John M. Stafford, MD, PhD, is a physician-scientist at Vanderbilt University Medical Center whose research focuses on the mechanisms by which aging and diabetes contribute to risk of cardiovascular disease. Dr. Stafford is an Assistant Professor of Medicine, in the Division of Diabetes, Endocrinology and Metabolism, and Molecular Physiology and Biophysics. He is also an investigator and clinician at the Veterans Administration Tennessee Valley Healthcare System.
Dr. Stafford completed his MD, PhD training at Vanderbilt University Medical Center, where his graduate studies defined how metabolic signals are coordinated at the level of gene transcription. His medical residency, and a Harrison Society Scholars fellowship in endocrinology were also performed at Vanderbilt. Since his appointment to the Vanderbilt faculty in 2008, Dr. Stafford has directed an active research program in obesity and lipid metabolism that has been funded by the Department of Veterans Affairs, American Heart Association, American Diabetes Association, Atlantic Philanthropies Inc., the John A. Hartford Foundation, and the Association of Specialty Professors. Dr. Stafford was awarded as a T. Franklin Williams Scholar in Geriatrics in 2009. Dr. Stafford serves on the editorial board for the journal Diabetes.
In addition to his research and clinical goals, Dr. Stafford is dedicated to training physician-scientist as part of the endocrinology fellowship program and medical scientist training program. Ultimately he is interested in defining and targeting the pathways that lead to cardiovascular disease in high-risk patients with obesity, diabetes, and the elderly.