Diabetes

Diabetes affects hundreds of millions of people worldwide, with type 2 diabetes — the most prevalent form — ranking as a leading cause of morbidity and mortality across the globe.

An intact pancreatic islet treated with interferon alpha and gamma, and stained for HLA-1 (yellow), proinsulin (magenta), nuclei (cyan).

With its connections to cardiovascular disease, kidney failure, blindness, peripheral vascular disease, and other chronic disorders, diabetes represents one of the most serious challenges to public health in the 21st century. Together, the different forms of this chronic disease (type 1 diabetes, type 2 diabetes, MODY, etc.) have significant health and economic impacts both within the United States and globally, and disproportionately affect underserved populations and emerging nations.

While type 1 diabetes is an autoimmune disorder, type 2 diabetes arises from the complex interplay of environment, diet, lifestyle, and genetic predisposition. But even what we call "type 2" comprises a number of subtypes with unique clinical characteristics and mechanistic foundations.

At the ӳ��ý, a community of scientists known as the ӳ��ý Diabetes Initiative is dedicated to studying diabetes in all its forms, focusing on three integrated research areas:

Discovery of genetic risk factors for diabetes
Exploration of these genes' molecular functions and cellular roles
Translating genetic discoveries to clinical practice and addressing unmet clinical needs

The overarching goal of these efforts is to determine the genetic underpinnings of this disease and translate that knowledge into clinical impacts, including new approaches to prevention, disease management, and therapeutic intervention. Recognizing the relationships between obesity and type 2 diabetes, Diabetes Initiative investigators also explore obesity both as an upstream driver of risk and as a modifiable outcome with its own independent biological characteristics.