Steven Kahn is a Professor of Medicine at the VA Puget Sound Health Care System and the University of Washington in Seattle, Washington. He holds the Leonard L. Wright and Marjorie C. Wright Chair and directs the Diabetes Research Center at the University.

His research interests include the role of the β-cell in the pathogenesis and treatment of prediabetes and type 2 diabetes. He has performed physiological studies and actively participates in several large multicenter clinical trials to prevent and treat type 2 diabetes, which includes studies comparing youth and adults. Aside from his clinical studies, he has an extensive basic research program examining the loss of β-cells in type 2 diabetes.

He has received numerous awards including the Endocrine Society Clinical Investigator Award, the Department of Veterans Affairs John B. Barnwell Award, the European Association for the Study of Diabetes Albert Renold Award and Claude Bernard Award, and the American Diabetes Association Outstanding Achievement in Clinical Diabetes Research Award and the Banting Medal for Scientific Achievement. He is also the editor-in-chief of Diabetes Care.