Maria Papaleontiou, MD

Maria Papaleontiou, MD, is an Associate Professor of Internal Medicine with an appointment in the Division of Metabolism, Endocrinology and Diabetes, and a Research Associate Professor at the Institute of Gerontology, at the University of Michigan. She also serves as the Associate Program Director for the MEND Fellowship. Prior to starting her internal medicine residency at Saint Peter's University Hospital in New Jersey, she spent several years conducting clinical research on aging at Weill Cornell Medical College in New York City. She completed her endocrinology fellowship at the University of Michigan, where she subsequently joined the faculty in 2013. She is a recipient of Fulbright and Howard Hughes Medical Institute scholarships. Her clinical practice focuses on thyroid diseases and thyroid cancer, as well as geriatric endocrinology.

Dr. Papaleontiou is also a health services researcher in the field of thyroidology and aging. Her research focuses on evaluating the risks of thyroid hormone overtreatment and misuse in older adults, understanding the role of providers and patients in thyroid hormone use and misuse and how it relates to patient outcomes in the aging population, as well as the role of age and comorbidity in thyroid cancer decision-making. Her ultimate goal is to develop tools to tailor thyroid disease treatment to older adults by translating research findings into effective strategies and interventions to improve the care of older adults and reduce patient harm. She has received funding from the National Institute on Aging, the Claude D. Pepper Older American Independence Centers, the University of Michigan Biology of Cardiovascular Aging Core and the Elizabeth Caroline Crosby Research Award. She currently also serves at the ATA's Board of Directors and as Co-Chair of the ATA's Hypothyroidism Guidelines Task Force . She has served as Co-Chair for the ATA’s Annual Program Committee (2021-2022), Chair of the ATA’s Women in Thyroidology (2022-2023) and Chair for AACE's Thyroid Disease State Network (2023-2024). She is an Associate Editor for Endocrine Practice, and serves on the Editorial Board for Thyroid. In recognition of her accomplishments she has received the 2026 Woman of the Year Award from the ATA, the 2021 Young Physician Scientist Award from the American Society for Clinical Investigation, the 2021 Rising Star in Endocrinology from AACE and the 2020 Women Advancing Thyroid Research Award from the ATA.

1. Undertreatment/Overtreatment of benign thyroid disorders and thyroid cancer in older adults
2. Skeletal and cardiovascular effects of iatrogenic thyrotoxicosis
3. The impact of age and comorbidity on thyroid cancer decision making
4. Reducing low-value care in older adults with thyroid disease
5. Deprescribing