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Lee M. Kaplan, MD, PhD

About

The research in the Kaplan group is focused on understanding the role of the gastrointestinal tract in the regulation of body energy balance and metabolic function. Using genetic and pharmacological approaches in humans and rodent models, Dr. Kaplan aims to understand the myriad responses to surgical and dietary manipulation of the GI tract and the mechanisms of those responses. Particular areas of interest include (1) the genetic, physiological and environmental contributors to beneficial and adverse outcomes after bariatric surgery, (2) the mechanisms by which RYGB and other gastrointestinal manipulations regulate food intake, nutrient preference, energy expenditure, pancreatic islet function and insulin signaling, and (3) the mechanisms underlying the drive to obesity in response to altered macronutrient balance. His current studies are aimed at defining the complex signaling pathways and tissue responses to GI manipulation by surgery and dietary modification, including the mechanisms of regulation of altered microbiota, bile acids and GLP-1 secretion and other afferent signals arising from the GI tract, and using this information to guide the development and rational use of different therapies for obesity, diabetes and related disorders.

Key Publications

  • Ahmad NN, Pfalzer A, Kaplan LM. Roux-en-Y gastric bypass normalizes the blunted postprandial bile acid excursion associated with obesity.  Intl J Obes 2013; epub 9 April 2013; doi: 10.1038/ijo.2013.38. PMCID: PMC4157126
  • Liou AP, Paziuk M, Luevano J-M, Machineni S, Turnbaugh PJ, Kaplan LM. Conserved shifts in the gut microbiota caused by Roux-en-Y gastric bypass contribute to reduced host weight and adiposity.  Sci Transl Med; 2013; 5:178ra41. PMCID: PMC3652229
  • Hatoum IJ, Stylopoulos N, Vanhoose AM, Boyd KL, Yin DP, Ellacott ELJ, Ma LL, Blaszczyk K, Keough JM, Cone RD, Farooqi IS, Kaplan LM. Melanocortin-4 receptor signaling is required for weight loss after gastric bypass surgery.  J Clin Endocrinol Metab  epub 6 April 2012; doi:10.1210/jc.2011-3432. PMCID: PMC3387412
  • Carmody JS, Ahmad NN, Machineni S, Lajoie S, Kaplan LM.  Weight loss after RYGB is independent of and complementary to serotonin 2C receptor signaling in male mice.  Endocrinology 2015; 156:3183-3191. doi: 10.1210/en.2015-1226. epub 11 June 2015. PMID 26066076. PMCID: PMC4541621
  • Liou AP, Paziuk M, Luevano J-M, Machineni S, Turnbaugh PJ, Kaplan LM. Conserved shifts in the gut microbiota caused by Roux-en-Y gastric bypass contribute to reduced host weight and adiposity.  Sci Transl Med; 2013; 5:178ra41. PMCID: PMC3652229
  • Hatoum IJ, Blackstone R, Hunter TD, Francis DM, Steinbuch M, Harris JL, Kaplan LM. Clinical factors associated with remission of obesity-related comorbidities after bariatric surgery. JAMA Surg 2015 Oct 14:1-8. doi:10.1001/jamasurg.2015.3231. [Epub ahead of print] PMID: 26465084.

Education

  • PhD, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, 1981
  • MD, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, 1981
  • AB Chemistry, Harvard University, 1975

 

Lee

Lee Kaplan, MD, PhD

Associate Director
Associate Professor of Medicine, Massachusetts General Hospital

Contact Information
lmkaplan@partners.org • Phone: (617) 726-3768