29 November DRC Director's Report - December 2018 November 29, 2018 By The Fraternal Order of Eagles Diabetes Research Center 0 As we come to the end of another successful year for the FOEDRC, I want to thank the FOE and my colleagues within the Diabetes Research Center for continuing to push the research boundaries to improve the lives of many who suffer from diabetes. On a personal note, I received a number of honors for my work this year including being asked to deliver the Presidential Lecture of the University of Iowa, receiving Fraternal Order of Eagles Humanitarian Award and the 2018 History Makers Award - the African American Museum of Iowa (AAMI). My receipt of this recognition is really a recognition of what you do and I consider myself very fortunate to lead such an outstanding organization. To close out the year I thought you might be interested in reading about some ways that our researchers are turning “fun and games” into a benefit for our patients with diabetes. With funding from a pilot grant from the Fraternal Order of Eagles Diabetes Research Center, Philip Polgreen, MD, MPH, Professor in the Department of Internal Medicine and a member of the FOEDRC, along with collaborators in the Departments of Computer Science and Health and Human Physiology, built a mobile-health game called MapTrek designed to increase physical activity levels. The game uses data collected from a participant’s Fitbit and displays it on a map, along with the progress of other participants, creating a virtual race, with games situated in different locations, where participants can view scenic vistas as they progress along a different course each week. In a recent article in The Journal of the American Heart Association, Polgreen and his collaborators demonstrated that MapTrek increased activity over a Fitbit alone. 146 sedentary office workers, who reported sitting at least 75 percent of their workday, were assigned to either the MapTrek group or a Fitbit-only group. Data were collected for 10 weeks. The MapTrek group walked 2,092 more steps per day and were active for 11 more minutes per day compared with the Fitbit-only group. With additional funding from National Institutes of Health (NIDDK), Polgreen and his collaborators are now analyzing what appear to be very promising results for a trial among patients at high risk for developing diabetes. The research group hopes to use this type of intervention to increase physical activity in other groups at risk for diabetes. Related Articles DRC Director's Report - December 2018 As we come to the end of another successful year for the FOEDRC, I want to thank the FOE and my colleagues within the Diabetes Research Center for continuing to push the research boundaries to improve the lives of many who suffer from diabetes. On a personal note, I received a number of honors for my work this year including being asked to deliver the Presidential Lecture of the University of Iowa, receiving Fraternal Order of Eagles Humanitarian Award and the 2018 History Makers Award - the African American Museum of Iowa (AAMI). My receipt of this recognition is really a recognition of what you do and I consider myself very fortunate to lead such an outstanding organization. To close out the year I thought you might be interested in reading about some ways that our researchers are turning “fun and games” into a benefit for our patients with diabetes. DRC Director's Report - November 2018 We have known for a very long time that obesity is associated with many cardiovascular and metabolic diseases. Type 2 diabetes, fatty liver disease (where liver stores fat in large lipid droplets), coronary artery disease, heart failure, and many more chronic diseases are all linked to obesity. DRC Director's Report - December 2020 Dr. Vitor Lira Associate Professor of Health and Human Physiology and member of the FOEDRC was recently awarded a new grant from the National Institutes of Health in the amount of $563,723. The grant entitled: “Molecular regulation of protein turnover in skeletal muscle” will study an important condition that afflicts many individuals as they age, particularly those with diabetes. Aging-related skeletal muscle atrophy and weakness, also referred to as sarcopenia, affects millions of people contributing to the development of several chronic conditions associated with poor health outcomes, such as diabetes, cardiovascular diseases and neurodegenerative diseases. Although sarcopenia remains poorly understood and lacks effective therapy, aged muscles manifest a problem of poor protein turnover or recycling which is called proteotoxicity. DRC Director's Report - December 2022 We recently announced the results of the Fraternal Order of Eagles Diabetes Research Center twelfth round of pilot and feasibility research grants. These grant awards fund innovative pilot projects by early career investigators who are entering the diabetes research field, or established investigators with innovative ideas that focus on a new direction in diabetes research. The goal of the program is to generate data that will enable awardees to compete for peer-reviewed national funding for projects that show exceptional promise. A total of 13 researchers from across the University of Iowa campus submitted meritorious proposals that underwent a comprehensive and competitive review. DRC Director's Report - December 2019 In individuals with obesity and type 2 diabetes a surplus of energy from too much food or increased glucose and lipids can increase tissue metabolism to damaging rates. This is much like a river overflowing its banks, where water no longer channeled in a controlled way can cause catastrophic damage by being in the wrong places. DRC Director's Report - December 2021 On September 23, the Carver College of Medicine hosted the Fall 2021 investiture to celebrate endowed faculty appointments. The receipt of endowed chairs recognizes faculty whom have established a track record of accomplishment and whose ongoing success will pave the way for the future of medicine. We are proud to announce that Matthew Potthoff, PhD, associate professor in the Department of Neuroscience and Pharmacology is the newest FOEDRC member appointed to an endowed chair. Showing 0 Comment Comments are closed.