Faculty
Phone314-454-7775
Fax314-996-3087
Emailaveryj@wustl.edu
Dr. James Avery, a Washington University trainee and board certified internist, joined the Bone Health Program in May 2011 as a part-time physician. He is a primary care physician at the Grant Medical Clinic in St. Louis, and has been active in the management of osteoporosis for many years. He has been voted one the “Best Doctors in St. Louis” since 2002 by the St. Louis Magazine. He brings his expertise as a general practitioner to our specialty, focusing on osteoporosis. Dr. Avery sees patients in the Bone Health Program at the Center for Advanced Medicine.
Roberto Civitelli, MD
Chief, Division of Bone and Mineral Diseases and Sydney M & Stella H Schoenberg Professor of Medicine
Phone314-454-8906
Fax314-454-5505
Emailcivitellir@wustl.edu
Dr. Roberto Civitelli, the current Chief of the Division of Bone and Mineral Diseases, is a world renowned expert on osteoporosis and bone mineral diseases. Originally trained in Siena, Italy, he has been affiliated with the Division of Bone and Mineral Diseases since 1985, and with the Bone Health Program since its inception. He is a physician-scientist, has authored over 200 publications, and runs an active bone biology program. Dr. Civitelli has served in the leadership of international professional organizations interested in bone health. He currently serves as the Editor-In-Chief of the Journal of Bone and Mineral Research. He sees patients at all Bone Health Program sites.
Phone314-454-7775
Fax314-996-3087
Dr. Kathryn Diemer is a highly respected physician and a St. Louis native. She received her medical training at Washington University and has been part of the Bone Health Program since 1989. She is a leading expert on osteoporosis nationally, and has served in leadership roles in the International Society for Bone Densitometry. She lectures nationally and internationally on osteoporosis and bone densitometry, and has been named in the St. Louis Magazine as one of St. Louis’s 100 Best Doctors every year since 2002. She sees patients in the Bone Health Program at Barnes-Jewish West County Hospital.
Phone314-454-7775
Fax314-996-3087
Emailcmjachna@wustl.edu
Dr. Carolyn Jachna obtained her MD degree at Northwestern University, in Chicago, IL, in 1998; and completed her residency training in Internal Medicine at Barnes-Jewish Hospital in 2001. Afterwards she was appointed Assistant Professor of Medicine at the University of Kansas, where she also practiced at the Hiatt Osteoporosis Center. She in an expert in osteoporosis and other metabolic bone diseases and joined the Bone Health Program in 2010. She also maintains an active practice in primary care in the BJC network. Dr. Jachna sees patients in the Bone Health Program at Barnes-Jewish West County Hospital.
Phone314-454-7775
Fax314-996-3087
Emailelin24@wustl.edu
Dr. Elizabeth (Betsy) Lin received her medical degree and completed her internal medicine residency and endocrine fellowship at the University of California, Irvine, and in part at Stanford University Hospital. She then completed a fellowship in bone and mineral diseases in our center, and joined the faculty of our Division and the Bone Health Program in 2018. Her expertise is in osteoporosis and rare bone disorders in adults. She sees patients in the Bone Health Program at the Center for Advanced Medicine and at Barnes-Jewish West County Hospital.
Phone314-286-1114
Fax314-454-5047
Dr. Mbalaviele obtained his PhD degree in Developmental Physiology at the University of Paris VII, France. After spending 12 years in pharmaceutical industry, he joined our faculty as Associate Professor of Medicine in 2010. He is also a Co-Founder of Confluence Life Sciences and Confluence Discovery Technologies, biotechnology-based companies involved in drug development, located in the CORTEX Bioscience District adjacent to the WU medical campus. Dr. Mbalaviele’s research is related to bone loss associated with inflammation with a focus on the role of the inflammasomes and innate immunity in this process.
Phone314-454-7775
Fax314-996-3087
Emailmmohseni@wustl.edu
Dr. Mahshid Mohseni received her medical degree from Isfahan University of Medical Sciences in Isfahan, Iran; followed by an internship in the same Institution. She later completed her internal medicine residency at Joan C. Edwards School of Medicine, in Huntington WV, and her endocrinology fellowship at the University of Miami School of Medicine, in Miami, FL. Dr. Mohseni completed a fellowship in bone and mineral diseases in our center in 2017, and then joined the faculty of our Division and the Bone Health Program in 2018. Her expertise is in osteoporosis and metabolic bone disorders. She sees patients in the Bone Health Program at the Center for Advanced Medicine South County and at Barnes-Jewish West County Hospital.
Phone314-454-8779
Fax314-454-5047
Emailsmumm@wustl.edu
Dr. Mumm received his PhD in Cell and Molecular Biology from Saint Louis University, St. Louis, MO, in 1992. He was trained in the Markey Pathway in Human Pathobiology and had additional post-doctoral training in the Human Genome Project at Washington University School of Medicine. Dr. Mumm’s research focuses on the molecular genetics of metabolic bone diseases and skeletal dysplasias, in conjunction with Dr. Michael Whyte, who manages the clinical aspects of these research endeavors. Current investigation includes high bone turnover diseases associated with RANK signaling, modifier gene effects involved in phosphorus homeostasis, and genetic predisposition to atypical femoral fractures associated with long-term bisphosphonate therapy for osteoporosis.
