Sharon E. Oberfield, MD
Overview
Dr. Oberfield, a professor of pediatrics, has been the director of the Division of Pediatric Endocrinology, Diabetes, and Metabolism at Columbia University Irving Medical Center since 2004. Throughout her career, Dr. Oberfield has been dedicated to educating the next generation of pediatric endocrinology sub-specialists. She was for many years director of the fellowship training program in pediatric endocrinology, and is currently associate program director. Since 2005 she has been the principal investigator of a T32 training grant in pediatric endocrinology from the NIH National Institute of Diabetes, Digestive, and Kidney Diseases, one of only a handful of such programs in the country. Since 1998, she has mentored more than 35 fellows and more than 30 pre-doctoral students including Endocrine Society, DERC, and Doris Duke summer fellows.
From 2021-2022 Dr. Oberfield served as president of the Lawson Wilkins Pediatric Endocrine Society (PES), an international organization of more than 1,300 members, that provides resources for healthcare professionals and trainees and affords educational support for patients and families affected by disorders of the thyroid, adrenal, and pituitary glands; growth disturbances; and conditions of bone metabolism and diabetes. Her priorities as president, she says, were “to maintain and expand the relevance of bench, translational and clinical researcher as well as the importance of the practicing pediatric endocrinologist, even in an era when delivery of health care and research related to children and adolescents is being dramatically eroded.”
Dr. Oberfield has been engaged in patient-oriented research for her entire career, with a particular focus on disorders of adrenal hormone synthesis, adrenarche, and PCOS. She has conducted studies of body composition in children and continues to be involved in multiple studies of childhood obesity.
Her clinical research has centered around the developmental/pediatric endocrinology, specifically the HPA axis which intimately affects metabolic function, interacting with adiposity, including studies of body composition in adrenarche and PCOS. She has been the author or co-author of more than 225 articles, multiple chapters and reviews, and is an invited speaker at national and international meetings, including the 2012 NIH-sponsored Evidence Based Methodology Workshop on Polycystic Ovary Syndrome. She is currently an editor for the Journal of Pediatrics and is an associate editor for Hormone Research in Pediatrics. She continues to be listed in Castle Connelly’s “America’s Top Doctors” and NY Magazine’s “Best Doctors."
Areas of Expertise / Conditions Treated
- Adrenal Disorder
- Growth Disorder
Academic Appointments
- Professor of Pediatrics at NewYork-Presbyterian/Columbia University Medical Center
Administrative Titles
- Chief, Division of Pediatric Endocrinology, Diabetes, and Metabolism
Hospital Affiliations
- NewYork-Presbyterian / Columbia University Irving Medical Center
- NewYork-Presbyterian Morgan Stanley Children's Hospital
- NewYork-Presbyterian Allen Hospital
Gender
- Female
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Virtual Visits/Telehealth
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Phone Appointments
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Location(s)
Insurance Accepted
Aetna
- Aetna Signature Administrators
- EPO
- HMO
- Medicare Managed Care
- NYP Employee Plan
- NY Signature
- POS
- PPO
- Student Health
Affinity Health Plan
- Essential Plan
- Medicaid Managed Care
Amida Care
- Special Needs
Cigna
- EPO
- Great West (National)
- HMO
- Medicare Managed Care
- POS
- PPO
Elderplan
- Medicare Managed Care
Emblem/GHI
- Medicare Managed Care
- PPO
Emblem/HIP
- ConnectiCare
- EPO
- Essential Plan
- HMO
- Medicaid Managed Care
- Medicare Managed Care
- POS
- PPO
- Select Care (Exchange)
- Vytra
