Endocrinology & Metabolic Syndrome
Open Access

Sullivan Shannon D

Biography

My primary research interests are in the field of reproductive endocrine health and fertility. I obtained a combined MD or PhD degree at the University of Virginia (UVA), under the Medical Scientist Training Program. At UVA, I completed neurophysiologic studies examining metabolic and hormonal inputs to GnRH neurons, the central regulators of the female reproductive axis, using in vivo brain slices from transgenic mice. My PhD research had translational implications forvarious female fertility disorders, including polycystic ovary syndrome and hypothalamic amenorrhea. I then I completed a medical Residency in Internal Medicine at Georgetown University Hospital (GUH) in Washington, DC, followed by a Fellowship in Endocrinology and Metabolism at the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, MD. At the NIH, I continued to pursue my research interests in reproductive health through clinical studies of women with idiopathic primary ovarian insufficiency (POI), a form of hypergonadotropic hypogonadism. I designed and received approval for a protocol examining the natural history of ovarian function in women with a premutation in the Fragile X gene, the most common genetic cause for 46,XX POI. Now as a Staff Endocrinologist at the Washington Hospital Center in DC, I am continuing clinical research focusing on male and female hypogonadism and infertility.

Research Interest

Female hypogonadism, Male hypogonadism, Hypothalamic Amenorrhea, Polycystic ovarian syndrome, Primary ovarian insufficiency, Osteoporosis a consequence of hypogonadism, Female Androgen deficiency.