UPMC Children’s Pediatric Endocrinologist Mary Ellen Vajravelu, MD, MSHP, Recognized by The Obesity Society
February 2, 2023
Mary Ellen Vajravelu, MD, MSHP, was recognized by The Obesity Society with its inaugural Jules Hirsch Innovation Award in November 2022. The Jules Hirsch Innovation Award recognizes an early-career investigator whose novel work will significantly impact the field of obesity.
Dr. Vajravelu is an assistant professor of pediatrics in the Department of Pediatrics at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine. She joined UPMC Children's Division of Pediatric Endocrinology in July 2021. Prior to joining UPMC Children's, she was an assistant professor of pediatrics at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia and the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania.
Dr. Vajravelu’s clinical work involves the full spectrum of pediatric endocrine conditions, with an emphasis on type 2 diabetes and prediabetes in children and adolescents. Her research interests are primarily focused on type 2 diabetes and obesity in pediatric patients, where she studies best practices for using mobile health (mHealth) strategies to improve patient health and outcomes. Dr. Vajravelu combines her training and interests in epidemiology, biostatistics, quantitative research, and quality improvement to study and improve the effectiveness of therapies for children and adolescents with endocrine-related disorders.
She currently has a National Institutes of Health K23 award supporting her research testing a novel approach to help motivate behavioral change and increase levels of activity in children and adolescent with prediabetes and diabetes. Dr. Vajravelu’s Behavioral Health Motivation in Adolescents (BEAM) trial is currently enrolling patients.
To learn more about Dr. Vajravelu’s BEAM trial, or to discuss a potential patient referral, please email the study’s clinical research coordinator, Brianna Hewitt, at hewittbl2@upmc.edu.
