Below are representative publications. A complete list of publications can be found at
https://agpittas.com/publications.
Dawson-Hughes B, Staten M, Knowler WC, Nelson J, Vickery EM, LeBlanc ES, Neff LM, Park J and
Pittas AG. Intratrial Exposure to Vitamin D and New-Onset Diabetes Among Adults With Prediabetes: A Secondary Analysis From the Vitamin D and Type 2 Diabetes (D2d) Study. Diabetes Care 2020
Pittas AG, Jorde R, Kawahara T, Dawson-Hughes B. Vitamin D Supplementation for Prevention of Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus: To D or Not to D? J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 2020 Dec 1;105(12)
Pittas AG and Balk EM. Untangling the Gordian Knot of vitamin D supplementation and type 2 diabetes prevention Diabetes Care 2020
Angellotti E, Muppavarapu S, Siegel R and
Pittas AG. The calculation of the glucose management indicator (GMI) is influenced by the continuous glucose monitoring system and patient race. Diabetes Technology and Therapeutics 2019 Dec 31. PMID:3182101
Delichatsios HK and
Pittas AG Integrating Nutrition Education into Clinical Practice. Nestle Nutr Inst Workshop Ser. 2019;92:171-182. doi: 10.1159/000499560. Epub 2019 Nov 28
Pittas AG, Dawson-Hughes B, Sheehan P, Ware JH, Knowler WC, Aroda VR et al. Vitamin D supplementation and prevention of type 2 diabetes. N Engl J Med 2019 Aug 8:381(6):520-530. PMID:31173679
Angellotti E, Wong JB, Pierce A, Hescott B and
Pittas AG. Combining Wireless Technology and Behavioral Economics to Engage Patients (WiBEEP) with cardiometabolic disease: a pilot study. Pilot Feasibility Stud. 2019 Jan 15;15:5;
Shahraz S,
Pittas AG, Thomas C, Saadati M and Kent D. Change in testing, awareness of HbA1c levels, and glycemic control in US adults, 2007-2014. JAMA 2017 Nov 14;318(18):1825-1827
Lewis MR, Macauley RC, Sheehan PR, Staten MA, Phillips LS, Rasouli N and
Pittas AG, D2d Research Group. Management of hemoglobin variants detected incidentally in HbA1c testing: a common problem currently lacking a standard approach. Diabetes Care 2017 Feb 40 (2):e8-e9.
Shahraz S,
Pittas AG and Kent D. Less is More: Prediabetes risk in adult Americans According to a risk test. JAMA Internal Medicine 2016.
Pittas AG, Westcott G and Balk EM. Technosphere Inhaled Insulin for Patients with Diabetes: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis Lancet Diabetes Endocrinol 2015:3(11):886-94.
Balk EM, Early A, Raman G, Avendano EA,
Pittas AG and Remington PL. Combined Diet and Physical Activity Promotion Programs to Prevent Type 2 Diabetes Among Persons at Increased Risk: A Systematic Review for the Community Preventive Services Task Force. Ann Intern Med online 14 July 2015
Pittas AG, Dawson-Hughes B, Sheehan PR, Rosen CJ, Ware JH, Knowler WC, Staten MA and the D2d Research Group. Rationale and Design of the Vitamin D and Type 2 Diabetes Study: A Diabetes Prevention Trial. Diabetes Care 2014 Dec;37(12):3227-34.
Pittas AG, Nelson J, Mitri J, Hillmann W, Garganta C, Nathan DM, Hu FB and Dawson-Hughes B. Plasma 25-hydroxyvitamin D and progression to diabetes in patients at risk for diabetes: an ancillary analysis in the Diabetes Prevention Program. Diabetes Care 2012:35(3):565-573
Pittas AG, Chung M, Trikalinos TA, Mitri J, Brendel M, Patel K, Lichtenstein AH, Lau J and Balk E. Vitamin D and Cardiometabolic Outcomes: A Systematic Review. Ann Intern Med 2010:152(5):307-314
Amori R, Lau J and
Pittas AG. Efficacy and Safety of Incretin Therapy in Type 2 Diabetes. Systematic Review and Meta-analysis JAMA 2007:298(2):194-206
Ceglia L, Lau J and
Pittas AG. Efficacy and safety of inhaled insulin therapy in adults with diabetes mellitus. A systematic review. Ann Intern Med 2006:145:665-675
Dr. Anastassios Pittas was born and raised in Greece and came to the U.S. many years ago to attend college. At MIT, not only did he earn a B.S. degree in Biology, but also met his future spouse, Helen. Both earned their medical degrees at Weill Medical College of Cornell University and completed Internal Medicine Residencies at the New-York Presbyterian Hospital-Weill Cornell in New York City before moving to Boston. After completing a Fellowship in Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolism at Tufts Medical Center, Dr. Pittas joined the staff in the Division of Endocrinology in 2000 where he has remained active in all three areas of academic medicine, clinical care, research and teaching as they relate to the prevention and treatment of diabetes.
