Donald P. Kotler received his BA in 1969 from Rutgers College and his MD from Albert Einstein College of Medicine in 1973. After completing his training in Internal Medicine and Gastroenterology at Bronx Municipal Hospital Center and the University of Pennsylvania, respectively, he joined the Division of Gastroenterology in the Department of Medicine at St. Luke's-Roosevelt Hospital Center in 1979. His laboratory facilities include a clinical area for inpatient or outaptient human studies, a clinical investigative area for measuring body composition and exercise capabilities, and basic science laboratories for cell culture, for routine laboratory analyses, histology, immunoassay, and moleular techniques. Cooperation with the Body Composition Unit, Weight Control Unit, Obesity Research Center, and the Microbiology Laboratory provides increased sophistication for many of the measures.

Dr. Kotler has focused on four general areas of research and his laboratory has performed exclusively human studies for about the past 10 years. He has studied the nutritional consequences of HIV infection for the past 15 years, and provided the original description of the cachectic process. Studies include body composition measurements, adverse consequences of malnutrition in HIV infection, pathogenic mechanisms underlying the development of malnutrition, optimization of clinical evaluation, and nutritional support.

Nutrition consequences of other chronic disease processes also are being studied in the laboratory, and involve two general areas. Specific investigations involving nutritional aspects of chronic hepatitis C infection, end stage renal disease, and congestive heart failure are ongoing, or in development. The effect of nutrition upon immune function also is being examined in the laboratory.

The laboratory has studied the infectious gastrointestinal complications of AIDS for over 15 years. Studies have included investigations into potential etiologies, clinical-pathologic and pathophysiologic correlations, diagnosis, and clinical treatment. Some of these novel enteric pathogens have been used to develop experimental models to probe the normal processes of mucosal immunity.

The laboratory also has studied the direct role of cellular HIV infection in producing intestinal disease. Studies have involved the detection of HIV in intestinal mucosa, the relationship to disease stage, the associated inflammatory response, and the effect of treatment with antiretroviral and other agents.

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CONTACT INFORMATION:
GI Immunology Laboratory
St. Luke's-Roosevelt Hospital Center
1111 Amsterdam Ave.
New York, NY 10025
Telephone: 212-523-3670
Fax 212-523-3678
Email: DPKotler@aol.com