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Vidhu V. Thaker, MD

Associate Professor of Pediatrics
Columbia University Medical Center
New York, NY, United States

Dr. Vidhu Thaker is a physician-scientist in the Division of Molecular Genetics, and Associate Professor in the Department of Pediatrics, at Columbia University Irving Medical Center. Board-certified in pediatric endocrinology, Dr. Thaker's translational research program investigates metabolic disease mechanisms across the human lifespan, using a strategic "rare-to-common" approach in which rare genetic variants serve as molecular probes for mechanistic discovery while large population cohorts validate broader clinical applicability.

Dr. Thaker's research in maternal-fetal programming centers on understanding how obesity treatment reshapes the intrauterine metabolic environment and, consequently, fetal developmental trajectories. By integrating multi-omics approaches—spanning transcriptomics, metabolomics, and proteomics—with observational epidemiological data from large and small cohorts, her work seeks to identify the metabolite and transcriptomic signatures that mediate maternal-fetal crosstalk and the intergenerational transmission of cardiometabolic risk. A central focus is leveraging bariatric surgery as a powerful natural experiment: by comparing pregnancies with and without surgical weight loss, Dr. Thaker's research distinguishes which molecular signals of adverse fetal programming are reversible through obesity treatment and which persist, thereby identifying actionable targets for interrupting the cycle of intergenerational metabolic disease.

Dr. Thaker's research is supported by NIH R01 grants, and she serves as Site Principal Investigator for Phase 2/3 clinical trials targeting the melanocortin pathway in genetic obesity. She has mentored over 50 trainees across career stages and holds leadership roles including co-chair of the American Society of Human Genetics Career Development Committee. Her overarching vision is to harness insights from obesity treatment to develop precision strategies that break the intergenerational cycle of metabolic disease, beginning before birth.

Disclosure information not submitted.

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