Featuring Dr. Aaron Cypess
Show Notes:
In this conversation, Dr. Aaron Cypess discusses two pivotal moments that led him to change his approach to research. Initially planning to major in biology, he was encouraged to study chemistry, which provided a strong foundation in precision and quantitative analysis. During his endocrinology fellowship, Dr. Cypess shifted his focus to clinically relevant research, leading to his entry into the Clinical Investigator Training Program. This program allowed him to leverage his dual MD and PhD training to study human brown adipose tissue (BAT). Dr. Cypess also reflects on the pressures of being a physician-researcher and how the supportive environment at the NIH's NIDDK has enabled him to continue his impactful research. He highlights the benefits of the NIH's collaborative environment and resources, such as the NIH Clinical Center and the post-baccalaureate fellowship program, which have been instrumental in his research on BAT and its implications for human health.
Guest:
Aaron M. Cypess, MD, PhD, MMSc
Senior Investigator and Chief, Translational Physiology Section, DEOB, NIDDK, NIH
Aaron M. Cypess, MD, PhD, is a Senior Investigator and Chief of the Translational Physiology Section at the NIH in Washington, DC. He studied chemistry at Princeton University where he graduated with highest honors. He has a medical degree from Cornell University, a doctorate from The Rockefeller University, and a master’s in medical sciences from Harvard University. Prior to his arrival at the NIH, Dr. Cypess was an Assistant Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School. He trained in the research group of C. Ronald Kahn, where they demonstrated that brown adipose tissue is a functional organ in adult humans. Dr. Cypess’ current research focuses on human brown and white adipose tissue physiology and their utilization to treat obesity-related metabolic disease.
Host:
David Yarmosh, MS
Lead Bioinformatician, ATCC
David Yarmosh is a lead bioinformatician in ATCC’s Sequencing and Bioinformatics Center. He’s a graduate of New York University’s Tandon School of Engineering. He has been working in large data aggregation and analysis since 2013 and microbial genomics with a focus on biosurveillance R&D efforts since 2016. David has led international training exercises in Peru and Senegal, sharing metagenomic analytical capabilities. His interests include genomics database construction, metadata collection, drug resistance mechanisms, bioinformatics standards, and machine learning. Since joining ATCC in 2020, David has worked extensively in SARS-CoV-2 classification, epidemiology, and genomics evaluation, including enhanced and uniform variant reporting. He has contributed more broadly to genomics reporting and analytical standardization and he has helped develop the podcast Behind the Biology, which he now hosts.
