Efi G. Kokkotou, M.D., Ph.D.

Dr. Kokkotou completed her MD and PhD degrees at the University of Athens, Greece where she also received further clinical training in Pediatrics. She came to Boston to pursue a doctorate (D.Sc) in Cancer Biology at Harvard. Her post-doctoral fellowship was in Endocrinology, with focus on obesity and diabetes type II at Joslin Diabetes Center. She joined the Division of Gastroenterology at BIDMC in 2004. As director of Neuropeptide Research, her goal is to bring together an interdisciplinary team of investigators.

Dr. Kokkotou's current research involves the role of neuropeptides in mediating bidirectional communications between the brain and peripheral tissues, with emphasis on the gut and the adipose tissue. She is particularly interested in the modulation of these interactions by physical and psychological stressors, dietary factors and the microbiota. Dr. Kokkotou in her research has adopted a bench-to-bedside approach, using both in vitro and in vivo systems. The latter include a battery of genetically manipulated mouse disease models.