John M. Stafford, M.D., Ph.D.
Associate Director for Clinical Education, Medical Scientist Training Program
Associate Professor, Molecular Physiology & Biophysics and Medicine
Dr. John Stafford, Associate Professor of Molecular Physiology and Biophysics and Medicine, serves as Associate Director of the MSTP. Dr. Stafford is an alum of the Vanderbilt MSTP where his graduate studies defined how metabolic signals are coordinated at the level of gene transcription. His medical residency, and a Harrison Society Scholars fellowship in Endocrinology were also performed at Vanderbilt University Medical Center. Since his appointment to the Vanderbilt faculty in 2008, Dr. Stafford directs an active research program in obesity and lipid metabolism. He is also a clinician at the Veterans Administration Tennessee Valley Healthcare System. In addition to his research and clinical goals, Dr. Stafford is dedicated to training physician-scientist as part of the endocrinology fellowship program and Vanderbilt MSTP. Ultimately he is interested in defining and targeting the pathways that lead to cardiovascular disease in high-risk patients with obesity, diabetes, and the elderly. Dr. Stafford served as an MSTP Advising College Leader for 10 years and joined the MSTP Leadership Team in 2021.