Hirschhorn Laboratory
Andrew Dauber
Andrew is a pediatric endocrinologist and clinical/translational researcher whose research focus is the genetic underpinnings of short stature. He attended college at Columbia University and then moved to Boston to attend Harvard Medical School. After medical school, he completed a residency in Pediatrics at Boston Children's Hospital and Boston Medical Center. He then served as Chief Resident at Children’s Hospital Boston prior to completing a fellowship in pediatric endocrinology at Children’s as well. During his fellowship, Andrew obtained a Master’s Degree in Clinical Investigation through the Clinical Investigator Training Program at Harvard Medical School. He is currently the Assistant Program Director of the Children’s Hospital Boston Clinical and Translational Studies Unit.
Andrew’s previous research experience includes a prospective study of Procalcitonin as a diagnostic marker for serious bacterial infection in febrile infants as well as a pilot crossover trial of dexamethasone versus hydrocortisone for the treatment of congenital adrenal hyperplasia in children. Additionally, he has conducted an in-depth physiological analysis of an infant with idiopathic infantile hypercalcemia using stable isotopes of calcium to measure his calcium absorption. That protocol included genetic analysis of the proband and his family using homozygosity mapping and whole exome sequencing which revealed a novel genetic cause of this disorder, a deficiency in the vitamin D 24-hydroxylase gene (CYP24A1). More recently, as a member of the Hirschhorn lab, he examined the role of copy number burden in short stature.
Andrew is currently recruiting a cohort of 500 families with children with Idiopathic Short Stature for an in depth genetic analysis of the causes of short stature. The children undergo detailed phenotyping as well as DNA collection. The exons of ~1000 candidate genes will be sequenced using Next Generation sequencing technology looking for rare genetic variants which may be affecting growth. Structural DNA variants are being investigated as well. Additionally, he is performing whole exome sequencing on a selected subset of these patients with particularly interesting syndromic features and family pedigrees.
In addition to his work in short stature, Andrew is conducting a pilot trial comparing closed-loop insulin therapy to standard insulin therapy in young children with type 1 diabetes.
