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  Children's Hospital Research  Children's Hospital Labs
Catherine Gordon, MD, MSc  Children's logo  Harvard logo
 Catherine Gordon, MD, MSc
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   Department  Adolescent/Young Adult Medicine
   Hospital Title  Director, Bone Health Program
   Academic Title  Assistant Professor
   Phone  617-355-3139
   Fax  617-730-0195
   Email  Catherine Gordon
   Location  300 Longwood Avenue
333 Longwood-6
Boston MA 02115
Research Overview

Dr. Catherine Gordon's work is directed at developing new approaches to preventing bone loss in at-risk patients by defining the lifestyle variables that affect the development of peak bone mass. She is seeking to identify factors that contribute to bone loss in healthy children and adolescents, as well as in those with such disorders as anorexia nervosa, inflammatory bowel disease, and cystic fibrosis. She is particularly interested in the influence of nutrition on hormones that affect bone development, such as adrenal and gonadal androgens, in this age group.

In a related line of research, she is evaluating ultrasound and peripheral quantitative computed tomography (PQCT) as modalities for measuring bone density.

Ongoing clinical trials include studies of:

  • Methods of preventing bone loss in young women with anorexia nervosa;
  • Mechanisms of bone loss in young adults with cystic fibrosis and inflammatory bowel disease;
  • Risk factors associated with stress fractures in female athletes;
  • Nutritional and environmental factors associated with subclinical vitamin D deficiency and rickets;
  • Quantitative bone ultrasound and peripheral quantitative computed tomography (PQCT) as tools for measuring bone density in adolescents.

About Catherine Gordon

Catherine Gordon received her MD from the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, and completed an internship, residency, and postgraduate fellowship in pediatric endocrinology and adolescent medicine at Children's Hospital Boston. She received an MSc degree from Harvard Medical School.

In 2002 Dr. Gordon received a New Investigator Award from the Society for Adolescent Medicine.

In 2005, Dr. Gordon received the Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers.
Publications
  • Pappa H, Gordon CM, Saslowsky T, Zholudev A, Horr B, Shih M, Grand R. Vitamin D status in children and young adults with inflammatory bowel disease. Pediatrics 2006; 118: 1950-61.

  • DiVasta A, Beck TJ, Petit MA, Feldman HA, LeBoff MS, Gordon CM. Bone cross-sectional geometry in adolescents and young women with anorexia nervosa: A hip structural analysis study. Osteoporosis International 2007; 18(6): 797-804.

  • DiVasta AD, Ringelheim J, Bristol SK, Feldman HA, Gordon CM. Skeletal measurements by quantitative ultrasound in adolescents and young women with anorexia nervosa. Journal of Pediatrics 2007; 150(3): 286-90.

  • Haagensen AL, Feldman HA, Ringelheim J, Gordon CM. Low prevalence of Vitamin D deficiency among adolescents with anorexia nervosa. Osteoporosis International 2007; (in press).

  • Gordon CM, Feldman HA, Sinclair L, Williams AL, Kleinman PK, Perez-Rosello J, Cox J. Prevalence of Vitamin D deficiency among healthy infants and toddlers. Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine 2007; (in press).

Bone Density Study in Girls with Anorexia Nervosa
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