Shana Mencher, MD, is originally from New York and moved to the suburbs of Chicago to study Biological Sciences at Northwestern University, where she earned her BA. From a young age she knew she wanted to pursue a career in Pediatrics and obtained an MD from New York Medical College, becoming the first physician in her family. During an elective in medical school, she first had the opportunity to learn about pediatric endocrinology and became even more familiar with this field in residency during her weekly clinic. Dr. Mencher worked closely with a multidisciplinary team, which is essential in caring for patients with diabetes, and was able to attend conferences that often feature new technological advances that make living with a chronic disease much less of a burden. While working in the ICU, she noticed a common emergent condition that occurs too frequently: diabetic ketoacidosis. Therefore, she dedicated much of her time researching factors that contribute to new onset diabetic patients presenting in DKA in a retrospective chart review. She worked to educate providers about the importance of inquiring about the most common signs and symptoms of diabetes to prevent this serious presentation. In her first year of fellowship training in Pediatric Diabetes and Endocrinology, Dr. Mencher has seen the myriad of effects that diabetes has on the lives of patients and their families. She has a strong interest in psychosocial aspects of diabetes, one of the most important components of diabetes care. Dr. Mencher is looking forward to being part of the CWD Fellows program, as it will allow her to learn about how families manage diabetes and interact with the tools available to them. Her fellowship research is dedicated to decision making behind technology use and what process is involved.
