DCOE News

Parents of young children living with type 1 diabetes were asked about the pros and cons of using continuous glucose monitors.  They described the benefits and the challenges.  We asked members of our pediatric diabetes care team their thoughts.  LEARN MORE  

Dr. Warnock joins the UMass Diabetes Center of Excellence following 12 years of service in the United States Navy.  She specializes in both type 1 and type 2 diabetes management, insulin pump therapy, obesity, weight gain and regain.  In 2018 she was deployed for a three-month humanitarian mission in Guatemala and Honduras, where she contributed to 15,500 patient encounters.  Read about what attracted her to UMass Memorial.  FULL STORY

Dr. MacGregor conducted the first known study of its kind to evaluate the clinical benefit of having a behavioral psychologist who specializes in diabetes working within a diabetes clinic.  Read about why she believes it can potentially make a substantial positive impact on people’s diabetes management and outcomes.  FULL STORY

New insulin pumps, infusion devices, continuous glucose monitors and smartphone apps continue to become available.  Learn about the latest technology providing options for people living with both type 1 diabetes and type 2 diabetes.  FULL ARTICLE

Dr. Harlan was invited to speak at the Endocrine Society's Fellows Series: Type 1 Diabetes Care and Management.  His talk titled "Going Beyond Insulin: Emerging Options for T1D" presented options beyond insulin therapy for people living with diabetes, including GLP-1 and SGLT use.  LEARN MORE

UMass Memorial offers convenient eye exams for patients with diabetes.  The 5-day a week clinic provides easy access to annual eye exams for our adult and pediatric diabetes patients while they’re already on campus for their diabetes related appointments.  LEARN MORE

The UMass DCOE was well represented at the American Diabetes Association’s 79^th Scientific Sessions in San Francisco, California.  Our team included award recipients, speakers and research presenters.  LEARN MORE

The second annual Herman G. Berkman Diabetes Clinical Innovation Fund grant has been awarded to Leslie J. Domalik, MD and co-investigator Asem Ali, MD.  Read about their project, intended to improve blood glucose control for all patients admitted to UMass Memorial hospitals who are living with diabetes.  FULL STORY

Laura Alonso, MD, The George F. and Sybil H. Fuller Term Chair in Diabetes, Director of Beta Cell Biological Studies at the UMass Diabetes Center of Excellence, has been elected to the American Society for Clinical Investigation (ASCI).  One of the nation’s oldest and most prestigious medical honor societies, ASCI supports the work of top physician-scientists whose biomedical research translates findings in the laboratory to the advancement of clinical practice.  LEARN MORE

Studying the islets of people with type 1 diabetes, the laboratories of David Harlan, MD and Sally Kent, PhD definitively put to rest a three decades old debate about whether beta cells express important immune genes called “human leukocyte antigen class II” (HLA Class II).  LEARN MORE 

Nancy Sidhom has been a nurse practitioner at the UMass Diabetes Center of Excellence since 2013.  She enjoys partnering with patients to help them better manage daily life with diabetes.  Nancy has a passion for proper nutrition and exercise, and strongly believes they are the foundation to proper diabetes self-management.  LEARN MORE  

A study published by the laboratory of Laura C. Alonso, MD, confirms the fidelity of a widely used technique to measure beta cell replication, despite doubt by some in the field.  The ultimate goal of Laura Alonso's research is to determine approaches to make more beta cells, so as to prevent or treat diabetes.  LEARN MORE

A new study by Benjamin Nwosu, MD, correlates the phenomenon known as partial clinical remission in children newly diagnosed with type 1 diabetes with cholesterol levels when they reach puberty.  FULL STORY

The UMass Diabetes Center of Excellence is using Conversation Maps® as part of our extensive diabetes education program.  Each map addresses a different diabetes topic to help people make lifestyle changes as part of their self-management of the disease.  LEARN MORE

