NEWS

• UMMS researchers isolate immune cells from the islets of donors with type 1 diabetes

  In a highly collaborative and novel effort, the Kent lab has described the broad spectrum of autoreactivity of T cells that have infiltrated the islets of donors with Type 1 diabetes. This effort opens up our ability to directly examine the phenotype and function of the lymphocytes that are responsible for the destruction of insulin-producing beta cells in the pancreas in this autoimmune disease (Babon et al., Nature Medicine, 2016).  To read more, click here.

• DCOE participates in Artificial Pancreas Study

  The bionic pancreas system developed by Boston University (BU) investigators proved better than either conventional or sensor-augmented insulin pump therapy at managing blood sugar levels in patients with type 1 diabetes living at home, with no restrictions, over 11 days. The report of a clinical trial led by a Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) along with three other institutions, including the University of Massachusetts Medical School DCOE, is receiving advance online publication in The Lancet.

• New Emphasis on Health Behaviors and Diabetes

  The UMass Diabetes Center of Excellence (DCOE) is one of five institutions in the U.S. chosen by the Bringing Science Home for a collaborative training program to increase capacity in diabetes psychology. The program will train postdoctoral fellows for 1 year at 5 nationally recognized diabetes clinical research institutions: Stanford University, University of Chicago, Joslin Diabetes Center at Harvard University, University of Florida, and University of Massachusetts. According to Dr. Nicole Johnson, a well-known diabetes advocate, a member of the DCOE Visiting Advisory Committee, and the force behind this diabetes psychology training program, there is a serious need for more clinical psychologists who specialize in the management of chronic diseases, and this is especially the case in the field of diabetes.