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Dr. Kelli Davis

Pediatric Endocrinologist

Growth and Puberty Care, Built on LIFE's Founding Philosophy, With Rare Depth in Bone Health.

Dr. Kelli Davis practices the same growth and puberty care that LIFE Pediatric Endocrinology was built on, the model Dr. Toni Kim established when she founded the practice. What Dr. Davis adds is an uncommon additional layer: fellowship training under one of the country's leading authorities in pediatric metabolic bone disease, exactly the kind of condition that can hide behind a growth concern that doesn't have an obvious explanation.

A Franklin, Tennessee native, she returned home to bring that combination, growth and puberty expertise grounded in LIFE's founding philosophy, plus uncommon depth in bone health, to families across Middle Tennessee.

At a Glance

Specialty
Pediatric Endocrinology

Primary Clinical Focus
Growth & Puberty Care, with Advanced Training in Metabolic Bone Disease

Areas of Clinical Expertise

  • Growth disorders and short stature
  • Precocious (early) and delayed puberty
  • Metabolic bone disease (hypophosphatemic rickets, osteogenesis imperfecta, low bone density)
  • Post-operative thyroid cancer care
  • Thyroid disease
  • Type 1 diabetes
  • Adrenal disorders

Also Evaluates
As a fellowship-trained pediatric endocrinologist, Dr. Davis also evaluates children with congenital adrenal hyperplasia and other pediatric endocrine concerns when comprehensive evaluation is needed.

Board Status
Board-Certified in Pediatrics and Pediatric Endocrinology

Trained Under
Jill Simmons, MD, Professor of Pediatrics and founder of Vanderbilt's Program for Pediatric Metabolic Bone Disorders

Where Dr. Davis Sees Patients

Dr. Davis practices out of LIFE's Brentwood, Tennessee-area office, serving families throughout Nashville, Brentwood, Franklin, Nolensville, Cool Springs, and the surrounding Middle Tennessee communities. She is also extending care to families in Georgia and Alabama, with availability by telemedicine and in person depending on location.

Beyond Tennessee, Georgia, and Alabama, Dr. Davis individually holds telemedicine licensure in Florida, Connecticut, New York, and along the West Coast, including California, Oregon, and Washington. Appointment availability and format vary by location; see LIFE's full list of offices for addresses and directions.

Why Families Choose Dr. Davis

Families come to LIFE for growth and puberty care built on the same individualized attention Dr. Kim established when she founded the practice: time to actually understand a child's growth pattern or puberty timeline, not a rushed explanation and a "wait and see."

Dr. Davis brings that same foundation to Middle Tennessee, plus a specific edge: formal fellowship training in metabolic bone disease, the piece that can explain a growth concern that hasn't had a clear answer anywhere else. Dr. Davis grew up in Franklin and graduated from Franklin High School. She isn't new to Middle Tennessee; she's returned to it, bringing training few pediatric endocrinologists in the region have.

Growth and Puberty Care, Rooted in Dr. Kim's Approach

At LIFE, Dr. Davis works alongside Dr. Toni Kim, the practice's founder, practicing the same growth and puberty philosophy Dr. Kim built LIFE around: pairing precise medical treatment with attention to the nutrition, lifestyle, and whole-child picture behind a growth or puberty concern. That foundation shapes how Dr. Davis evaluates every child, whether the question is a short growth curve, puberty that started earlier or later than expected, or a bone health concern that's affecting growth from underneath.

During her fellowship at Vanderbilt, Dr. Davis trained directly under Jill Simmons, MD, Professor of Pediatrics, founder and director of Vanderbilt's Program for Pediatric Metabolic Bone Disorders, and a researcher whose work on hypophosphatasia treatment has been published in The New England Journal of Medicine and presented internationally, including in Japan and at the European Society for Pediatric Endocrinology. That training gave Dr. Davis a specific tool most growth-focused pediatric endocrinologists don't have: the ability to recognize when a growth or puberty problem is actually being driven by an underlying bone disorder, and to treat it accordingly.

Conditions Commonly Evaluated

Growth Disorders & Short Stature

Dr. Davis evaluates the hormonal, skeletal, and developmental factors behind a child's growth pattern, the same growth-focused evaluation LIFE was built on, with the added ability to catch bone-driven causes that a general growth workup might miss.

Precocious & Delayed Puberty

When puberty starts earlier or later than expected, it affects both a child's growth window and their day-to-day experience. Dr. Davis evaluates the hormonal drivers behind early and delayed puberty and builds a treatment plan around each child's specific timeline and growth potential.

