Lauren Ray, MD
I grew up on a horse farm in the small town of Versailles, KY. I went to Berry College for my undergraduate education and attended medical school at the University of Louisville School of Medicine. I then moved to Indianapolis for pediatric residency at Indiana University School of Medicine / Riley Hospital for Children where I stayed for fellowship. Currently I’m a third-year pediatric endocrinology fellow and am excited to be returning home as faculty at the University of Kentucky College of Medicine / Kentucky Children’s Hospital after graduation.
My strongest passion is clinical – I love working with patients and their families. I’m interested in all diabetes and endocrine pathologies, with type 1 diabetes being particularly close to my heart. Seeing the difficulties diabetes can bring during the teenage years inspired me to lead a grant-funded pilot study incorporating mindfulness with diabetes education in adolescents living with type 1 diabetes. My other research projects have focused on precocious puberty and congenital adrenal hyperplasia. I also created a diabetes education curriculum for nurses through the Clinician Educator Training Pathway. I really enjoy teaching medical students, residents, and interdisciplinary team members and look forward to having a role in medical education as part of my career. As someone who benefitted from early mentorship, I hope to share my enthusiasm for endocrinology with learners and inspire them to choose a specialty about which they’re equally as passionate.
My interest in medicine and specifically pediatric endocrinology started early in childhood when my younger brother was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes at 17 months old. I saw what life with diabetes looked like outside of the doctor’s office and knew I wanted to use that experience to help other families. Like most in our field, I have always been energized learning about the endocrine system with all the feedback pathways! I also find a unique joy of taking care of children and adolescents, admiring their resilience, and watching them grow over the years.
I’m thankful to have had many mentors in each step of my education. Dr. Suzanne Kingery gave an endocrine lecture early in medical school and I remember thinking she had the dream career as both a pediatric endocrinology clinician and medical educator. She invited me to write a case report which opened my eyes to the feasibility of publishing work. Dr. Erica Eugster took me under her wing early in residency and we have continued to work closely together throughout fellowship. Not only has she served as an exemplary clinician and research mentor, but she’s also been an invaluable source of support and encouragement for me over the past six years. I’m indescribably grateful for her along with Drs. Jack Fuqua, Anisha Gohil, Todd Nebesio, Tami Hannon, and others who have invested in me.
My mom taught us when we were young that everyone has “something” – diabetes just happened to be my brother’s. I often share that lesson with my patients who are struggling through the challenges of any diagnosis in hopes it brings them comfort and perspective as it has our family over the years. My career path has been a direct result of the inspiration from my brother and shaped by his and my parents’ support. The relationships with my patients and their families have taught me invaluable lessons of trusting a parent’s intuition and taking time to know the young person in front of me as more than their medical condition. I hope to honor those lessons as I embark on this next phase of my career and (no cliché intended!) see my lifelong dream of being a pediatric endocrinologist become a reality.