Empire Blue Cross/Blue Shield
- EPO
- HMO
- Medicare Managed Care
- PPO
Empire Blue Cross Blue Shield HealthPlus
- Child/Family Health Plus
- Essential Plan
- Medicaid Managed Care
Fidelis Care
- Child/Family Health Plus
- Essential Plan
- Medicaid Managed Care
- Medicare Managed Care
Healthfirst
- Child/Family Health Plus
- Leaf (Exchange)
- Medicaid Managed Care
- Medicare Managed Care
Local 1199
- Local 1199
MagnaCare (National)
- MagnaCare
Multiplan
- Multiplan
MVP Health Care
- Child/Family Health Plus
- Essential Plan
- HMO
- Medicaid Managed Care
Quality Health Management
- Quality Health Management
UnitedHealthcare
- Columbia University Employee Plan
- Compass (Exchange)
- Empire Plan
- HMO
- Medicaid (Community Plan)
- Medicare Managed Care
- Oxford Freedom
- Oxford HMO
- Oxford Liberty
- POS
- PPO
VNSNY CHOICE
- Medicare Managed Care
- SelectHealth
- Special Needs
WellCare
- Medicaid Managed Care
- Medicare Managed Care
World Trade Center Health Plan
- World Trade Center Health Plan
Credentials & Experience
Education & Training
- Cornell University Medical College, NY
- Internship: New York Hospital-Cornell Medical Center
- Residency: New York Hospital-Cornell Medical Center
- Fellowship: New York Hospital-Cornell Medical Center
Board Certifications
- Pediatric Endocrinology
- Pediatrics
Research
Grants
NIDCD Clinical Research Center Grant (P50) 09/11/2015-06/30/2019
This purpose of this grant is to advance the diagnosis, prevention, treatment, and amelioration of human communication disorders. (Role: Co-Investigator)
2P30DK063608-11, NIH/NIDDK Accili (PI) 02/01/2013-01/31/2023
Diabetes and Endocrinology Research Center
The purpose of this Center is to promote interactions among research groups in diabetes, obesity, lipid metabolism, structural biology, immunology, and beta cell transplantation through the Naomi Berrie Diabetes Center at Columbia University Role: Co-Investigator
5R01ES017051-05, NIH/NIEHS Herbstman (PI) 07/12/2012-04/30/2019
Prenatal PAH exposure and genome-wide methylation in a cohort of sibling-pairs
The primary goal of this research is to evaluate the impact of prenatal exposure to polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) on genome-wide epigenetic methylation patterns measured in cord blood samples of sibling-pairs. Role: Co-Investigator
T32 DK065522-10, NIH/NIDDK Oberfield (PI) 07/01/2004-06/30/2020
Training Grant in Pediatric Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolism (Role: PI)
Selected Publications
Of more than 225 publications:
Mitchell JA, Chesi A, Cousminer DL, McCormack SE, Kalkwarf HJ, Lappe JM, Gilsanz V, Oberfield SE, Shepherd JA, Kelly A, Zemel BS, Grant SFA. Multi-dimensional bone density phenotyping reveals new insights into genetic regulation of the pediatric skeleton. J Bone Miner Res, May 2018; 33(5):812-821. PMID: 29240982.
Ibanez L, Oberfield SE, Witchel S, Auchus RJ, Chang RJ, Codner E, Dabadghao P, Darendeliler F, Elbarbary NS, Gambineri A, Garcia Rudaz C, Hoeger KM, Lopez-Bermejo A, Ong K, Pena AS, Reinehr T, Santoro N, Tena-Sempere M, Tao R, Yildiz BO, Alkhayyat H, Deeb A, Joel D, Orikawa R, de Zegher F, Lee PA. An International Consortium Update: Pathophysiology, Diagnosis, and Treatment of Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome in Adolescence. Horm Res Paediatr, 2017 Nov;88(6):371-395. PMID: 29156452.
Widen EM, Whyatt RM, Hoepner LA, Mueller NT, Ramirez-Carvey J, Oberfield SE, Hassoun A, Perera FP, Gallagher D, Rundle AG. Gestational weight gain and obesity, adiposity and body size in African-American and Dominican children in the Bronx and Northern Manhattan. Matern Child Nutr. 2016 Oct;12(4):918-28. PMID: 25753294.
Maresca MM, Hoepner LA, Hassoun A, Oberfield SE, Ramirez JE, Freyer GA, Perera FP, Whyatt RM, and Rundle AG. Prenatal Exposure to Phthalates and Childhood Body Size in an Urban Cohort. Environ Health Perspect. 2016 April;124(4):514-20. PMID: 26069025.
