Erik K. Alexander, MD
|
|
 |
|
Associate Physician, Brigham and Women's Hospital
Associate Professor of Medicine, Harvard Medical School
Brigham and Women's Hospital
Department of Medicine
Endocrinology
75 Francis Street
Boston, MA 02115
|
|
| Research Narrative:
Dr. Alexander currently participates in clinical research involving thyroid disease and pregnancy, and thyroid nodules & thyroid cancer. He has investigated the timing and onset of increased levothyroxine requirement during gestation. These data demonstrate that thyroid hormone requirements increase early in gestation, and increase approximately 40% throughout pregnancy. These findings have translated into broad clinical recommendation for patients. Current clinical guidelines recommend that all women the known, treated hypothyroidism optimize thyroid function prenatally, and once pregnant, increase their levothyroxine by 2 additional tablets weekly of their current daily dosage of levothyroxine. By doing so, the risk of maternal and fetal hypothyroidism (and their adverse complications) are substantially reduced.
Separate, Dr. Alexander's research has focused on the clinical understanding and optimal diagnostic strategies for patients with thyroid nodular disease. Dr. Alexander maintains the largest U.S. registry of consecutive thyroid nodules evaluated and aspirated via a multidisciplinary approach. These data from over 6,000 consecutive patients with clinically relevant thyroid nodules have provided insight into how such nodules are optimally evaluated. For example, data from this registry confirms that patients with multiple thyroid nodules >1cm require aspirations of multiple nodules as opposed to previous misconceptions that only the largest nodules should be evaluated.
Most recently, Dr. Alexander has led a national, multi-center study validating the Afirma gene expression classifier for thyroid nodule evaluation. These data confirm the ability of this test to significantly expand our pre-operative risk assessment for patients wtih cytologically indeterminate thyroid nodules, and by doing so also reduces the extent of unnecessary surgery.
|
| |
| Education: |
Northwestern University Medical School , 1997, MD
|
| |
| Honors/Awards: |
Board of Directors, American Thyroid Association
|
| |
| Courses Taught: |
2005-2012, Brigham & Women's Hospital, Principle Clinical Experience, Overall 3rd Year clinical experience for Harvard Medical Students
2002-2012, Brigham & Women's Hospital, Internal Medicine Clerkship - 3rd Year, Core 3rd Year clerkship in Internal Medicine
2002-2012, Brigham & Women's Hospital, 4th Year Subinternship in Internal Medicine
|
| |
| Keywords (MeSH): |
Brain Neoplasms
Radiosurgery
Stereotaxic Techniques
Thyroid Nodule
Thyroid Neoplasms
Clinical Clerkship
Neurosurgery
Hypothyroidism
|
| |
| Link to PubMed: |
View Alexander's Publications in PubMed.
|
| |
Publications (Pulled from Harvard Catalyst Profiles):
1. Alexander EK, Osman NY, Walling JL, Mitchell VG. Why Reforms Must Be Made to Make the Dean's Letter Useful. Acad Med. 2013 Apr; 88(4):434-5.
2. Alexander EK, Osman NY, Walling JL, Mitchell VG. A standardized approach to grading clerkships: hard to achieve and not worth it anyway. Acad Med. 2013 Mar; 88(3):296.
3. Frates MC, Marqusee E, Benson CB, Alexander EK. Subacute Granulomatous (de Quervain) Thyroiditis: Grayscale and Color Doppler Sonographic Characteristics. J Ultrasound Med. 2013 Mar; 32(3):505-11.
4. Hadd AG, Houghton J, Choudhary A, Sah S, Chen L, Marko AC, Sanford T, Buddavarapu K, Krosting J, Garmire L, Wylie D, Shinde R, Beaudenon S, Alexander EK, Mambo E, Adai AT, Latham GJ. Targeted, high-depth, next-generation sequencing of cancer genes in formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded and fine-needle aspiration tumor specimens. J Mol Diagn. 2013 Mar; 15(2):234-47.
5. Kamran SC, Marqusee E, Kim MI, Frates MC, Ritner J, Peters H, Benson CB, Doubilet PM, Cibas ES, Barletta J, Cho N, Gawande A, Ruan D, Moore FD, Pou K, Larsen PR, Alexander EK. Thyroid nodule size and prediction of cancer. J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 2013 Feb; 98(2):564-70.
6. Rhee CM, Alexander EK, Bhan I, Brunelli SM. Hypothyroidism and Mortality among Dialysis Patients. Clin J Am Soc Nephrol. 2013 Apr; 8(4):593-601.
7. Hauer KE, O'Brien BC, Hansen LA, Hirsh D, Ma IH, Ogur B, Poncelet AN, Alexander EK, Teherani A. More is better: students describe successful and unsuccessful experiences with teachers differently in brief and longitudinal relationships. Acad Med. 2012 Oct; 87(10):1389-96.
8. Kim MI, Alexander EK. Diagnostic use of molecular markers in the evaluation of thyroid nodules. Endocr Pract. 2012 Sep 1; 18(5):796-802.
9. De Groot L, Abalovich M, Alexander EK, Amino N, Barbour L, Cobin RH, Eastman CJ, Lazarus JH, Luton D, Mandel SJ, Mestman J, Rovet J, Sullivan S. Management of thyroid dysfunction during pregnancy and postpartum: an Endocrine Society clinical practice guideline. J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 2012 Aug; 97(8):2543-65.
10. Alexander EK, Osman NY, Walling JL, Mitchell VG. Variation and imprecision of clerkship grading in U.S. medical schools. Acad Med. 2012 Aug; 87(8):1070-6.
|
|
PRINT
ESPAÑOL
