Profile: Steve Daniels Leads the Fight Against Cardiovascular Disease
Since he was a teenager, Steve Daniels, MD, PhD, has toyed with research in one way or another. During high school, he spent a summer collecting mulberry leaves for a researcher studying silkworms. In medical school, he performed research for the Illinois Drug Abuse Program. Now as a professor of pediatrics and environmental health at Cincinnati Children's, he explores preventive cardiology issues, including pediatric obesity, hypertension and lipid abnormalities.
Dr. Daniels first developed an interest in preventing cardiovascular disease during his fellowship in cardiology at Cincinnati Children's in the early '80s. He turned his attention to preventing diseases that aren't typically thought of as pediatric diseases, but have their origin at a young age."The more we learn about cardiovascular disease, the more we see that it starts early in life," he says. His research team studies the relationship of obesity to cardiovascular abnormalities in the young, including problems with cholesterol, blood pressure, left ventricular mass and the function of the heart and blood vessels.
Having been at Cincinnati Children's for more than 25 years now, Dr. Daniels has watched the incidence of obesity climb, particularly in kids. He's been instrumental in tackling the effects of this epidemic."Over the last 10 years, obesity research has been a rapidly growing area here at Cincinnati Children's," he says."It's been exciting to be involved in directing that research. We're focused as a team to start early to prevent cardiovascular disease in children."
Collaborative Approach
Dr. Daniels is devoted to this subject from both a research and a clinical perspective. When not working on his research, he spends time seeing patients and serves as medical director of the Comprehensive Weight Management Center and HealthWorks!, an intervention program for overweight children and teens. In addition, he directs the hypertension and lipid clinics at Cincinnati Children's.
The research avenues he pursues come from his work with his patients. He describes his studies as constantly evolving, where answers to questions often bring about more potential research topics."As we refine our understanding of these diseases, it leads to new questions," he says."It's an organic kind of process, and as more people get involved,we find out more connections." It is this collaboration with other researchers and clinicians that Dr. Daniels sees as integral to the research process and admires as a strength of Cincinnati Children's.
Dr. Daniels first came to Cincinnati Children's in the late '70s for his residency. He obtained his master's degree in public health from Harvard, returned to Cincinnati Children's for his fellowship in cardiology, and then earned his doctorate in epidemiology from the University of North Carolina.
Fitting It All In
In addition to his many responsibilities at Cincinnati Children's, Dr. Daniels also serves as chairman of the Council on Cardiovascular Disease in the Young for the American Heart Association, is a member of the Committee on Nutrition for the American Academy of Pediatrics, and is associate editor for the Journal of Pediatrics. Asked how he fits it all in, Dr. Daniels responds,"It's like having a few full-time jobs. It's challenging, but it's also a lot of fun."
When he takes a break from playing one of these many roles, he enjoys time at home with his family. Wife Dee is an advanced nurse practitioner. She, too,works at Cincinnati Children's. Sons Zach, 20, and Barret, 17, and daughters Carlen, 16, and Mariah, 13, keep their dad busy running them to soccer games and music concerts. When his family can pull him away from his work, they all like to vacation at the beach and attend sporting events around Cincinnati together.
Over the years, Dr. Daniels has not only watched the Research Foundation grow, but has also been an active part of this growth. He is pleased that the medical center has a strong foundation for clinical research, and he enjoys working with other investigators interested in researching clinically relevant topics."We really have a fullfledged program on these issues," he says."I like the combination of being able to do clinical work and also research. It's the best of both worlds."
