to 2006. Then he moved to the United States and worked as a postdoctoral fellow at the University of Louisville from 2007 to 2013 and was promoted to an Assistant Professor in June 2013, and will be promoted to be an Associate Professor with tenure in July 2019 in the same institute. His laboratory has a great interest in diabetic research, particularly diabetes-caused cardiovascular complications. He has a broad background in diabetic complications and molecular pharmacology, with specific training and expertise in diabetic cardiomyopathy (DCM), peripheral vascular diseases (PVD) and liver steatosis. His research focus includes the mechanisms of metabolic disorder-induced oxidative stress in the development of DCM, PVD and liver steatosis, and the therapeutic potential of growth factors and natural compound, such as stromal cell-derived factor 1 (SDF-1), fibroblast growth factor 1 (FGF1), FGF21, and metallothionein (MT)- and nuclear factor E2-related factor 2 (Nrf2)- inducers/activators for treatment of diabetes and diabetic complications.

Pediatric Endocrinology Specialty Programs

Diabetes Care:  Wendy Novak Diabetes Center

Pediatric and Adolescent Gender Education Program

Metabolic Bone Disease/Disorders

Puberty Syndromes

Thyroid Function Program

Pediatric Endocrinology Fellowship Program

Click the above link to learn more about the Pediatrics Endocrinology Fellowship Program

The University of Louisville Pediatric Endocrinology Fellowship is an ACGME-accredited program which provides comprehensive clinical and research training in Pediatric Endocrinology. Section faculty is comprised of seven pediatric endocrinologists, two clinical psychologists and three basic science researchers. The division has a vibrant research unit with numerous ongoing studies in type 1 diabetes, type 2 diabetes and growth hormone therapy. The division also boosts a strong support team including nurse practitioners, diabetes educators, dieticians, growth hormone specialists and research nurses. The section recruits one new fellow each year. The inpatient training is based at Norton Children’s Hospital, and outpatient training is based at UofL Pediatric Endocrinology clinic and the Wendy Novak Diabetes Center.

Fellows gradually assume increasing clinical care responsibility during their fellowship training. The majority of the first year of training is devoted towards patient care as well as an introduction of basic research concepts. Fellows have the opportunity to participate in multiple specialty clinics throughout their training including metabolic bone disease clinic, high risk diabetes clinic (DART), disorders of sexual development (DSD) clinic, gender clinic, and cancer survivorship clinic. 

The second and third years of training are dedicated primarily to research. The fellow develops a research project with the support of an advisor who will assist in guiding the project to completion. The fellow may also choose to complete a master’s degree at UofL in clinical investigation, public health or business administration.

The fellow also actively participates in case discussions, lectures, grand rounds, and fellow core conferences throughout the three years of training.