Alvin Powers MD (He/Him)

Diabetes

Professor of Medicine, Vanderbilt University

3601 21st Ave SNashville, TN 37232
Phone+1 615-936-7678
Fax+1 615-936-0063

Dr. Powers is on Doximity

As a Doximity member, you’ll join more than three million U.S. healthcare professionals—including 85+% of physicians, and 2/3 of all NPs and PAs—in a private, secure network.

Gain access to free telehealth tools, such as our “call shielding” and one-way patient texting.
Connect with colleagues in the same hospital or clinic.
Read the latest clinical news, personalized to your specialty.

See Dr. Powers' full profile Already have an account?

Summary

Dr. Alvin Powers, an endocrinologist in Nashville, TN, is affiliated with Vanderbilt University Medical Center and Tennessee Valley Healthcare System. He received his medical degree from the University of Tennessee Health Science Center College of Medicine, completed a residency in internal medicine at Duke and an endocrinology fellowship at the Massachusetts General Hospital. He has been in practice for 35 years. He specializes in diabetes and endocrinology. He is an experienced endocrinologist (adult), physician-scientist, and educator. He has more than 200 publications and has had leadership positions in national and international organizations related to diabetes and endocrinology.

Vanderbilt Diabetes - Vanderbilt Health Nashville, TN

Vanderbilt University Medical Center accepts the following insurance plans. For information about specific contract coverage, please contact your health plan di

Vanderbilt Diabetes Research and Training Center

The Vanderbilt Diabetes Research and Training Center is a NIH-sponsored Diabetes Center that facilitates the discovery and translation related to diabetes.

The Powers Research Group - The laboratory of Al Powers at Vanderbilt University

The purpose of our research is to understand how glucose stimulates insulin secretion and how this is lost in diabetes

Education & Training

Mass General Brigham/Massachusetts General HospitalFellowship, Endocrinology, Diabetes, and Metabolism, 1986 - 1987
Mass General Brigham/Massachusetts General HospitalResidency, Internal Medicine, 1983 - 1986
Duke University HospitalResidency, Internal Medicine, 1979 - 1982
University of Tennessee Health Science Center College of MedicineClass of 1979

The following disclaimer is related to board certifications obtained from ABMS®, denoted by the ABMS® logo.

This information is proprietary data maintained in a copyrighted database owned by the American Board of Medical Specialties®. The display and presence of ABMS Data in no way constitutes any affiliation, association with, or endorsement of any advertising, promotion, or sponsorship by ABMS and its affiliates and subsidiaries, the ABMS Member Boards, or ABMS board certified physicians and medical specialists. Copyright 2026 American Board of Medical Specialties®. All rights reserved.

The user is responsible for ensuring that the profile obtained in this directory is the profile of the physician or medical specialist being sought.

A self-designated specialty, subspecialty, or practice area neither implies nor is equivalent to ABMS board certification or the existence of specialized training by or competence of a physician or medical specialist.

Certifications & Licensure

TN State Medical License 1988 - 2028
American Board of Internal Medicine Internal Medicine
American Board of Internal Medicine Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolism

Awards, Honors, & Recognition

America's Top Doctors Castle Connolly, 2002-2023
President, Medicine and Society American Diabetes Association, 2017
CMS Meaningful Use Stage 2 Certification BI-Clinical, CitiusTech, Inc., 2014-2017

Clinical Trials

Multicenter Assessment of the Pancreas in Type 1 Diabetes Start of enrollment: 2014 Feb 19
ENROLLING_BY_INVITATION

Publications & Presentations

PubMed

Mapping histologic and functional maturation of human endocrine pancreas across early postnatal periods.
Diane C Saunders, Fan Feng, Alexander L Hopkirk, Kristie I Aamodt, Nathaniel Hart
Nature Communications. 2026-06-29
Pancreatic islet α cell function and proliferation require the arginine transporter SLC7A2.
Erick Spears, Jade E Stanley, Matthew Shou, Linlin Yin, Xuan Li
The Journal of Clinical Investigation. 2026-06-15
Heterogeneous endocrine cell composition defines human islet functional phenotypes.
Carmella Evans-Molina, Yasminye D Pettway, Diane C Saunders, Seth A Sharp, Thomas Sr Bate
Nature Communications. 2026-05-12

Press Mentions

Alvin Powers Honored by Endocrine Society for His Research in Islet Biology and DiabetesSeptember 30th, 2025
Type 1 Diabetes Screening, Identifying Subtypes Among Key Areas of Scientific StatementAugust 1st, 2025
Endocrine Society Statement Outlines Knowledge Gaps in T1DJuly 11th, 2025

Grant Support

Translational Research in Endocrinology And Diabetes (TREAD)VANDERBILT UNIVERSITY MEDICAL CENTER1975–2031
Human Pancreas Analysis Program for Type 2 Diabetes (HPAP-T2D)UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA2019–2029
Human Pancreas Analysis Program for Type 1 Diabetes - HPAP-T1DUNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA2016–2029
Islet alterations in type 2 diabetesVETERANS HEALTH ADMINISTRATION2010–2028
RNA editing in islet function and inflammationVANDERBILT UNIVERSITY MEDICAL CENTER2023–2027