
Joyce M. Lee, MD, MPH
Robert P. Kelch Professor of Pediatrics, Division of Pediatric Endocrinology
Contact:
Office: 734-615-3247
Fax: 734-232-1400
Biography
Joyce Lee, MD, MPH is a practicing Endocrinologist, Board-Certified Clinical Informaticist, Health Services Researcher, and the Robert P. Kelch, MD Professor of Pediatrics at the University of Michigan Medical School, with a joint appointment in the Department of Nutritional Sciences at the University of Michigan School of Public Health. Dr. Lee holds several institutional leadership roles including Clinical Domain Oversight Officer for Adult and Pediatric Medical Specialties, Associate Chief Medical Information Officer for Pediatric Research, Associate Chair for Health Metrics and Learning Health Systems for the Department of Pediatrics, and Associate Director for Informatics and Clinical Innovation for the Caswell Diabetes Institute. In 2024, Dr. Lee completed the Drexel University Executive Leadership in Health Care program, a branch of the Executive Leadership in Academic Medicine® (ELAM) program and in 2025 was part of the inaugural class of the Health Academy Amazon Web Services Tech Fellowship, a national leadership program for healthcare technology leaders. In 2015 Dr. Lee was a visiting scholar at Google Life Sciences (now Verily), and has served on the Medical Advisory Board of GoodRx.
Dr Lee attended Brown University for her undergraduate education and the University of Pennsylvania for her medical degree, where she was elected to the Alpha Omega Alpha Honors Society. She completed internship and residency in General Pediatrics at the Boston Combined Residency Program (Children’s Hospital, Boston and Boston Medical Center). She completed dual training in Pediatric Endocrinology and Pediatric Health Services Research and received a Master in Public Health from the Department of Health Management and Policy at the University of Michigan.
At the 2016 Pediatric Academic Societies meeting, she was the first recipient of the Paul Kaplowitz, MD, Endowed Lectureship for contributions to quality and cost-effective care in Pediatric Endocrinology, an award sponsored by the American Academy of Pediatrics and the Pediatric Endocrine Society. In 2016, she was named the Robert P. Kelch, MD Professor of Pediatrics.
Dr. Lee has a diverse training background with skills in operations, continuous improvement, health informatics, and data analytics and data governance. In 2017-2018, Dr. Lee completed training in Advanced Methods Quality Improvement at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital and Medical Center, and in 2018 became an Epic Physician Builder with skills in data analytics and data visualization utilizing the Epic Clarity Database and Tableau business analytic dashboards.
Her translational research focuses on the overarching areas of type 1 diabetes and obesity. She has used a variety of methodologies, including applied clinical research, epidemiologic analyses of nationally representative data, state transition modeling, cost-effectiveness analysis, as well as design and emerging technologies (design ethnography, participatory design, human-centered design, quality improvement science, and digital/social media communications). To date, she has over 180 peer-reviewed publications and has a consistent track record of NIH/foundation funding since 2006. Her major research contributions have included studies evaluating recommended screening guidelines for type 2 diabetes for overweight and obese children, studies evaluating the link between overweight and obesity and timing of puberty and chronic disease risk factors, studies focused on quality measurement and quality of care for children with overweight and obesity, and research in health outcomes for type 1 diabetes.
Dr. Lee’s work falls under the broader framework of Learning Health Systems (LHS) in which clinical care, quality improvement, and research are intentionally integrated. Dr. Lee’s work currently focuses on:
- Type 1 Diabetes (T1D): Dr. Lee collaborates with the national T1D Exchange Quality Improvement Collaborative to improve the quality of care and health outcomes of individuals with T1D. Areas of interest include the adoption of telemedicine, development and implementation of health IT tools in Epic and Tableau dashboards to support operations and QI, real-time measurement of patient-reported outcomes, and interventions to support data literacy and engagement among parents of children with T1D.
