The need – diabetes is a growing and important public health concern
Craig Stump, MD, PhD, (center) is interim director for the UA Diabetes Research Program and associate professor of medicine. Also pictured, UA BIO5 Institute researchers (from left) George Tsaprailis and Serrine Lau.
An epidemic of diabetes, obesity, and related cardiovascular, renal and metabolic diseases is sweeping across the State of Arizona as well as the nation.
Diabetes is the fifth-deadliest disease in the United States, according to the American Diabetes Association (ADA). About 20.8 million Americans (7 percent of the population) have the disease. The economic burden is more than $132 billion per year, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the ADA.
In Arizona, diabetes is particularly devastating. Mexican-Americans, the largest Hispanic/Latino subgroup, are 1.7 times as likely to have diabetes as non-Hispanic whites, according to the National Diabetes Information Clearing House. Native Americans are 2.2 times as likely to have diabetes as non-Hispanic whites. A growing number of retired and elderly in the region add to the magnitude of this disease.
“Arizona has a unique environment that may not present anywhere else in the world,” says Keith Joiner, MD, MPH, UA Vice Provost for Medical Affairs and dean of the UA College of Medicine. “The collaborators and populations right here in this state create an unprecedented opportunity to make tremendous advancements in the treatment and understanding of diabetes.”
If untreated or inadequately treated, diabetes leads to kidney failure, blindness, amputations, heart disease and stroke. The benefits (of a comprehensive program) are of a magnitude rarely possible in medicine — even a 10 percent reduction in the incidence of diabetes and its complications would result in saving billions of dollars and major decreases in morbidity and mortality. Medical breakthroughs in this area are critical to making Arizona a healthier state, and improving patient outcomes throughout the country.
The solution – a statewide effort to fight diabetes
Diabetes Research Program
The University of Arizona Diabetes Research Theme initiative was launched in 2006 as a result of the vision and leadership of College of Medicine Dean, Keith Joiner MD, MPH. In collaboration with the Directors of the Sarver Heart Center, Dr. Gordon Ewy and Dr. Carol Gregorio, the objective of the Diabetes Research Theme is to bring together the expertise and skills of physicians, scientists and allied health professionals into a comprehensive and complementary diabetes research effort.
The program is headquartered on the 4th floor of the Medical Research Building with 12,700 sq. ft. of laboratory space. The location is adjacent to the Thomas W. Keating BIO5 Research Building and within easy walking distance of University Medical Center and the UA Main Campus, where the research faculty also serve as physicians and professors. Additional efforts emanate from clinical research space in the Arizona Cancer Center, UPH Hospital and the Southern Arizona VA Healthcare System (SAVAHCS).
Craig Stump, MD, PhD, is the interim director for the Diabetes Research Program, section chief for endocrinology, diabetes and hypertension, and associate professor of medicine in the Department of Medicine at the UA College of Medicine. His laboratory investigates the contribution of physical inactivity, obesity and insulin resistance to the development of type 2 diabetes mellitus, metabolic syndrome, cardiovascular disease and related co-morbidities.
Erik Henriksen, PhD is a professor in the Department of Physiology and an expert in skeletal muscle insulin resistance in diabetes and the metabolic syndrome. He is currently investigating the contribution of glycogen synthase kinase-3 to insulin resistance and the effects of inhibiting this system thereby improving muscle glucose metabolism.
Leslie Ritter, RN, PhD, from the Department of Neurology and the College of Nursing, studies the damaging effects high circulating glucose upon cerebral vascular tissues, and determining mechanisms by which people with diabetes suffer more severe brain injuries after a stroke.
Janis Burt, PhD, professor in the Department of Physiology, studies the role of gap junctions to heart and vascular cell growth, communication and response to injury or diseases such as diabetes.
Alexander Simon, PhD, associate professor of Physiology, studies the role of intracellular channels made up of connexin proteins and how these channels impact heart and blood vessel development and function.
Stephen Wright, PhD, professor in the Department of Physiology, investigates the intricate tubular system of the kidney and the organic electrolytes from dietary or pharmaceutical sources transported across tubular cell membranes.
Betsy Dokken, NP, PhD, Department of Medicine, is studying the effects of diabetes on heart function and recovery from injury. Her recent work investigates how gastrointestinal tract hormones or their pharmaceutical analogs may protect heart cells from damage.
Heddwen Brooks, PhD, assistant professor of Physiology, is investigating the role of menopause and sex related hormones on diabetes, particularly as to how these impact diabetic kidney disease.
|