Apoptosis of CD8 T cells is an essential mechanism that maintains immune system homeostasis, prevents autoimmunity, and reduces immunopathology.  Research from the Brehm, Greiner and Davis laboratories at the UMass Diabetes Center of Excellence, was published in The Journal of Immunology.  FULL STORY

The laboratory of Silvia Corvera, MD, was featured on WCVB-TV/ABC in Boston and WJAR-TV/NBC of Providence about their research into transforming white fat into beige fat, to harness its ability to burn energy, accelerate metabolism and fight disease.  FULL STORY AND VIDEO 

Rachel Stamateris, an MD/PhD candidate at University of Massachusetts Medical School, has been awarded a prestigious Ruth L. Kirschstein National Research Service Award Individual Predoctoral Fellowship for dual-doctoral degree students, from the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases.  Her fellowship experience is intended to enhance Rachel’s integrated research and clinical training as predoctoral student.  Over the next four years, this award will help to sponsor her research and promote her development into a productive, independent physician/clinician-scientist.  READ MORE

Isolating donated islets from a young man who had been treated for 17 years for presumed T1D, scientists found a rare genetic defect had caused his beta cells to function improperly.  Findings were published in The Journal of Clinical Investigation.  LEARN MORE

A plan to increase competition and bring down the price of insulin was presented this week by The Food and Drug Administration.  It includes recharacterizing insulin as a biologic instead of a drug, to help drugmakers make biosimilar insulins available to people living with diabetes.  Three companies currently control 90% of the global insulin market and produce all the insulin used in the United States.  FULL STORY

The UMass DCOE is among a few in the world studying human beta cells, the insulin producing cells found only in the pancreas.  The lab of DCOE co-director Dale Greiner, PhD, provided unique immunodeficient mice that allowed for the in-vivo imaging studies which identified a new biomarker for beta cells.  Findings are published in Cell Metabolism, December 2018.  FULL STORY

The Brehm and Greiner labs study human immune responses pathways for potential type 1 diabetes therapies.  "Lack of acute xenogeneic graft-versus-host disease, but retention of T-cell function following engraftment of human peripheral blood mononuclear cells in NSG mice deficient in MHC class I and II expression," published in The FASEB Journal.   LEARN MORE

The First Annual Joe “Nuzzy” Memorial Golf Tournament raised $10,500, which was generously donated to the UMass Memorial Diabetes Center of Excellence (DCOE), to be used for continued patient care.  The family wants the money to help others being treated for diabetes at UMass Memorial.  They recently toured our research laboratories, and were impressed with what they saw.   
FULL STORY

Silvia Corvera, MD, and Michael Czech, PhD, are investigating whether technologies developed in their labs will harness beige fat’s ability to burn energy and accelerate metabolism in order to improve the body’s response to sugar and lower blood glucose levels.  READ MORE

One third of patients that enter the hospital have diabetes.  Our inpatient team sees the many who already have diabetes, and are undergoing a surgery or procedure, or are being treated for another chronic illness, or complication from diabetes.  They also work closely with those getting diagnosed with diabetes for the first time, ensuring that they learn everything needed to leave with “diabetes survival skills.”  Our inpatient team ensures a smooth transition home by coordinating medication prescriptions and follow-up appointments.  LEARN MORE

People living with type 1 and type 2 diabetes, even when well-managed, are at high risk of serious flu complications.  The beginning of September is considered the best time to get the vaccine.  The flu shot is a safe and effective way to prevent or reduce the severity of previously mentioned complications.  LEARN MORE

Infectious disease and immunology expert Jennifer Wang, MD hopes to move closer to better understanding type 1 diabetes by working with a new animal model to identify pathways which could be stopped in order to prevent the disease from developing.  FULL STORY

Fat tissue has a remarkable capacity for growth. David A. Guertin, PhD, explains why his latest research of a fat-precursor cell which unexpectedly functions to suppress adipocyte production, is exciting to the future of combating obesity.  READ MORE

