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Elif Oral, MD - Video Profile

2,652 views · Published 20 May 2012 · 1:31 · Indexed 24 October 2026

Channel: Michigan Medicine · 2012 · Science & Technology

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Associate Professor, Internal Medicine
Specialties: Endocrinology, Internal Medicine
Clinical Interests: Insulin resistance, obesity, lipid disorders, type 2 diabetes and type 1 diabetes

Dr. Elif Oral, M.D., is an Associate Professor in the Division of Metabolism, Endocrinology and Diabetes (MEND) at the University of Michigan. She completed her medical education in her home country of Turkey at the University of Istanbul. In 1996, she completed her residency in Internal Medicine at Sinai Hospital of Detroit (Michigan). She then completed a Fellowship in Endocrinology, Metabolism and Diabetes at the National Institutes of Health, where she also chose to stay as a Senior Fellow under the mentorship of Drs. Simeon Taylor and Phillip Gorden in the Diabetes Branch of NIDDK.

Since joining The University of Michigan in 2002 as an Assistant Professor of Medicine, along with her regular faculty responsibilities, Dr. Oral also completed a Masters of Science Degree in Clinical Research Design and Biostatistics at the School of Public Health. Her clinical interests are in insulin resistance, obesity, lipid disorders, and diabetes.

Dr. Oral's research focuses on the importance of adipocytes in human metabolism and adipocyte hormones such as leptin. She is best known for her work showing the remarkable efficacy of leptin in rare lipodystrophy syndromes. These studies provided the basis for her current studies investigating the effects of leptin in treatment of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease.

In addition to her roles as physician, educator, and researcher, Dr. Oral is also the Medical Director of the UMHS Bariatric Surgery Program and Director of the MEND Obesity and Metabolic Disorder Program. She also directs the Post-Bariatric Surgery Care Program.

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