The UAB Comprehensive Diabetes Center (UCDC) is pleased to welcome Fernando Bril, M.D., who will serve as an assistant professor in the Division of Endocrinology, Diabetes, and Metabolism and an associate scientist in the UCDC.
Bril’s recruitment was made possible through the Strategic Faculty Recruitment Initiative in Diabetes Research, a partnership between the UCDC and the UAB Heersink School of Medicine.
Approved by leadership at UAB, the strategic recruitment initiative for the center began in spring 2022. Director Anath Shalev, M.D., says that it is an exciting time for the UCDC as it partners with different departments, institutes and the Heersink School of Medicine and embarks on this new phase of growth, which most recently brought Drs. Ananda and Rita Basu to UAB.
“We are all delighted that Dr. Bril will officially call UAB home,” said Shalev. “Dr. Bril is a wonderful clinician and physician-scientist who has an active interest in diabetes and metabolic liver disease. His interests align well with those of Drs. Basu, and we are excited about the creation of this new area of strength within the center and look forward to all that Dr. Bril will accomplish.”
Bril completed medical school and internal medicine residency at Instituto Universitario CEMIC in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Even before his residency, Bril had a strong interest in clinical research and biostatistics, embarking early-on on a career as a physician-scientist.
After completing residency in Argentina, Bril joined the University of Florida (UF) in Gainesville, FL to complete a research fellowship and post-doctoral program in the Division of Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolism.
Bril continued to conduct clinical research at UF in the areas of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (recently renamed metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease [MASLD]), type 2 diabetes, obesity, and insulin resistance.
Following his time at UF, Bril completed internal medicine residency and endocrinology fellowship at UAB.
“Dr. Bril was an outstanding fellow, and we are so glad that he will remain at UAB,” said Fernando Ovalle, M.D., director of the Division of Endocrinology, Diabetes, and Metabolism as associate director of the UCDC. “Dr. Bril is a wonderful example of a physician-scientist who is dedicated to diabetes care from both a clinical and research perspective.”
Bril’s main research interest is in understanding the metabolic mechanisms that promote the progression of MASLD in obesity and diabetes. He hopes to continue to identify markers for early diagnosis and assess pharmacological approaches that may be able to change the natural history of the disease.
Despite his relatively early career, Bril has more than 60 publications in the field of MASLD, obesity and type 2 diabetes.