Emailnnapoli@wustl.edu
Dr. Napoli obtained his MD degree at the University of Palermo, Italy, in 2000; followed by a 2-year fellowship in Geriatrics. In 2002, he joined our Division for further training in metabolic bone disease and bone biology, before moving back to Italy in 2006, where he completed his PhD, and was then appointed Junior Faculty in the Division of Endocrinology at Campus Bio-Medico University in Rome. In 2008, he was appointed Adjunct Assistant Professor of Medicine in our Division, based on his scientific accomplishments and continued interactions and collaborations with Washington University faculty. Dr. Napoli’s clinical specialty includes osteoporosis, metabolic bone disease and diabetes. His research focuses on the effects of diabetes and deranged energy metabolism on skeletal health.
Phone314-362-2516
Fax314-454-5047
Dr. Peterson obtained his PhD degree in 2010 at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Whitehead Institute, under the tutelage of Dr. David Sabatini, working on mTOR signaling for tissue growth and in cancer. He completed his post-doctoral training in Dr. Erin O’Shea’s laboratory, Harvard University, where he developed new methodologies to identify new genes involved in the action of largely used pharmacologic agents. Based on his fast scholarly rise and exceptional scientific achievements, Dr. Peterson was appointed Assistant Professor of Medicine in our Division in July 2016, where he will continue his research on new genes that drive skeletal development, bone homeostasis and response to therapeutic agents.
Phone314-454-7775
Fax314-996-3087
Emailnilton@wustl.edu
Dr. Nilton Salles Rosa Neto received his medical degree from Universidade Federal do Parana, Brazil, followed by residency, and then a rheumatology fellowship at Universidade de São Paulo. He also holds a PhD in immunology and infectious processes from the same institution. Since 2017, he has worked as a rheumatologist in various medical centers in São Paulo, Brazil. Dr. Salles has served as Sub-Investigator in multiple industry-sponsored clinical trials on the effect of biologicals in rheumatic disorders; and has published 15 research articles. He is currently enrolled in a fellowship in bone and mineral diseases in our center.
Phone314-747-7511
Fax314-454-5047
Emailscheller@wustl.edu
Dr. Scheller obtained her combined DDS/PhD degree at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, where she graduated in 2011. She completed her post-doctoral training also at the University of Michigan, under the tutorship of Dr. Ormond McDougald, focusing on neuroendocrine regulation of fat and bone metabolism. Based on her outstanding and rapid scholarly development, Dr. Scheller was recruited as Assistant Professor of Medicine in our Division in July 2016. Dr. Scheller’s research focuses on how neural signals contribute to skeletal health and in such diseases as periodontitis and diabetes. She also investigates the role of marrow adipose tissue in skeletal and systemic metabolic health, with the goal of applying the findings to skeletal tissue regeneration.
Phone314-454-8463
Fax314-454-5505
Emailteitelbs@wustl.edu
Dr. Teitelbaum graduated from Washington University School of Medicine and completed his clinical training at this institution and NYU. He holds the Messing Chair in Pathology and Immunology and is Professor of Medicine in the Division of Bone and Mineral Diseases. He has published in excess of 300 papers, many in the most competitive journals. Dr. Teitelbaum’s laboratory focuses on the mechanisms of osteoclast bone resorption, and has recently extended his interests to the interactions between bone, fat and energy metabolism. He is a world leading bone biologist and mentor having trained more than 70 undergraduate, graduate students and postdoctoral fellows, a number of whom now hold prestigious positions and enjoy international reputations as skeletal biologists.
Phone314-454-8472
Fax314-454-5047
Emaildveis@wustl.edu
Dr. Veis (Novack) received her undergraduate degree in Molecular Biology from Princeton University, Princeton, NJ; completed the MD/PhD program at Washington University; and was a postdoctoral fellow in the laboratory of Steven Teitelbaum. She is board certified in Anatomic Pathology with expertise in bone and breast diseases; and joined our Division in 2003. She has served in the leadership of the American Society for Bone and Mineral Research and the American Society for Clinical Investigation. She currently serves as the Director of the Histology and Histomorphometry Core, Musculoskeletal Research Center. Dr. Veis’s research focuses on the role of NF-κB in osteoclastogenesis and bone resorption, and the role of this pathway in pathological osteolysis and in the host response to metastasis. She also studies the role of mitochondria in bone cell biology. Dr. Veis also has extensive collaborations with clinicians on studies related to bone disease and breast cancer.
Phone314-454-7775
Fax314-454-5047
Emailmwhyte@shrinenet.org
Dr. Michael Whyte earned his MD degree at Downstate College of Medicine, State University of New York, Brooklyn, NY, and then had residency training in Internal Medicine at Bellevue Hospital in New York City. After his fellowship in Endocrinology, he joined the faculty of our Division in the late 1970s. Dr. Whyte is a world-leading expert in heritable skeletal disorders in children and adults. He directs the Center for Metabolic Bone Disease and Molecular Research at Shriners Hospital for Children, St. Louis, which serves as a national resource for the diagnosis, treatment, and investigation of disorders of bone and mineral metabolism and skeletal dysplasias in children. In addition to his activities at Shriners Hospital, Dr. Whyte sees patients in the Bone Health Program at the Center for Advanced Medicine.
Phone314-454-7775
Fax314-996-3087
Emailnagamyalla@wustl.edu
Dr. Naga Yalla completed her internal medicine training and endocrine fellowship at the University of Kentucky. A board certified endocrinologist and internist, Dr. Yalla works on the inpatient diabetes service at Barnes Jewish Hospital. After training in our Division’s clinical program, Dr. Yalla joined the Bone Health Program in July 2013. Her main clinical interests are osteoporosis, hyperparathyroidism, and other metabolic bone diseases. She sees patients in the Bone Health Program at the Center for Advanced Medicine.