Latest News

Membership Department Announces Re-Enrollment, Early Bird Contest Winners

Earlier this year, the Grand Aerie Membership Department held a pair of contests geared toward growing our Membership. The Re-enrollment contest was held from March 1-May 31 with members receiving one entry for each re-enrollee they sign during the period. Winners will receive $250.

The Early Bird contest was held from April 15-May 31 with the Aeries and Auxiliaries achieving the highest percentage of renewals and the highest number of renewals receiving a $1,000 credit on their next Per-Capita Tax payment.

The Membership Department is proud to announce our contest winners!

FOEDRC Continues To Lead In Studies Increasing Our Understanding of FGF21

DRC Director's Report, July 2017

As diabetes researchers work to identify potential new treatments for diabetes, colleagues at the FOEDRC continue to advance our understanding of how newly discovered hormones might work in ways that may lead to new ways to treat and prevent obesity and diabetes. One such hormone is fibroblast growth factor 21 (FGF21). Dr. Matthew Potthoff recently showed in mice that this hormone critically regulates the “sweet tooth” in mice. In a recent follow up study with collaborators from Denmark and published in the Journal Cell Metabolism,  it is now confirmed that FGF21 also regulates sweet preference in humans.  Now, Dr. Potthoff’s team has solved another piece of the puzzle by showing how and where FGF21 might act to regulate the body’s metabolism.

DRC Receives $2.02 Million Training Grant From National Institutes of Health

I am pleased to share with you that Dr. E. Dale Abel, Director of the Fraternal Order of Eagles Diabetes Research Center (FOEDRC) and Chair of the Department of Internal Medicine, and Dr. Andrew (Andy) Norris, FOEDRC’s Associate Director, have just been awarded a five-year, $2.02M training grant from the National Institutes of Diabetes, Digestive and Kidney Diseases of the National Institutes of Health. The T32 grant will fund the Diabetes Research Training Program at the University of Iowa and will support up to six post-doctoral trainees or subspecialty fellows per year. The grant will support existing trainees or support the recruitment of outstanding new trainees to the University of Iowa.

Islamorada, Florida Eagles #4550 Officially Instituted

Paradise Eagles #4550 in Islamorada, Florida, became the latest official Aerie of the Fraternal Order of Eagles on May 21, in a special ceremony held in the city near Key West. The Aerie was instituted with 55 new members and 52 dual members with 50 initiated during the ceremony. 

The Aerie was organized by Dennis Conner and State Worthy Vice President William Lucek with D. John Gingras serving as the Instituting Deputy. 

Understanding How The Bacteria In Our Gut Affects Diabetes

DRC Director's Report, May 2017

Diabetes significantly increases the risk for heart attacks and stroke. However treating blood sugar levels and even high cholesterol in the blood might not completely prevent these complications of diabetes. For this reason many researchers are looking for new connections between diabetes and vascular disease. FOEDRC researchers Dr. Ajit Vikram and Kaikobad Irani recently published an important discovery in the Journal Nature Communications that provides new understanding of why blood vessel inflammation and damage occurs in subjects at high risk for cardiovascular disease.

Washington State Senate Honors Eagles

On April 17, The Washington State Senate honored the Fraternal Order of Eagles with a special resolution in gratitude for their cultural and charitable endeavors. Resolution 8633 was presented by Sen. Phil Fortunato (R-District 31), a member of the Buckley Eagles. The resolution was inspired by the Eagles work raising $25 million to fund the Fraternal Order of Eagles Diabetes Research Center and a cumulative total of more than $1 million to St. Jude's Children's Hospital in Memphis, Tenn.

First Time Proposer Contest Winners Announced

Earlier this year, the Grand Aerie Membership Department held their inaugural First Time Proposer contest from Dec. 1 – Feb. 28, offering $250 to Aerie and Auxiliary winners from each of our 16 regions. Each first time proposer during the period received an entry into the contest, with the winner in each region selected at random. The Membership Department is proud to announce this year’s winners:

ADA To Honor Career Achievements of Daryl Granner, MD

DRC Director's Report, April 2017

Dr. Daryl Granner is the founding director of the Fraternal Order of Eagles Diabetes Center (FOEDRC). He is a stalwart in diabetes research and I am deeply grateful for the groundwork which he laid in putting in place the structure and framework around which the FOEDRC has been built and for his ongoing commitment to our success. Thus, I was particularly pleased to learn that Dr. Granner will be recipient of one of the most prestigious awards granted for a life-long commitment to diabetes research from the American Diabetes Association.

PGMP Kathy Gonzagowski Passes Away

Katherine S. Gonzagowski, 75, of Mesa, AZ, passed away Feb. 8, 2017. She is survived by her brother Bruce Gonzagowski, Mesa, AZ and many close friends and relatives. She was born in Mauston, WI on July 29, 1941. Her parents were Joseph and Myrtle Gonzagowski who preceded her in death. She spent most of her adult life in Madison, WI, where she worked for 40 plus years as an LPM at the Central Center for the developmentally disabled.

How Diabetes Harms The Heart

Study in mice involving FOEDRC researchers, reveals heart-damaging pathway triggered by insulin, identifies possible drug targets to prevent or treat heart failure.

Diabetes is hard on the heart.

Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death in people with diabetes, and risk for heart failure—where the heart can’t pump enough blood—is two to three times higher in men and up to five times higher in women with diabetes compared to people without diabetes.