UF campus research centers have banded together to form a diabetes institute.
Five grants, totaling $13.6 million, helped fund the program. The grants were from the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, which is part of the National Institutes of Health.
“We were very excited about these awards because UF may be the most represented in an effort to understand the role of insulin producing cells in Type 1 diabetes,” institute director Mark Atkinson said.
The institute will be staffed with about 100 faculty members from the colleges of medicine, engineering, public health and health professions, nursing and the Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (IFAS).
The institute will focus on advancing treatment for patients with both Type 1 or Type 2 diabetes.
Atkinson said UF diabetes research is one of the top in the country in terms of Type 1 diabetes.
According to Atkinson, the institute has a threefold mission that will dedicate diabetes research to improving clinical care and advancing the teaching and training of the next generation of researchers and caregivers.
“We cannot afford to let the diabetes epidemic continue,” Atkinson said. “We need to do a better job of educating people what diabetes is and how to avoid it.”
One in every 10 Floridians has diabetes, said Dr. Kenneth Cusi, the institute’s adult medical director.
IFAS will be involved in outreach programs to educate the community about ways to prevent Type 2 diabetes.
“We hope that we will have an impact in inspiring the new generations to join this crusade in curing diabetes,” Cusi said. “I’m very excited. This is probably the most important initiative for patients because Florida has one of the highest rates in diabetes.”
David S. Guzick, senior vice president for health affairs at UF and president of UF Health, said he hopes to work with IFAS to prevent patients from developing Type 2 diabetes.
“We have to realize that diabetes is a significant health problem,” he said. “We have a commitment to improving health throughout the state.”
Leeana Peters, 19, conducts research on Type 1 diabetes in the Todd M. Brusko Laboratory and has seen diabetes in her family. Her 6-year-old sister was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes at the age of 3.
“I am absolutely ecstatic that UF is establishing an institute to conduct more research on diabetes,” the UF biology sophomore said.