- Type 2 Diabetes (T2D) in Adults: Dr. Lee works closely with the leadership team for the Michigan Collaborative for Type 2 Diabetes (MCT2D), a Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan Collaborative Quality Initiative with the goal to prevent T2D and its complications through the equitable implementation of evidence-based diabetes care. In particular, Dr. Lee works with the data team to support the integration of claims, electronic health record, and health information exchange data as well as the development of business analytic dashboards to support the collaborative activities.
- Prevention and Treatment of Overweight/Obesity: Dr. Lee serves as the Director of the Life Course Research Informatics Core, an NIH-funded core of the Michigan Nutrition Obesity Research Center which supports basic, clinical, and translational researchers and enhances the integration of research into the clinical delivery system by leveraging the electronic health record and health information technology tools.
- Other areas of interest include collaborations with machine learning/artificial intelligence/human computing interaction experts to solve real-world clinical healthcare problems, and the use of real-time Continuous Glucose Monitoring Systems in obesity and prediabetes.
Education
M.P.H., Health Management and Policy, University of Michigan, 2006
M.D., University of Pennsylvania, 2000
B.A., Brown University,1995
Fellowship
Pediatric Endocrinology, Pediatric Health Services Research, C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital, University of Michigan, 2003-2006
Residency
Pediatrics, Children’s Hospital Boston & Boston Medical Center, Harvard Medical School 2000-2003
Projects
Selected Publications
Type 1 Diabetes
Lee JM, Rusnak A, Garrity A, Hirschfeld E, Thomas IH, Wichorek M, Lee JE, Rioles NA, Ebekozien O, Corathers SD. Feasibility of Electronic Health Record Assessment of 6 Pediatric Type 1 Diabetes Self-management Habits and Their Association With Glycemic Outcomes. JAMA Netw Open. 2021;4(10):e2131278. Published 2021 Oct 1. doi:10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2021.31278
Lee JM, Carlson E, Albanese-O’Neill A, Demeterco-Berggren C, Corathers SD, Vendrame F, Weinstock RS, Prahalad P, Alonso GT, Kamboj M, DeSalvo DJ, Malik FS, Izquierdo R, Ebekozien O. Adoption of Telemedicine for Type 1 Diabetes Care During the COVID-19 Pandemic. Diabetes Technol Ther. 2021;23(9):642-651. doi:10.1089/dia.2021.0080
Alonso GT, Corathers S, Shah A, Clements M, Kamboj M, Sonabend R, DeSalvo D, Mehta S, Cabrera A, Rioles N, Ohmer A, Mehta R, Lee J. Establishment of the T1D Exchange Quality Improvement Collaborative (T1DX-QI). Clin Diabetes. 2020;38(2):141-151. doi:10.2337/cd19-0032
Lee JM, Hirschfeld E, Wedding J. A Patient-Designed Do-It-Yourself Mobile Technology System for Diabetes: Promise and Challenges for a New Era in Medicine. JAMA. 2016;315(14):1447-1448. doi:10.1001/jama.2016.1903
Lee JM, Newman MW, Gebremariam A, Choi P, Lewis D, Nordgren W, Costik J, Wedding J, West B, Gilby NB, Hannemann C, Pasek J, Garrity A, Hirschfeld E. Real-World Use and Self-Reported Health Outcomes of a Patient-Designed Do-it-Yourself Mobile Technology System for Diabetes: Lessons for Mobile Health. Diabetes Technol Ther. 2017;19(4):209-219. doi:10.1089/dia.2016.0312
