Daniel H. Bessesen, MD is a Colorado native who received his training at the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center. Since 1991 he has been based at Denver Health Medical Center where he has a basic science laboratory, and provides clinical services in general endocrinology. His research focuses on the role that abnormalities in the partitioning of dietary fat between storage and oxidation might play in the development of obesity and insulin resistance. His laboratory performs tracer studies in outbred strains of rats selected for susceptibility to obesity on a high fat diet.
In addition his laboratory studies the metabolic fate of ethanol as a nutrient. Recent studies have used both stable isotopes and 14C labeled tracers to look at the interaction of dietary fat and carbohydrate in human skeletal muscle. These studies employ indirect calorimetry, tracer infusions, tissue biopsies, and limb balance measurements to provide a comprehensive view of dietary nutrient partitioning. His past work examined the role that triglyceride uptake by the central nervous system might play in body weight regulation via alterations in appetite/satiety, macronutrient preference, or central control of peripheral metabolism. Clinically Dr. Bessesen is interested in the use of case management strategies to reduce the cost of care for patients with diabetes.
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