After receiving her medical education in New Jersey and medical training in Philadelphia, Dr. Christine Mathai is happy to be back in Massachusetts practicing as an endocrinologist. “I grew up about 30 minutes away in Westford, Massachusetts, so it is great to be able to care for patients in my home state.”

Dr. Mathai treats many different problems with the endocrine system including diabetes, osteoporosis, thyroid disease, pituitary disease, adrenal disease, and many others. “My interest in endocrinology started in medical school and then grew in my residency,” she explains. “I really like endocrine physiology, and this field gives you the opportunity to work with patients to manage their chronic conditions and have a positive impact on their long-term health.”

Dr. Mathai feels it’s important to get the patient engaged in their health and treatment plan. “Treatment really needs to be centered around the patient, they have to be on board with whatever treatment plan that we initiate. It has to be a team effort between the patient, provider, nurses, educators, etc. to do what is best for the patient. My overall goal with any patient is to improve their health and quality of life, as well as engage them in their own care.”

In her practice Dr. Mathai enjoys taking advantage of the new technologies in diabetes care such as insulin pumps and continuous glucose monitors. “They provide a lot of data and help us tailor our treatment to the patient’s needs a lot better than we could in the past,” she explains. “Patients really like the continuous glucose monitors because they don’t have to prick their fingers as frequently to get a blood sugar reading.”

One of the things Dr. Mathai enjoys the most about being a doctor is the fact that she is always learning. “In medicine you build relationships with your colleagues as well as your patients. I think I learn just as much from my patients as they learn from me. Getting to hear from them about what their day-to-day life is like with the conditions they have is really important, those are things that you can’t learn from a textbook.”

When she is not busy with her patients, Dr. Mathai enjoys spending as much time with family and friends as possible. She also enjoys traveling and is a big Boston sports fan, and especially loves following the Patriots and the Celtics.