From 2000 and 2002, Dr. Pittas was supported by a generous grant from the Friedman NY Foundation for Medical Research. Dr. Pittas has been continuously funded by the National Institutes of Health since 2002, first as the recipient of a NIH K23 Career Development Award. During this period, in keeping with the goal of the Award, he earned a M.S. degree in Clinical Research from the Sackler School of Biomedical Sciences at Tufts University. The degree provided him with formal training on clinical research and during that time, he became interested in the role of vitamin D in diabetes. Working with wonderful colleagues, Dr. Pittas has received funding via the R01, R21, U34 and U01 mechanisms of the National Institutes of Health and the American Diabetes Association. He is currently the principal investigator and Chair of the vitamin D and type 2 diabetes study, a large (N=2,423 participants) multi-center clinical trial to test whether vitamin D supplementation reduces risk of diabetes in people at high risk. As study Chair, Dr. Pittas assembled a team of principal investigators at 22 clinical centers around the country, a central laboratory and drug distribution center, and directed the study’s Coordinating Center and oversaw the study’s $45 million 8-year budget. Details about the D2d study can be found at d2dstudy.org. Dr. Pittas has served as a member or Chair of multiple NIH study sections and for international research foundations, including the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, UK Diabetes, Children’s Medical Research Foundation (Australia) and Health Research Council of New Zealand. He has co-authored over 100 publications including peer-reviewed journals, books, book chapters and evidence-based reports.
In 2017, Dr. Pittas received a Biomedical Research Exemplar Award, which honors - at a national level - individuals conducting high-quality, high-impact, federally funded research who maintain an impressive reputation for professionalism and integrity in their work and who also employ exemplar practices to lead and manage their teams. Colleagues state that he embraces a culture of accountability and responsibility, always striving to define what success looks like at the individual (personal and professional), team, and project level. His research group is described as a fun, engaging place to work where no idea is suppressed, and staff have the freedom to make suggestions and execute improvements.
Throughout his career, Dr. Pittas has remained clinically active and has been recognized as a Boston Top Doc by Boston Magazine every year since 2017.
Dr. Pittas is a Professor of Medicine at Tufts University School of Medicine and Adjunct Professor of Nutrition and Policy at Tufts University Friedman School of Nutrition, Science and Policy. Dr. Pittas serves as the Associate Director of the Endocrinology Fellowship Program and co-Director of the Diabetes Clinic. From 2000 to 2008, he served as the Director of the Endocrine Pathophysiology course at Tufts University School of Medicine.
You can learn more about Dr. Pittas by visiting his website at
agpittas.com/.
Below is an outline of research interests and accomplishments and opportunities for collaborations and mentorship. Colleagues and trainees are welcome to bring ideas, energy, enthusiasm and time to the development and execution of collaborative projects with meaningful impact in patient care. For details, please also visit
https://agpittas.com/.
•
Understanding of the role of vitamin D in type 2 diabetes. Through a methodical approach that included cross-sectional and longitudinal observational studies, post-hoc analyses of completed trials and short-term mechanistic trials, my colleagues from different institutions and I worked in a highly collaborative approach to uncover a link between vitamin D and risk of type 2 diabetes. Databases and specimens (blood / urine) are available from observational studies and randomized trials for ancillary studies by colleagues and trainees. Details can be found at
www.vitaminDfordiabetes.org and
www.d2dstudy.org.
•
Precision-Nutrition for prevention and management of diabetes and cardiometabolic disease. Based on animal work by others, my colleagues and I demonstrated that the effect of the dietary glycemic load on weight change depends on baseline insulin secretion, a finding which was subsequently confirmed by others.
•
Comparative Effectiveness Research as it relates to the care of patients with diabetes. Working collaboratively and effectively with researchers from the Tufts Evidence Based Center (for over 10 years) and currently with the Brown Evidence Based Center, my colleagues and I have conducted and published more than 10 high-impact systematic reviews and meta-analyses on topics that are timely and clinically applicable.
•
The application of virtual medicine and digital connectivity in the care of patients with diabetes and other endocrine conditions. Our team has conducted research in the use of continuous glucose monitoring in patients with pre-diabetes and diabetes, focusing on understanding its role in clinical care. Databases are available for analyses.
•
Mentorship of trainees. Under many roles in the Tufts educational environment (Associate Director of the Endocrinology Fellowship Program, Instructor for the Study Design and Clinical Trials courses at Tufts University), Dr. Pittas has served as mentor for a number of trainees at many academic levels and in wide areas of clinical research, including observational studies, trials and comparative effectiveness research. His trainees and Dr. Pittas have co-authored more than 40 manuscripts in the area of diabetes and metabolism.
1. The role of vitamin D in health and disease - Primary Care Physicians, Endocrinology
2. Pharmacotherapy of type 2 diabetes - Primary Care Physicians
