Program Enrichment

Dr. Maigen Bethea is a Research Instructor in the Department of Pediatrics, Section of Nutrition, at the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus. Growing up in a region heavily impacted by obesity and its metabolic consequences, she is passionately driven to develop innovative therapies that alleviate this significant healthcare burden on her community.

Dr. Bethea earned her Bachelor of Science in Biology from Francis Marion University in Florence, South Carolina, before pursuing her doctoral degree at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. Under the mentorship of Dr. Chad Hunter, her PhD research explored transcriptional complexes that regulate the development and function of pancreatic islet cells. During her postdoctoral fellowship at the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus in the laboratory of Dr. Darleen Sandoval, she investigated the neurocircuitry underlying bariatric surgery-induced metabolic improvements.

As a National Institutes of Health (NIH) Building Interdisciplinary Research Careers in Women’s Health (BIRCWH) K12 Scholar, Dr. Bethea’s research focuses on the gut-brain axis, specifically examining how intestinal stretch influences feeding behavior and glucose homeostasis in a sex-specific context. Her work is at the forefront of understanding the intricate mechanisms linking gastrointestinal signals to metabolic health.

Beyond her scientific pursuits, Dr. Bethea is deeply committed to mentoring and inspiring the next generation of scientists, fostering an inclusive scientific community.