Vanderbilt Diabetes Research and Training Center

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Insulin in vials

VUMC team’s discovery could lead to new diabetes treatment

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