Latest News

DRC Director's Update - September 2019

It has long been known that increased abdominal fat, is a major risk factor for developing diabetes. A new study done by Yangbo Sun, MD, PhD, and colleagues, under supervision of Wei Bao, MD, PhD, assistant professor in the Department of Epidemiology and a member of the FOEDRC, has identified a concerning new and underrecognized complication of increased belly fat, namely a high-risk for premature death particularly in post-menopausal women, who might not be obese or overweight.

DRC Director's Update - August 2019

FOE Diabetes Research Center faculty recognize the importance of continuing the tradition of research excellence as we fight for the bridge to the cure. Because of this, part of our mission must be the preparation of the next generation of diabetes researchers. In addition to our commitment to training Ph.D. students and Postdoctoral scholars, the FOEDRC is a leader at the University of Iowa in providing research experience to our undergraduate students.

DRC awards Verna Funke Chair to Dokun

I am pleased to announce that Ayotunde O. Dokun, MD, PhD, FACE, will become Director of the Division of Endocrinology and Metabolism in the Department of Internal Medicine at the University of Iowa Carver College of Medicine, effective July 1, 2019. Dr. Dokun joins us from the University of Tennessee Health Science Center where he was an Associate Professor of Medicine and Chief of the Endocrine Service at Regional One Health.

DRC Director's Update - June 2019

In healthy adults, blood pressure (BP) decreases during sleep at night to lower levels than during the daytime. This phenomenon is referred to as nocturnal BP “dipping” and normally dips 10-20% compared with daytime. Blunted nocturnal BP dipping has been independently associated with increased cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk. The prevalence of blunted nocturnal BP dipping is higher in persons with obesity and diabetes, which are traditional risk factors for CVD. 

DRC Director's Report - May 2019

E. Dale Abel, MD, PhD, was elected as the president-elect of the Endocrine Society in October of 2017. At the annual scientific meeting of the Endocrine Society in New Orleans, Dr. Abel was sworn in as the Endocrine Society’s newest president. His one year presidential term began on March 20, 2019.

DRC Director's Report - April 2019

In a recent study done by Wei Bao, MD, PhD, assistant professor in the Department of Epidemiology and member of the FOEDRC, his research team found that frequent consumption of fried foods, especially fried chicken and fried fish/shellfish, was associated with a higher risk of death from all causes and cardiovascular disease in women in the United States. 

Women with at least one serving per week of fried chicken had a 13% higher risk of death from all causes, and a 12% higher risk of death from cardiovascular disease, when compared with women with no consumption of fried chicken.

Eagle Village Officially Opens New Rec Center

On February 23, Eagle Village unveiled a bigger, better recreational center for residents, members, and guests to enjoy. The project, which has been under construction for the last few months, features more than 5,000 sq. ft. on the inside, and 1,200 sq. ft. for the covered deck outside. The rec center features one large open space for gatherings and celebrating events, such as birthdays and holidays, instead of the old structure’s multi-room layout.

Members of the Grand Aerie and the Eagle Village board were on hand to cut the ribbon on the new building, including Grand Worthy President Carl Burnett and Past Grand Worthy President and Eagle Village board member Jerry L. Sullivan. 

DRC Director's Report - March 2019

Brian T. O’Neill, MD, PhD, assistant professor in the Division of Endocrinology in the Department of Internal Medicine and member of the FOEDRC recently published in the journal Diabetes the discovery that FoxO  proteins, which are transcription factors  that regulate DNA, are the critical regulators of diabetes-related muscle atrophy.

DRC Director's Report - February 2019

The Department of Defense office of the Congressionally Directed Medical Research Programs has awarded DRC member, Ethan Anderson, Associate Professor College of Pharmacy, funding as part of its Peer Reviewed Medical Research Program (PRMRP) Discovery Award competition. The project is: Exploiting the Paracrine-Like Effect of Prohibitin-1 to Treat Septic Cardiomyopathy. The grant will provide $310,000 in total support over a 2-year period.

DRC Director's Report - January 2019

The new year is always a time to look back and reflect on the many achievements of the prior year. I have been pleased that the Fraternal Order of Eagles has committed continued support to a program that will be overseen by the FOEDRC that seeks to develop new treatments for diabetes and its complications and to bring them ultimately to market. The Bridge to the cure program represents an innovative collaboration and we are excited by what this new year will bring. For this reason, I have chosen to write about one example from a FOEDRC member that recently demonstrated the ability of the compound nicotinamide riboside to restore nerve damage from chemotherapy. We believe that this same mechanism could lead to improved nerve function in people with diabetes. I hope that you will enjoy reading about this exciting advance below.