About Deborah Mitchell, MD
Deborah Mitchell, MD, is a pediatric endocrinologist with particular interests in calcium and bone metabolism. She completed pediatric residency at Massachusetts General Hospital for Children (MGHfC) in 2009, and a fellowship in pediatric endocrinology at MGHfC in 2012. She is the Associate Director of the pediatric endocrine training program at MGHfC and co-director of the pediatric Bone and Mineral Metabolism Clinic.
Clinical Interests:
- Bone and mineral metabolism
- Diabetes
- Endocrinology
- Pediatric endocrinology
- Thyroid and adrenal disorders
- Thyroid disorders
- Type 1 Diabetes
Treats:
- Pediatrics
Locations
Mass General for Children: Pediatric Endocrine Program and Diabetes Center
55 Fruit St.
Boston, MA 02114
Phone: 617-726-2909
Medical Education
- MD, Harvard Medical School*
- Fellowship, Massachusetts General Hospital
American Board Certifications
- Pediatric Endocrinology, American Board of Pediatrics
- Pediatrics, American Board of Pediatrics
Accepted Insurance Plans
- Aetna
- Beech Street
- Blue Cross Blue Shield
- Blue Cross Blue Shield Medicare
- Cigna
- Commonwealth Care Alliance
- Coventry
- Fallon Health
- Harvard Pilgrim Health Care
- Humana
- Maine Community Health Options
- Mass General Brigham Health Plan
- MassHealth
- Medicaid ME
- Medicaid NH
- Medicaid RI
- Medicaid VT
- Medicare
- Medicare ACO
- Multiplan
- Senior Whole Health
- TriCare
- Tufts Health Plan
- United Health Care
- Wellpoint
- WellSense
- WellSense NH
Note: This provider may accept more insurance plans than shown; please call the practice to find out if your plan is accepted.
Research
Dr. Mitchell's research is concerned with factors which promote optimal bone growth and mineralization during childhood and adolescence, with a goal of preventing osteoporosis and fractures in adults. She is currently investigating bone accrual and microarchitecture in children with type 1 diabetes, a condition known to increase the risk of bone fragility. Her goal is to better understand why patients with diabetes are at increased risk of fracture in order to be able to design and test therapies to strengthen bones in this population.
In addition, Dr. Mitchell is interested in rare disorders of calcium and phosphate metabolism including hypoparathyroidism, pseudohypoparathyroidism, and X-linked hypophosphatemic rickets. In particular, her research has demonstrated extremely high rates of kidney disease among patients treated for hypoparathyroidism. Ongoing studies are investigating determinants of renal disease in this population as well as novel, targeted therapies.
Learn more about research at the Pediatric Endocrine Program and Diabetes Center.
Publications
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Selected Research Articles:
- Mitchell DM, Caksa S, Joseph T, Bouxsein ML, Misra M. 2020. Elevated HbA1c is associated with altered cortical and trabecular microarchitecture in girls with type 1 diabetes. J Clin Endo Metab.
- Mitchell DM, Caksa S, Yuan A, Bouxsein ML, Misra M, Burnett-Bowie SM. 2018. Trabecular bone morphology correlates with skeletal maturity and body composition in healthy adolescent girls. J Clin Endocrinol Metab.
- Mitchell D.M., Jüppner H, Burnett-Bowie SM. 2017. FGF23 is not associated with age-related changes in phosphate but enhances renal calcium reabsorption in girls. J Clin Endo Metab.
- Mitchell D.M., Leder B.Z., Cagliero E. Mendoza N., Henao M.P., Hayden D.L., Finkelstein J.S., and Burnett-Bowie S.M. 2015. Insulin secretion and sensitivity in healthy adults with low vitamin D are not affected by high-dose ergocalciferol administration: a randomized controlled trial. Am Journal of Clin Nutr
- Mitchell D.M., Regan S., Cooley M.R., Lauter K.B., Vrla M.C., Becker C.B., Burnett-Bowie S.M., and Mannstadt M. 2012. Long-term follow-up of patients with hypoparathyroidism. J Clin Endo Metab
Selected Reviews:
- Mitchell D.M. 2017 Growth in patients with type 1 diabetes. Curr Opin Endo Diab Obes.
- Mitchell D.M. and Jüppner H. 2010. Regulation of calcium homeostasis and bone metabolism in the fetus and neonate. Curr Opin Endo Diab Obes.