White K, Gebremariam A, Lewis D, Nordgren W, Wedding J, Pasek J, Garrity A, Hirschfeld E, Lee JM. Motivations for Participation in an Online Social Media Community for Diabetes. J Diabetes Sci Technol. 2018;12(3):712-718. doi:10.1177/1932296817749611
Chua KP, Lee JM, Conti RM. Out-of-Pocket Spending for Insulin, Diabetes-Related Supplies, and Other Health Care Services Among Privately Insured US Patients With Type 1 Diabetes. JAMA Intern Med. 2020;180(7):1012-1014. doi:10.1001/jamainternmed.2020.1308
Type 2 Diabetes
Lee JM, Gebremariam A, Wu EL, LaRose J, Gurney JG. Evaluation of nonfasting tests to screen for childhood and adolescent dysglycemia. Diabetes Care. 2011;34(12):2597-2602. doi:10.2337/dc11-0827
Lee JM, Wu EL, Tarini B, Herman WH, Yoon E. Diagnosis of diabetes using hemoglobin A1c: should recommendations in adults be extrapolated to adolescents?. J Pediatr. 2011;158(6):947-952.e9523. doi:10.1016/j.jpeds.2010.11.026
Wu EL, Kazzi NG, Lee JM. Cost-effectiveness of screening strategies for identifying pediatric diabetes mellitus and dysglycemia. JAMA Pediatr. 2013;167(1):32-39. doi:10.1001/jamapediatrics.2013.419
Lee JM, Eason A, Nelson C, Kazzi NG, Cowan AE, Tarini BA. Screening practices for identifying type 2 diabetes in adolescents. J Adolesc Health. 2014;54(2):139-143. doi:10.1016/j.jadohealth.2013.07.003
Vajravelu ME, Lee JM. Identifying Prediabetes and Type 2 Diabetes in Asymptomatic Youth: Should HbA1c Be Used as a Diagnostic Approach?. Curr Diab Rep. 2018;18(7):43. Published 2018 Jun 4. doi:10.1007/s11892-018-1012-6
Prevention and Treatment of Childhood Overweight/Obesity
Lee JM, Appugliese D, Kaciroti N, Corwyn RF, Bradley RH, Lumeng JC. Weight status in young girls and the onset of puberty. Pediatrics. 2007;119(3):e624-e630. doi:10.1542/peds.2006-2188
Lee JM, Kaciroti N, Appugliese D, Corwyn RF, Bradley RH, Lumeng JC. Body mass index and timing of pubertal initiation in boys. Arch Pediatr Adolesc Med. 2010;164(2):139-144. doi:10.1001/archpediatrics.2009.258
Lee JM, Wasserman R, Kaciroti N, Gebremariam A, Steffes J, Dowshen S, Harris D, Serwint J, Abney D, Smitherman L, Reiter E, Herman-Giddens ME. Timing of Puberty in Overweight Versus Obese Boys. Pediatrics. 2016;137(2):e20150164. doi:10.1542/peds.2015-0164
Lee JM, Okumura MJ, Davis MM, Herman WH, Gurney JG. Prevalence and determinants of insulin resistance among U.S. adolescents: a population-based study. Diabetes Care. 2006;29(11):2427-2432. doi:10.2337/dc06-0709
Lee JM, Gebremariam A, Card-Higginson P, Shaw JL, Thompson JW, Davis MM. Poor performance of body mass index as a marker for hypercholesterolemia in children and adolescents. Arch Pediatr Adolesc Med. 2009;163(8):716-723. doi:10.1001/archpediatrics.2009.109
Singer K, Eng DS, Lumeng CN, Gebremariam A, M Lee J. The relationship between body fat mass percentiles and inflammation in children. Obesity (Silver Spring). 2014;22(5):1332-1336. doi:10.1002/oby.20710
Lee JM, Pilli S, Gebremariam A, Keirns CC, Davis MM, Vijan S, Freed GL, Herman WH, Gurney JG. Getting heavier, younger: trajectories of obesity over the life course. Int J Obes (Lond). 2010;34(4):614-623. doi:10.1038/ijo.2009.235
Lee JM, Lee H. Obesity reduction within a generation: the dual roles of prevention and treatment. Obesity (Silver Spring). 2011;19(10):2107-2110. doi:10.1038/oby.2011.199
Lee JM, Gebremariam A, Vijan S, Gurney JG. Excess body mass index-years, a measure of degree and duration of excess weight, and risk for incident diabetes. Arch Pediatr Adolesc Med. 2012;166(1):42-48. doi:10.1001/archpedi.166.1.42