Metabolic Bone Disease

Conditions like hypophosphatemic rickets, osteogenesis imperfecta, and other disorders of bone mineralization are uncommon and easy to miss without specific training in them. Dr. Davis evaluates bone health using the same rigor she trained in at Vanderbilt's Program for Pediatric Metabolic Bone Disorders, one of the few dedicated pediatric bone disease programs in the country, often as part of understanding a growth concern more fully.

Post-Operative Thyroid Cancer Care

Children who have had thyroid surgery need careful, long-term endocrine follow-up. Dr. Davis provides ongoing monitoring and support for these families from diagnosis through recovery and beyond.

Type 1 Diabetes & Adrenal Disorders

Dr. Davis manages pediatric Type 1 diabetes and adrenal disorders as part of comprehensive endocrine care, alongside her focus areas in growth, puberty, and bone health.

Education & Training

Dr. Davis earned her Bachelor of Science in Biology, magna cum laude, from the University of Alabama, before earning her Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine at Edward Via College of Osteopathic Medicine in Blacksburg, Virginia, where she was named Medical Student of the Year.

She completed her pediatric residency at Prisma Health Children's Hospital in Columbia, South Carolina, and her Pediatric Endocrinology fellowship at Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville, training directly under Jill Simmons, MD, in Vanderbilt's Program for Pediatric Metabolic Bone Disorders. During fellowship, she also conducted research on diabetes-related bullying in adolescents with Type 1 diabetes, supported by a T32 Endocrine Training Grant.

She holds board certification in Pediatrics and Pediatric Endocrinology, and is licensed to practice in Tennessee, Georgia, Alabama, Florida, Connecticut, New York, California, Oregon, and Washington.

Selected Publications, Presentations & Recognition

Peer-Reviewed Publications

"Hypophosphatemic Rickets and Short Stature"
Davis K, Imel EA, Kelley J. Journal of Bone and Mineral Research, Volume 39, Issue 7, July 2024, Pages 821 to 825. doi.org/10.1093/jbmr/zjae103

National & International Presentations

"Craniosynostosis in Autosomal Dominant Hypophosphatemic Rickets Treated with Ferrous Sulfate"
Poster Presentation, International Conference on Children's Bone Health, Dublin, Ireland, 2022

"Demographic and Clinical Predictors of Diabetes-Specific and General Bullying in Adolescents with Type 1 Diabetes"
Poster Presentation, Pediatric Endocrine Society Annual Meeting, Chicago, IL, 2024

"Adrenal Insufficiency and Severe Hyponatremia Following First Bisphosphonate Infusion in a Patient with Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy"
Poster Presentation, Pediatric Endocrine Society Annual Meeting, Chicago, IL, 2024

Recognition

Named Medical Student of the Year at Edward Via College of Osteopathic Medicine (2017).

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

My child's growth seems slow, or puberty seems early or late. When should I be concerned?
Growth and puberty timing vary between children, but a pattern that has clearly changed, or doesn't match what's expected for your child's age and family history, is worth a formal evaluation. Dr. Davis assesses growth charts, bone age, and hormone levels together to determine whether what you're seeing is a normal variation or something that benefits from treatment.

What is metabolic bone disease, and how is it different from a typical growth concern?
Metabolic bone disease refers to conditions that affect how bone forms and mineralizes, such as hypophosphatemic rickets. It can overlap with growth concerns but requires specific testing and expertise to diagnose correctly. It's a specialty within pediatric endocrinology that not every pediatric endocrinologist trains in.

My child had thyroid surgery. What kind of follow-up care do they need?
Children who have had thyroid surgery need ongoing endocrine monitoring, often for years, to manage hormone levels and watch for recurrence. Dr. Davis provides that long-term follow-up as part of comprehensive post-operative care.

Does Dr. Davis only see patients in Tennessee?
No. Beyond her in-person hours in Middle Tennessee, Dr. Davis sees families across Georgia and Alabama, and individually holds telemedicine licensure in Florida, Connecticut, New York, California, Oregon, and Washington.

What is Dr. Davis's connection to Dr. Toni Kim?
Dr. Davis practices alongside Dr. Kim, LIFE's founder, using the same growth and puberty philosophy that Dr. Kim built the practice around, while bringing her own specific training in metabolic bone disease into that framework.

Continue Learning

Explore more from Dr. Davis on LIFE Pediatric Endocrinology's blog:

Or browse the full blog and FAQ.

Schedule a Consultation

Whether you're watching a growth chart that doesn't look quite right, navigating an early or delayed puberty diagnosis, managing follow-up care after thyroid surgery, or exploring a metabolic bone disease diagnosis, Dr. Davis welcomes the opportunity to partner with your family. Schedule a consultation with Dr. Kelli Davis and experience the LIFE difference.