Words used to describe something shapes the way others perceive and value that thing.  The culture in diabetes tends to be the disease defines the person, such as, “he/she is a diabetic.”  Changing that language to “he is living with diabetes” or “she is thriving with her diabetes care” can make a world of difference.  “A1c and blood glucose numbers should simply be used as data to devise a treatment plan and action plan.  Not a definition of the person,” says Kristin L. MacGregor, PhD, a behavioral psychologist at the UMass Diabetes Center of Excellence. “The truth is, you have the power to manage the disease, it doesn’t control you.”  READ THE ENTIRE ARTICLE

Diabetes Education has been shown to lower A1c by as much as 1% (similar to adding a medication but without the side effects).  Research shows that people who have received diabetes education are more likely to utilize primary care and preventative services, take medications as prescribed and control their blood glucose, blood pressure and cholesterol levels.  As a result, those people have lower health costs.  The UMass Memorial Diabetes Center of Excellence offers an extensive education program covering a variety of topics.  Individual sessions and group workshops are available.  LEARN MORE 

Thymus development research in the lab of René Maehr, PhD was featured as the cover story in Immunity.  Single-cell RNA sequencing was used to illustrate a framework for biological discovery and molecular analysis of thymus organogenesis (the production and development of the organ).  READ MORE 

Many patients do not understand the role and capabilities of a Nurse Practitioner (NP) when it comes to their diabetes care.  NPs are taught both the medical model and the nursing model of care.  The scope of practice of a Nurse Practitioner varies from state to state.  Meet one of our NPs and find out how she provides care to patients at the UMass Diabetes Center of Excellence.  LEARN MORE

The price of insulin nearly tripled between 2002 and 2013.  The American Diabetes Association recently provided new recommendations for improving insulin access and affordability.  Their policy statement addresses four key areas.  READ MORE

New research by UMass DCOE physician-scientist Benjamin Nwosu found that children with type 1 diabetes who experienced a “honeymoon phase,” had significantly lower LDL or “bad” cholesterol, five years after diagnosis. Children who do not undergo this honeymoon may experience worse outcomes over the long term—including cardiovascular disease.  READ MORE

The American Diabetes Association recommends including behavioral health professionals on diabetes care teams.  The UMass Diabetes Center of Excellence is one of few diabetes centers in the country that currently has behavioral psychologists on staff.  One of them, Kristin L. MacGregor, PhD, was published in Diabetes Care, examining exactly how close diabetes healthcare in the United States really is to meeting those recommendations.  READ MORE

David Harlan, MD, co-director of the UMass Diabetes Center of Excellence, was quoted in a New York Times article about a new study published in the journal Pediatrics which found that children and adults with type 1 diabetes who followed a very low-carb, high-protein diet for an average of just over two years, combined with insulin at smaller doses than typically required on a normal diet, had “exceptional” blood sugar control and low rates of major complications.  READ THE FULL ARTICLE

Roger J. Davis, PhD was elected into the National Academy of Sciences.  Membership in the NAS is one of the highest honors bestowed upon a scientist in the United States.  He joins four UMass Medical School colleagues who have received membership in recognition of their for outstanding contributions to original research.  His work to explain the molecular mechanism by which inflammation contributes to diabetes, cancer and stroke has been among the most important in this field for more than two decades.  READ MORE

Dr. Laura Alonso hosted the Boston Ithaca Islet Club Annual Meeting at the UMass Diabetes Center of Excellence. The weekend conference was attended by scientists from academic centers around the northeast United States and Canada, who research pancreatic islet function, development, growth, immunology and transplantation.  READ MORE

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved new integrated continuous glucose monitors to help people with diabetes control their blood sugars. 
READ MORE

Although diabetes research centers are well defined by National Institutes of Health, there is no clear definition for clinical Diabetes Centers of Excellence (DCOE).  Dr. David Harlan, co-director, UMass Diabetes Center of Excellence collaborated on an article published in The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism, in which they propose a framework to guide advancement for DCOE.  READ MORE

