Acclaimed epidemiologist and co-founder of InteKrin Therapeutics, Inc. Christos S. Mantzoros has been promoted to professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School and professor in environmental health at the Harvard School of Public Health.

Mantzoros—a former associate professor in both departments and the clinical research overseer of the division of endocrinology diabetes and metabolism at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center—has garnered acclaim for his work on endocrine-related diseases such as obesity and diabetes.

In 2005, Mantzoros co-founded InteKrin Therapeutics, a biotech company that President and CEO Dennis M. Lanfear said is concerned with developing and commercializing treatments for stage-three diabetes.

Lanfear, who co-founded InteKrin with Mantzoros, praised his business partner and friend as “a great educator and mentor.”

“[Mantzoros] has not only a keen intellect, but also a high standard of personal integrity,” Lanfear said. “He is a solid and loyal friend.”

Florencia Ziemke, a clinical research fellow at BIDMC who has worked with Mantzoros for one and a half years, said that Mantzoros has the ability “to build a family” as a mentor.

“He never raises the tone of his voice, his standards are high—yet he manages to do it in a way where he is constantly teaching and educating us,” Ziemke said. “Mentors are like stars—you don’t always see them, but you know they’re always there.”

Mantzoros, who received his Master’s degree at HMS, has received numerous awards for his work in epidemiology and endocrinology, including the American Association of Clinical Endocrinology Frontiers in Science Award and the Novartis Award in Diabetes and Metabolic Diseases.

In addition to numerous academic papers, Mantzoros is the author of two books: “Nutrition and Metabolism: Underlying Mechanisms and Clinical Consequences” and “Obesity and Diabetes.”

—Staff writer Derrick Asiedu can be reached at dasiedu@fas.harvard.edu.