Rotonya M.

Carr

MD, FACP

BIOgraphy

Rotonya McCants Carr, MD is the Cyrus E. Rubin Chair and Division Head of Gastroenterology at the University of Washington.   

She is a basic science researcher and clinical hepatologist who specializes in the care of patients with fatty liver diseases.  Her laboratory uses complementary in vivo and cellular approaches to investigate the mechanisms of insulin resistance in non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) and alcoholic liver disease (ALD).

Dr. Carr is a member of the American Gastroenterological Association, American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases, European Association for the Study of the Liver, Research Society of Alcoholism, founding member of the Association of Black Gastroenterologists and Hepatologists, and national board member of the American Liver Foundation.  She is a former guest editor of Cellular and Molecular Gastroenterology and Hepatology and current editorial member of Hepatology, Liver Transplantation, and the Journal of Lipid Research. In 2020, Dr. Carr was honored as one of Cell’s most inspiring Black scientists.

Board Certifications

• Internal Medicine Recertification exam, 2014
• Gastroenterology, 2011, American Board of Internal Medicine
• Internal Medicine, 2004, American Board of Internal Medicine

Education & Training

Postdoctoral Fellowship
University of Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, PA
2009-2013

Fellowship in Gastroenterology
Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, PA
2008-2011

Resident in Medicine
Massachusetts General Hospital
Boston, MA
2002-2004

Intern in Medicine
Massachusetts General Hospital
Boston, MA 
2001-2002

Medical Doctor
Cornell University Medical College
New York, NY
2001

Bachelor of Arts (Biology Cum Laude)
Harvard University
Cambridge, MA
1996

Honors

Recipient of the Inaugural Lina Obeid Junior Investigator Award.
2021

Fellow of the American College of Physicians
2021

National Board of the American Liver Foundation
2021

Recognized by Cell in their inaugural list of "100 Inspiring Black Scientists in America"
2020

AASLD 2020 Poster of Distinction
2020

NIH CSR special emphasis panel study section
2020

Leadership Enhancement 2.0 Fellow, University of Pennsylvania
2019

NIAAA AA-1 Study Section Standing Member
2018-2022

Additional honors spanning
1992-2018

Research Interests

• Mechanisms of insulin resistance in non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) and alcoholic liver disease (ALD)

The Carr lab aims to understand how dysregulation of hepatic metabolism promotes liver disease. Our current projects involve investigating the role of lipid metabolites and lipid droplet proteins in impairing hepatic insulin signaling, a key event in the earliest stage of several metabolic liver diseases. Our lab combines molecular biology techniques, genetic models, and comprehensive in vivo physiologic studies to uncover the pathophysiologic basis of metabolic liver diseases. Studies performed in the lab form the basis for translational studies investigating the prognostic and pathologic role of lipids and lipid-associated proteins.

Clinical Interests

Fatty liver diseases

Publications

LINKS