Willa Hsueh

Dr. Willa Hsueh pursued her undergraduate education at The Ohio State University, from which she graduated summa cum laude with a Bachelor’s degree in Chemistry. Three years later, she received the Upjohn Achievement Award for outstanding research and earned her Doctor of Medicine cum laude from The Ohio State University Medical Center. Upon relocating to Maryland, Dr. Willa Hsueh began an internship in internal medicine at Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore. She remained with the institution to participate in residency and fellowship programs and then headed to California to serve as a Research Fellow at Stanford University Medical Center. In 1980, Dr. Willa Hsueh began her career in academia as Assistant Professor of Medicine at the University of Southern California. Over the next 17 years, she progressed to Associate Professor and finally Professor of Medicine, assuming the role of Chief of the Division of Endocrinology, Diabetes and Hypertension. A dynamic leader, Dr. Hsueh developed a department that oversaw an acclaimed 20-bed inpatient diabetes ward. From 1997 to 2007, the David Geffen School of Medicine at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), recruited her for her expertise, and there, she also held the position of Chief of the Division of Endocrinology, Diabetes and Hypertension. During her decade-long tenure, Dr. Willa Hsueh expanded the division from 6 to 20 faculty members and instituted two new programs: a diagnostic services unit at the UCLA Diabetes Center and an inpatient glucose control program. In addition, she gained funding for one of a dozen NIH-funded Diabetes and Endocrinology Research Centers in an innovative collaboration that she developed between UCLA and the University of California, San Diego. Presently, Dr. Willa Hsueh holds the titles of Professor of Medicine at Weill Cornell Medical College and Director of the Diabetes Research Center at The Methodist Hospital Research Institute. Dr. Hsueh accepted the latter position with the intent of creating one of the strongest diabetes research centers and diabetes and metabolism institutes in the United States. Since she assumed the position, Dr. Hsueh has recruited a number of renowned medical leaders and has also obtained considerable grant funding from the state of Texas. Licensed to practice medicine in California and Texas, Dr. Willa Hsueh belongs to a number of professional organizations, including the Association of American Physicians; the American Heart Associat