Brigid Gregg

Brigid Gregg, MD, is an Associate Professor in the Department of Nutritional Sciences at the University of Michigan School of Public Health and holds a dual appointment in the Division of Pediatric Endocrinology. Her research program investigates how early-life nutrient stressors program offspring risk for obesity, diabetes, and metabolic syndrome through molecular mechanisms in pancreatic islets, adipose tissue, and liver.

Her educational background includes:

• MD from Case Western Reserve University (2004)
• Residency in Pediatrics at University of Chicago (2007)
• Fellowship in Pediatric Endocrinology at University of Chicago (2010)
• BS in Animal Physiology and Neuroscience from UC San Diego (1999)

Dr. Gregg's research focuses on perinatal programming of metabolic diseases, with emphasis on neonatal determinants of pancreatic beta-cell mass, postnatal beta-cell replication triggers, and lactational nutritional impacts. Using integrated approaches with rodent models and human mother-infant cohorts, her lab examines how maternal metabolic conditions during lactation set lifelong metabolic trajectories. Key methodologies include molecular analysis of glucose-responsive tissues and dietary manipulation studies.

Analysis of her recent publications reveals a dominant focus on lactational programming mechanisms, maternal diet effects on offspring metabolism, and therapeutic interventions for monogenic diabetes. Her work spans from basic molecular mechanisms (e.g., ER-associated degradation in islet cells) to clinical applications (e.g., dual GIP/GLP-1 agonists for MODY), with strong translational emphasis on developmental windows for metabolic disease prevention.

Dr. Gregg leads an active research laboratory investigating the intersection of nutrition, endocrinology, and developmental biology. Her team employs interdisciplinary approaches combining animal physiology, molecular biology, and clinical cohort studies to address critical questions in metabolic programming, with particular attention to lactation as a modifiable window for preventing obesity and diabetes.