Philip A. Kern, MD

Dr. Kern is Professor of Internal Medicine in the Division of Endocrinology at the University of Kentucky. His current leadership positions include the directorship of the Center for Clinical and Translational Science (CCTS) and Associate Vice President for Clinical and Translational Science. In these leadership roles, Dr. Kern is involved in efforts to stimulate innovative translational science, promote development of a robust and diverse translational workforce, stimulate team science and build infrastructure that engages diverse communities and enables growth of research that impacts human health across the lifespan, with a focus on Kentucky.

Dr. Kern has been continuously funded by the NIH for over 30 years, studying adipose and muscle biology and has been engaged in both basic and clinical research related to obesity, metabolic syndrome, inflammation, lipid metabolism, type 2 diabetes and insulin resistance. He was funded for 24 years, including an R37 MERIT award, on the study of lipoprotein lipase in adipose and muscle, which included both basic and clinical research. Other research projects have examined many other properties of adipose tissue and muscle and more recently has been focused on the effects of adipose tissue beiging/browning on insulin resistance and improved metabolic homeostasis. Through his basic and clinical research, Dr. Kern has become recognized as an important collaborator and advisor on many other grant applications. In recognition of these research achievements, Dr. Kern was honored be selected as a 2019 University Research Professor, and is an elected member of the American Society for Clinical Investigation (ASCI) and the Association of American Physicians (AAP). He is a member of the American Diabetes Association and The Endocrine Society.