Vanderbilt Diabetes Research and Training Center

Marcela Brissova, PhD, and MD/PhD student John “Jack” Walker are part of the research team that developed a pseudoislet system for integrated studies of human islet function.
July 30, 2020

Pseudoislet system expected to advance pancreas and diabetes research

The multicellular, 3-D structure of human pancreatic islets — the areas of the pancreas containing hormone-producing or endocrine cells — has presented challenges to researchers as they study and manipulate these cells’ function, but Vanderbilt University Medical Center researchers have now developed a pseudoislet system that allows for much easier study of islet function.

By Jill Clendening
Team members involved in the study include, from left, Melissa Hilmes, MD, Daniel Moore, MD, PhD, Alvin Powers, MD, Jon Williams, PhD, and Jack Virostko, PhD. (photo by Jessica Kimber)
April 25, 2019

Study expands insight on shrinking pancreas in type 1 diabetes

Researchers with the Vanderbilt Diabetes Research and Training Center (DRTC) have discovered a progressive decline in pancreas volume over a one-year period in children and adolescents with newly diagnosed Type 1 diabetes.

By Jill Clendening
February 28, 2019

Evans set for next Discovery Lecture

Ronald Evans, PhD, renowned for his discoveries of nuclear hormone receptors and how they work, will deliver the next Flexner Discovery Lecture on Thursday, March 7.

By Leigh MacMillan
September 13, 2018

First Islet Workshop draws international audience

More than 200 investigators from across the globe who specialize in islet biology, the study of hormone-producing cell clusters in the pancreas known as islets, recently gathered in Nashville to share knowledge and present the challenges and successes of their work during the first Islet Biology Workshop at Vanderbilt.

By Jill Clendening
December 14, 2017

Diabetes Day

Research achievement was recognized recently during Diabetes Day at the Student Life Center. Among those honored were (beginning second from left) Bryan Gitschlag, Danielle Dean, PhD, Ian Williams, Caroline Presley, MD, and Suzanne Starr. Award winners are flanked by Tom Elasy, MD, MPH, (left) and Alvin Powers, MD. Diabetes Day was sponsored by the Vanderbilt Diabetes Research and Training Center and the Vanderbilt Center for Diabetes Translation Research and supported by the National Institutes of Health.

By VUMC News and Communications
November 9, 2017

New phenotyping program to bolster global diabetes research efforts

The use of human pancreatic islets to conduct diabetes-related research has greatly expanded in recent years, and a Human Islet Phenotyping Program (HIPP) at Vanderbilt University Medical Center has been established to provide important islet data to investigators worldwide.

By Jill Clendening
September 28, 2017

Cellular calcium handling in diabetes

Potassium channels in a cellular organelle regulate calcium flux and appear to play a critical role in pancreatic beta cell health.
By Leigh MacMillan
September 21, 2017

Pancreatic islets study may spur diabetes treatment advances

Investigators in the Vanderbilt Diabetes Research and Training Center (VDRTC) and collaborators at Stanford University have discovered new insights into the molecular mechanisms of cell proliferation in juvenile human pancreatic islets, information that could lead to new treatments for diabetes.
By Jill Clendening
July 27, 2017

Student’s summer research program honors her mother

As a teenager, Ashley Duhon realized she wanted to become a doctor so she could help people, like her mother, who suffer from medical complications due to type 1 diabetes.
By Jill Clendening
June 15, 2017

VUMC team’s discovery could lead to new diabetes treatment

By Bill Snyder
June 8, 2017

NIDDK renews Vanderbilt’s diabetes research grant

The Vanderbilt Diabetes Research and Training Center (VDRTC) is celebrating its 44th year of operation with a five-year competitive renewal of its $9 million grant from the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK) of the National Institutes of Health (NIH).
By Jill Clendening
December 8, 2016

Making human beta cells reproduce

A new method developed at Vanderbilt will speed the search for potential therapeutics for diabetes: compounds that stimulate the replication of insulin-producing beta cells.
By VUMC News and Communications
November 21, 2016

Pilot and feasibility grants available for research related to diabetes and obesity

The Vanderbilt Diabetes Center, the Vanderbilt Diabetes Research and Training Center (DRTC), and the Vanderbilt Center for Diabetes Translation Research (CDTR) announce the availability of pilot and feasibility grants in the following areas.
By VUMC News and Communications
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