This award, which recognizes meritorious contributions to endocrinology research, is one of the Endocrine Society’s prestigious 2026 Laureate Awards.

The Center oversees the NIH-funded Diabetes Research and Training Center, now in its 52nd year of continual operation, which advances innovative investigations related to the cause, prevention, treatment and complications of diabetes and obesity.

The number of adults living with diabetes has surpassed 800 million, and the World Health Organization has called the escalating prevalence of Type 2 diabetes an epidemic.

Screening and clinical trials are further advancing research to develop therapies that delay or prevent the progression to clinical disease in people at risk of developing Type 1 diabetes.

Drucker and his team study the molecular biology and physiology of the GLP-1 and GLP-2 molecules that regulate glucose metabolism, insulin secretion and energy balance.

Daniel Drucker, MD, a pioneering scientist whose research contributed to the development of the blockbuster GLP-1 medicines used to treat diabetes and obesity, was listed by TIME magazine as one of the 100 Most Influential People of 2024.

The report supports previous clinical trials that found the GLP-1 receptor agonist drug semaglutide reduced kidney disease progression in patients with Type 2 diabetes.