Alvin (Al) Powers

November 11, 2021

International gathering scrutinizes immune response, beta cell biology in Type 1 diabetes

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)
August 27, 2021

Study proves standardized protocol can support reliable MRI use for multisite pancreatic research

Researchers with the Vanderbilt Diabetes Research and Training Center (DRTC) at Vanderbilt University Medical Center led a multisite study which has demonstrated that, when controlled and standardized, quantitative magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of the pancreas is highly reproducible when using different MRI hardware and software at different geographic locations.

By Jill Clendening
Insulin in vials
May 20, 2021

Beta cell regeneration

Vanderbilt researchers dissected the complex microenvironment of the pancreatic islet to discover the signals that drive beta cell regeneration — as a possible treatment for diabetes.

By Leigh MacMillan
April 14, 2021

Five land ASCI Young Physician-Scientist Awards

Five Vanderbilt University Medical Center faculty members have received Young Physician-Scientist Awards from the American Society of Clinical Investigation (ASCI), an elite honor society of physician-scientists.

By Bill Snyder
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
November 29, 2018

Five faculty elected AAAS fellows

Five Vanderbilt University faculty members have been elected fellows of the American Association for the Advancement of Science this year.

By Bill Snyder
November 29, 2018

Beta cell biomarker findings may speed diabetes research

Researchers at Vanderbilt University Medical Center have identified a biomarker for insulin-producing beta cells. Their finding, reported this month in the journal Cell Metabolism, could lead to improved ways to study and treat diabetes.
By Bill Snyder
March 6, 2018

Discovery by Vanderbilt-led group could lead to improved diabetes treatment

Vanderbilt investigators and colleagues around the country have made a major discovery that could lead to better ways to treat type 1 diabetes (T1D).
By Bill Snyder
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
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
May 4, 2017

Three faculty members elected to Association of American Physicians

The Association of American Physicians (AAP) is an honorary medical society founded in 1885 by Sir William Osler and six other physicians for “the advancement of scientific and practical medicine.” This year, 60 additional physician scientists were elected to the association, including three Vanderbilt faculty members.
By Paul Govern
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