Joshua Joseph, MD

I am an associate professor of Internal Medicine and the Endowed Professor for Research in Internal Medicine in the Division of Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolism at The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center. I am the founder and medical director of the Ohio State Wexner Medical Center’s Healthy Community Center, which focuses on nutrition and wellness on the near east side of Columbus.

My research is funded by the National Institutes of Health, American Heart Association, Agency of Healthcare Research and Quality, Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, and the U.S. Department of Defense. This work focuses on advancing prevention and treatment of obesity, diabetes, and cardiovascular disease through a health equity lens with four pillars:

• Examining the role of stress hormones in cardiometabolic disease
• Health system to community partnerships
• Community-based participatory research
• Quality improvement science

I am recognized nationally for my work on academic, community, government, and industry (ACGI) partnerships to advance health through community-based interventions. My ACCELERATE research group’s work has been featured nationally and internationally, including in USA Today and Time, and on Sirius XM Doctor Radio, CBS News, NBC News, ABC News, and PBS Newshour.

Clinically, I treat patients with diabetes and cardiovascular disease at my community-based clinic. Nationally, I serve as chair of the Endocrine Society Clinical Affairs Core Committee, chair-elect of the American Heart Association Council on Lifestyle and Cardiometabolic Health Diabetes Committee, and president-elect of the Central Ohio American Heart Association Board.

I have been honored for my science, community engagement, and clinical impact with several awards, including election to Alpha Omega Alpha, recognition as one of the National Minority Quality Forum’s 40 under 40, and membership in the American Society for Clinical Investigation. I have also received the 2019 Columbus Education Association Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Humanitarian Award and the “Philanthropist of the Year” Pillar Award by the Medical Mutual Pillar Award for Community Service in 2021.

My research focuses on understanding risk factors for the development of obesity and type 2 diabetes in diverse populations. I examine the role of the renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system and the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis, specifically aldosterone and cortisol, in the development of diabetes and obesity using data from longitudinal observational cohorts. I have also been working to shed light on racial and ethnic differences in the association of physical activity and other lifestyle factors in the development of diabetes using large multi-ethnic observational cohorts, including the Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis (MESA) and the Jackson Heart Study. The hypotheses I generate using epidemiological approaches are used to design and execute detailed metabolic clinical studies to uncover explanatory mechanisms as potential targets for preventive interventions for diabetes and obesity.

Research interests

• Obesity
• Type 2 diabetes

Professional activities

• Assistant professor of medicine, Division of Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolism — The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center, 2016 - present