To better understand the functional and molecular properties of islets from donors with T1D, this research used an approach that studied the pancreas and isolated islets from the same donor, allowing better analysis of the development, properties and behavior of the islets.  LEARN MORE 

Nancy Morris, MD, Adult Nurse Practitioner in the UMass Diabetes Center of Excellence, won the Excellence in Nursing Education Award.  The American Nursing Association of Massachusetts honors nurse educators for teaching, research and practice, recognizing innovative approaches to facilitate learning and professional development. READ MORE 

Sally C. Kent, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Medicine in the Diabetes Division, Diabetes Center of Excellence at UMass Medical School, was recognized by the Network for Pancreatic Organ Donors with Diabetes (nPOD) with a Pioneer Award for her “continued dedication to create a world free of Type 1 Diabetes.”  Jenny Aurielle B. Babon, Ph.D., a Post Doctoral Associate in the Kent Lab, gave a poster and oral presentation at the nPOD Annual Scientific Meeting about their findings looking at the white blood cells from within the islets of a recent-onset T1D donor.  The donor had been diagnosed with type 1 diabetes just five months before he passed away, at the age of 23.  READ MORE

Newly diagnosed children with type 1 diabetes sometimes experience a “honeymoon period” during which they are still secreting some insulin on their own and their blood glucose levels can temporarily be restored to at or near normal levels.  A study conducted by UMass Diabetes Center of Excellence physician-scientist Benjamin Nwosu, MD, has confirmed the accuracy of a new, simple method to determine whether children newly diagnosed with type 1 diabetes are experiencing this beneficial partial clinical remission.  READ MORE

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.  READ MORE

The UMass Diabetes Center of Excellence is one of five nationally recognized institutions in the U.S. chosen for a collaborative training program to increase capacity in diabetes psychology. The program will train postdoctoral fellows for one year.  Samantha Barry, PhD, will work with Dr. Kristin MacGregor to improve health behaviors and general mental health as they relate to diabetes management.  READ MORE

Distinguished DCOE nurse practitioner, Sean Collins, PhD, UMMS Assistant Professor in the Graduate School of Nursing, has been promoted to U.S. Army Reserves Brigadier General (BG) and will serve as a principal advisor to the Pentagon’s Director of Health Affairs on Guard and Reserve matters. BG Collins has served on the forefront of the diabetes epidemic for more than 30 years.  FULL STORY

Sally C. Kent, PhD, and Jenny Aurielle B. Babon, PhD, have isolated and characterized a large bank of live islet-infiltrating T cells directly from the islets of tissue donors with type 1 diabetes. The findings, published in Nature Medicine, have direct implications for the design of therapies and preventative strategies for those with type 1 diabetes and those at risk for developing it.   READ MORE

UMass Diabetes Diabetes Center of Excellence once again hosted the Central MA Step Out Walk to Stop Diabetes.  The signature fundraising event for the American Diabetes Association took place on the UMass Medical School University Campus.  More than 1000 people participated, including DCOE faculty, staff and families.  Entertainment included representatives from the Red Sox, Patriots, New England Revolution, Worcester Bravehearts, and Worcester Railers.  VIEW PHOTOS 

Louis Messina, MD, UMass Memorial Medical Center's Division Chief for Vascular Surgery and an investigator at the Diabetes Center of Excellence, performed a second surgery on a young woman with middle aortic syndrome, a disease found in less than 1 in 100,000 people.  He first performed a bypass on when she was 3 years old.  It was only expected to last about 10 years.  At age 21, she asked him to once again perform the surgery.  Dr. Messina leads the only team in the northeast that can perform this risky surgery.  FULL STORY AND PHOTOS

Sally C. Kent, PhD, assistant professor of medicine, was recently recognized at the Network for Pancreatic Donors with Diabetes (nPOD) 8th Annual Scientific Session in Miami as a “champion of the collaborative spirit.” Dr. Kent was presented with the Spirit of nPOD award for her work with the members of and projects within nPOD.  FULL STORY