E. Dale Abel, MD, PhD

E. Dale Abel, MD, PhD is the William S. Adams Distinguished Professor and Chair for the Department of Medicine at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, and Executive Medical Director at UCLA Health.

Dr. Abel has had a distinguished career in endocrine and metabolism research. His pioneering work on glucose transport and mitochondrial metabolism in the heart guides his current research interests: molecular mechanisms responsible for cardiovascular complications of diabetes. His laboratory has provided important insights into the contribution of mitochondrial dysfunction and aberrant insulin signaling, to heart failure risk in diabetes.

Dr. Abel’s research program has been continually funded by the National Institutes of Health since 1995, and by the American Heart Association, the American Diabetes Association, and the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation. Dr. Abel is the recipient of numerous awards for scholarship and mentorship, including awards and endowed lectureships such as the Fred Conrad Koch Lifetime Achievement Award of the Endocrine Society, the 2018 African American Museum of Iowa History Makers Award. He is an elected member of the American Association of Physicians (AAP), the American Society for Clinical Investigation (ASCI), the American Clinical and Climatological Association (ACCA), the National Academy of Medicine (NAM) and the National Academy of Sciences (NAS). He is past President of the Endocrine Society and the Association of Professors of Medicine.

Learn more about the department's work and accomplishments directly from Chair and Executive Medical Director Dr. E. Dale Abel at Reflections from the Chair