Calvin Chan, M.D., Ph.D.

Calvin Chan, M.D., Ph.D., is a Psychiatrist and T32 research fellow in the Center for Weight and Eating disorders. His clinical practice and research are focused on the connection between metabolism and mental health. Dr. Chan received his M.D. and Ph.D. (in immunology) at the University of Cincinnati. Subsequently he completed his residency training in Psychiatry at the University of Pennsylvania. He is currently working under the mentorship of Dr. Mitchell Lazar in a highly inter-disciplinary postdoctoral research fellowship.

Dr. Chan’s research interests include uncovering mechanisms of psychotropic-induced obesity development and how the fat, liver and brain interact to contribute to metabolic dysfunction. Clinically, Dr. Chan treats patients with obesity stemming from taking psychiatric medications, bariatric patients with comorbid psychiatric conditions, and psychiatric conditions arising from GLP-1 medications.

Recent publications include:

Chan CC, Damen MSMA, Moreno-Fernandez ME, Stankiewicz TE, Cappelletti M, Alarcon PC, Oates JR, Doll JR, Mukherjee R, Chen X, Karns R, Weirauch MT, Helmrath MA, Inge TH, Divanovic S. Type I interferon sensing unlocks dormant adipocyte inflammatory potential. Nat Commun. 2020 Jun 2;11(1):2745. doi: 10.1038/s41467-020-16571-4. PMID: 32488081; PMCID: PMC7265526.

Chan CC, Harley ITW, Pfluger PT, Trompette A, Stankiewicz TE, Allen JL, Moreno-Fernandez ME, Damen MSMA, Oates JR, Alarcon PC, Doll JR, Flick MJ, Flick LM, Sanchez-Gurmaches J, Mukherjee R, Karns R, Helmrath M, Inge TH, Weisberg SP, Pamp SJ, Relman DA, Seeley RJ, Tschöp MH, Karp CL, Divanovic S. A BAFF/APRIL axis regulates obesogenic diet-driven weight gain. Nat Commun. 2021 May 18;12(1):2911. doi: 10.1038/s41467-021-23084-1. PMID: 34006859; PMCID: PMC8131685.

Chan CC, Damen MSMA, Alarcon PC, Sanchez-Gurmaches J, Divanovic S. Inflammation and Immunity: From an Adipocyte's Perspective. J Interferon Cytokine Res. 2019 Aug;39(8):459-471. doi: 10.1089/jir.2019.0014. Epub 2019 Mar 28. PMID: 30920343; PMCID: PMC6660836.

Woodie LN, Melink LC, Alberto AJ, Burrows M, Fortin SM, Chan CC, Hayes MR, Lazar MA. Hindbrain REV-ERB nuclear receptors regulate sensitivity to diet-induced obesity and brown adipose tissue pathophysiology. Mol Metab. 2024 Jan;79:101861. doi: 10.1016/j.molmet.2023.101861. Epub 2023 Dec 23. PMID: 38142970; PMCID: PMC10792761.

Moreno-Fernandez ME, Giles DA, Oates JR, Chan CC, Damen MSMA, Doll JR, Stankiewicz TE, Chen X, Chetal K, Karns R, Weirauch MT, Romick-Rosendale L, Xanthakos SA, Sheridan R, Szabo S, Shah AS, Helmrath MA, Inge TH, Deshmukh H, Salomonis N, Divanovic S. PKM2-dependent metabolic skewing of hepatic Th17 cells regulates pathogenesis of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease. Cell Metab. 2021 Jun 1;33(6):1187-1204.e9. doi: 10.1016/j.cmet.2021.04.018. Epub 2021 May 17. PMID: 34004162; PMCID: PMC8237408.

Giles DA, Moreno-Fernandez ME, Stankiewicz TE, Graspeuntner S, Cappelletti M, Wu D, Mukherjee R, Chan CC, Lawson MJ, Klarquist J, Sünderhauf A, Softic S, Kahn CR, Stemmer K, Iwakura Y, Aronow BJ, Karns R, Steinbrecher KA, Karp CL, Sheridan R, Shanmukhappa SK, Reynaud D, Haslam DB, Sina C, Rupp J, Hogan SP, Divanovic S. Thermoneutral housing exacerbates nonalcoholic fatty liver disease in mice and allows for sex-independent disease modeling. Nat Med. 2017 Jul;23(7):829-838. doi: 10.1038/nm.4346. Epub 2017 Jun 12. Erratum in: Nat Med. 2017 Oct 6;23(10):1241. doi: 10.1038/nm1017-1241c. PMID: 28604704; PMCID: PMC5596511.