I am pleased to share with you that Dr. E. Dale Abel, Director of the Fraternal Order of Eagles Diabetes Research Center (FOEDRC) and Chair of the Department of Internal Medicine, and Dr. Andrew (Andy) Norris, FOEDRC’s Associate Director, have just been awarded a five-year, $2.02M training grant from the National Institutes of Diabetes, Digestive and Kidney Diseases of the National Institutes of Health. The T32 grant will fund the Diabetes Research Training Program at the University of Iowa and will support up to six post-doctoral trainees or subspecialty fellows per year. The grant will support existing trainees or support the recruitment of outstanding new trainees to the University of Iowa.

The training leverages the tremendous scientific depth of the FOEDRC and our commitment to training and mentoring the next generation of diabetes and obesity researchers. More than three dozen diverse, but interactive FOEDRC faculty will cover nine different thematic areas of training and focus. The areas of training focus and the team leaders are summarized. (1)  Links between cardiovascular disease and diabetes: Drs. Abel, Rajan Sah, Long-Sheng Song, Pete Snyder, and Frank Faraci. (2) Vascular and nervous systems complications: Drs. Kaikobad Irani, Isabella Grumbach, Mark Yorek, and Brandon Davies will address the vascular, endothelial, and neuronal dysfunctions associated with this global epidemic. (3) Integrative physiology and molecular mechanisms of diabetes: Drs. Matthew Potthoff, Justin Grobe, Robert Piper, Robert Roghair, Andy Norris, and Ling Yang. (4) Metabolism, mitochondria and cellular energetics:   Drs. Stefan Strack, Eric Taylor, Dale Abel, Yuriy Usachev, Charles Brenner, and William Sivitz (5) The role of cardiac and skeletal muscle in diabetes, obesity and metabolic disease: Drs. Abel, Christopher Adams, Darren Casey, Chad Grueter, and Leonid Zingman. (6)  Insulin secretion, islet biology and cystic fibrosis related diabetes: Drs. Andy Norris, Nicholas Zavazava, John Engelhardt, Aliya Uc, Michael Welsh, and Yumi Imai (7) Central nervous system control of metabolism, obesity, and diabetes: Drs. Kamal Rahmouni, Curt Sigmund, Mark Chapleau, and Val Sheffield. (8) Gastrointestinal, microbiota, and inflammatory mechanisms in diabetes and metabolism: Drs. Gail Bishop and Patrick Schlievert. Last, but by no means least is (9) Training in Clinical and Outcomes Diabetes Research: Drs. Norris, Helena Laroche, Bill Sivitz, and Katie Larson Ode.

It should be clear that this impressive grouping of expert trainers and mentors are well positioned to provide world-class training opportunities to the next generation of diabetes researchers. Diabetes research at the University of Iowa has become one of the institution’s most prominent and visible research programs. With additional resources to offer full stipends of up to two years to eligible trainees, the FOEDRC’s commitment to mentoring and launching the careers of the next generation of diabetes and obesity researchers is as strong as its dedication to elucidating the pathogenesis and treatment of the disease. This award further underscores our continued commitment to explore novel approaches in diabetes research to enhance the well-being of all patients.