Mitchell JA, Chesi A, Elci O, McCormack SE, Roy SM, Kalkwarf HJ, Lappe JM, Gilsanz V, Oberfield SE, Shepherd JA, Kelly A, Grant SF, Zemel BS. Genetic risk scores implicated in adult bone fragility associate with pediatric bone density. J Bone Miner Res. 2016 April;31(4):789-95. PMID: 26572781.
Mueller NT, Whyatt R, Hoepner L, Oberfield S, Dominguez-Bello MG, et al. Prenatal exposure to antibiotics, cesarean section and risk of childhood obesity. Int J Obes (Lond). 2014 Nov 11;PubMed PMID: 25298276.
Kelly A, Winer KK, Kalkwarf H, Oberfield SE, Lappe J, et al. Age-based reference ranges for annual height velocity in US children. J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 2014 Jun;99(6):2104-12. PubMed PMID: 24601728; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC4037731.
Rundle A, Hoepner L, Hassoun A, Oberfield S, Freyer G, et al. Association of childhood obesity with maternal exposure to ambient air polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons during pregnancy. Am J Epidemiol. 2012 Jun 1;175(11):1163-72. PubMed PMID: 22505764; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC3491973.
Kalkwarf HJ, Zemel BS, Gilsanz Z. Oberfield S, et al. The bone mineral density in childhood study: bone mineral content and density according to age, sex, and race. J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 2007 Jun;92(6):2087-99. PubMed PMID: 17311856.
Oberfield SE. Childhood cancer cures: the ongoing consequences of successful treatments. J Pediatr. 2007 Apr;150(4):332-4. PubMed PMID: 17382105.
Silfen ME, Manibo AM, Ferin M, McMahon DJ, Levine LS, Oberfield SE. Elevated free IGF-I levels in prepubertal Hispanic girls with premature adrenarche: relationship with hyperandrogenism and insulin sensitivity. J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 2002 Jan;87(1):398-403. PubMed PMID: 11788683.
Sopher AB, Thorton JC, Silfen ME, Manibo A, Oberfield SE, et al. Prepubertal girls with premature adrenarche have greater bone mineral content and density than controls. J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 2001 Nov;86(11):5269-72. PubMed PMID: 11701690.
Silfen ME, Manibo AM, McMahon DJ, Levine LS, Murphy AR, Oberfield SE. Comparison of simple measures of insulin sensitivity in young girls with premature adrenarche: the fasting glucose to insulin ratio may be a simple and useful measure. J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 2001 Jun;86(6):2863-8. PubMed PMID: 11397901.
Oberfield SE, Nirenberg A, Allen JC, Cohen H, Donahue B, et al. Hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal function following cranial irradiation. Horm Res. 1997;47(1):9-16. PubMed PMID: 9010712.
Oberfield SE, Nino M, Riddick L, Pang S, Nagel M, et al. Combined bromocriptine and growth hormone (GH) treatment in GH-deficient children with macroprolactinoma in situ. J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 1992 Jul;75(1):87-90. PubMed PMID: 1619034.
Oberfield SE, Mayes DM, Levine LS. Adrenal steroidogenic function in a black and Hispanic population with precocious pubarche. J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 1990 Jan;70(1):76-82. PubMed PMID: 2152934.
Oberfield SE, Allen JC, Pollack J, New MI, Levine LS. Long-term endocrine sequelae after treatment of medulloblastoma: prospective study of growth and thyroid function. J Pediatr. 1986 Feb;108(2):219-23. PubMed PMID: 3944706.
Oberfield SE, Levine LS, Carey RM, Greig F, Ulick S, et al. Metabolic and blood pressure responses to hydrocortisone in the syndrome of apparent mineralocorticoid excess. J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 1983 Feb;56(2):332-9. PubMed PMID: 6296185.
Oberfield SE, Levine LS, Stoner E, Chow D, Rauh W, et al. Adrenal glomerulosa function in patients with dexamethasone-suppressible hyperaldosteronism. J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 1981 Jul;53(1):158-64. PubMed PMID: 7016891.
Oberfield SE, Levine LS, Carey RM, Bejar R, New MI. Pseudohypoaldosteronism: multiple target organ unresponsiveness to mineralocorticoid hormones. J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 1979 Feb;48(2):228-34. PubMed PMID: 218983.
For a complete list of publications, please visit PubMed.gov