Assistant Professor
Emory School of Medicine
Biography
BIRCWH Scholar: 2025
Dr. Idrees is a board-certified endocrinologist with extensive clinical and research training, dedicated to advancing diabetes care in older adults. He earned his medical degree from the Faculty of Medicine at Damascus University in Syria and completed his endocrinology fellowship at the University of Chicago before joining the faculty at Emory University School of Medicine. Dr. Idrees developed a strong interest in geriatric medicine and metabolism early in his career while working at the Geriatric Research, Education, and Clinical Center (GRECC) in Miami. His academic work has focused on improving diabetes outcomes in older adults, and he has co-authored several original studies and review articles, including a lead-author publication on the use of diabetes technology in long-term care settings. In recognition of his contributions, he was selected for the American Geriatrics Society’s Clinician Specialist Rising Stars in Aging Research Program.
His long-term academic goal is to become an independent investigator focused on integrating diabetes technologies and novel therapies into the care of older adults, with the aim of informing and shaping future clinical guidelines. He is particularly interested in understanding how emerging potent diabetes medications—such as glucose-dependent insulinotropic polypeptide (GIP), and glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) receptor agonists—impact musculoskeletal health in older females.
As part of the NIH-funded BIRCWH program, Dr. Idrees is investigating the role of these agents in the development of osteosarcopenia, laying the foundation for a research career focused on sex-specific outcomes in aging populations. Dr. Idrees will study the time to fragility fractures associated with the use of potent GIP/GLP-1 RAs in older females with diabetes using giant data repository such as Epic Cosmos®, a national electronic health records. In addition, he will conduct a feasibility trial to study musculoskeletal changes in older females who are utilizing these potent medications for six months.
Dr. Idrees' lead mentor is Dr. Guillermo Umpierrez.