News from the UMass Diabetes Center of Excellence

A new technique to study human cells and tissues has been developed at the UMass Diabetes Center of Excellence. It’s another step forward in the continued effort to examine the insulin producing beta cells of humans living with type 1 diabetes and learn more about the autoimmune attack associated with the disease. This newly created method allows our scientists to recover and further examine sufficient amounts of living human cells that they previously transplanted into our novel human immune models.  LEARN MORE 

Type 2 diabetes research in the laboratory of Michael Czech, PhD, includes studying the behavior and function of the various cells that make up adipose tissue, with a goal of improving systemic metabolism in obesity.  They contributed some of their RNAi technology to a study published in The Journal of Immunology.  FULL ARTICLE  

David Harlan, MD,  sat down with Nobel Prize laureate Wally Gilbert, PhD, 40 years after he first created human insulin using DNA. Dr. Gilbert's is now an accomplished artist and after the interview they toured his impressive art studio in Boston. WATCH THE VIDEO

Sally C. Kent, PhD, has been named the George F. and Sybil H. Fuller Foundation Term Chair in Diabetes. Dr. Kent studies autoimmune response in type 1 diabetes. Her lab is credited with uncovering new information on how autoreactive T cells target beta cells in islets, a breakthrough that will contribute to the design of therapies for people with type 1 diabetes.  FULL STORY

Guertin Lab graduate student Wen-Yu Hsiao presents an interesting perspective based on recent findings about what makes a fat cell “healthy” and why.  Their research examines how the metabolism of adipocytes impacts blood glucose and insulin resistance especially in people living with obesity and/or type 2 diabetes.  READ MORE

Rachael joins the UMass Diabetes Center of Excellence care team as a Certified Pediatric Nurse. Her interest in working with children living with diabetes began while she was first studying to become a nurse at Worcester State University, and spent time at a camp for kids with diabetes. The most gratifying part of her job is helping families get through the overwhelming and frightening process of diagnosis, to the first few clinic appointments and eventually feeling confident that they can manage the disease.  READ MORE

The UMass Diabetes Center of Excellence education workshops use Conversation Maps® to teach a variety of diabetes topics to help people make lifestyle changes as part of their self-management.  LEARN MORE

People living with type 1 and type 2 diabetes, even when well-managed, are at high risk of serious flu complications. September or October 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

Dr. David Harlan welcomed his longtime friend and fellow distinguished physician/scientist, Carl H. June, MD, to speak at the University of Massachusetts Medical School Department of Medicine Grand Rounds. They worked closely throughout the 1990's when they led the U.S. Navy’s “Immune Cell Biology Program." Dr. June is director of the Center for Cellular Immunotherapies at the University of Pennsylvania Medical School, and is best known for his pioneering work developing CAR T-cell therapy for the treatment of leukemia. FULL VIDEO

The Messina lab is studying impaired wound healing resulting from type 2 diabetes. They've found that diabetes impairs wound healing by causing an injury to blood stem cells that affects a particular white blood cell which is the most important cell in the body’s response to a diabetic ulcer.  Loss of limbs is a major fear of people with uncontrolled blood sugars. This research is exploring a blood stem cell-based therapeutic approach to reverse what is one of the most feared complications of diabetes.  FULL STORY 

Dr. Corvera’s laboratory determined that there are more types of fat cells in the human body than originally thought. Prior research had shown two types of fat cells, white and beige. This new research uncovered at least five types of human fat cells which play different roles in how they affect metabolism.  They're now investigating human cell therapy, which consists of using the body’s own cells to increase metabolism, as a possible treatment for type 2 diabetes or its complications.  FULL STORY

A new study at UMass Medical School is designed to develop a questionnaire about peer mentor support for parents of children with type 1 diabetes, as well as young adults who are living with T1D. A peer mentor is a person who provides support and advice on diabetes management. Participants in this study will receive a $25 gift card as a thank you for partaking in each part of the study.  LEARN MORE

Dr. Lopez joins the UMass Diabetes Center of Excellence specializing in child and family health psychology. She provides bilingual therapy (English and Spanish) and enjoys helping people of all ages to achieve measurable outcomes with type 1 or type 2 diabetes. She's helped many people to lower their blood sugars into a healthy range. The UMass DCOE is one of a small number of diabetes centers within the U.S. that has health psychologists as part of the care team.  LEARN MORE  

The goal of this research is to create an implantable cell replacement device to be used as a therapy for people living with type 1 diabetes. Insulin-producing beta cells would be encapsulated in the device to protect the cells from the autoimmune attack, while also allowing those protected cells to survive and function.  FULL STORY

Fernanda Costa, RN, joins the UMass Diabetes Center of Excellence with years of experience serving the Hispanic type 2 diabetes community. She’s fluent in Spanish and Portuguese, which will allow her to speak to our Hispanic and Latino patients in their native language. Costa takes pride in the fact that she has successfully educated many in this high-risk population, helping them to lower their A1c’s, control their blood sugars, and decrease their risk of future health complications.  FULL STORY

Last year the Joe “Nuzzy” Nozzolillo Memorial Foundation presented a check for $10,500 to the UMass Diabetes Center of Excellence after their inaugural golf fundraiser.  Family and friends were grateful for the care he received and they want to help other people in the area living with diabetes.  The 2nd annual golf tournament will be held on Sunday, September 22.  LEARN MORE

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 Certified Child Life Specialist at the UMass Memorial Diabetes Center of Excellence supports children and families beginning at the very first office appointment. She works closely with the pediatric diabetes care team to provide age appropriate support and interventions.  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

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.  Both one-on-one 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

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

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