13 July DRC Director's Report - July 2022 July 13, 2022 By The Fraternal Order of Eagles Diabetes Research Center DRC, Diabetes, Iowa 0 Recently, the University of Iowa Fraternal Order of Eagles Diabetes Research Center (FOEDRC) held our annual Diabetes Research Day in collaboration with the University of Minnesota Institute for Diabetes, Obesity and Metabolism. This year, Diabetes Research Day was a hybrid event comprised of speakers from both institutions and split into two different events. Our first keynote speaker was Bryan Bergman, PhD. Professor in the Division of Endocrinology, Metabolism and Diabetes at the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus who gave a talk entitled Intermuscular Adipose Tissue: A Novel Adipose Depot Impacting Muscle Strength, Size, and Insulin Sensitivity in Humans. Our second keynote address was given by Carmella Evans-Molina, PhD, MD, Director, Indiana Diabetes Research Center Indiana University School of Medicine who presented a talk entitled Precision Approaches to Disease Modifying Therapies in Type 1 Diabetes. In addition to the keynote address, Dr. Eric Weatherford of the University of Iowa FOEDRC provided a new update on our Metabolic Phenotyping Core, and Dr. Maria Razzoli of the University of Minnesota presented an update on the Physiology Core. Trainees from both institutions also presented their ongoing research: Kathleen Robinson presented a talk entitled Experiences of Weight Stigma in Healthcare: A Mixed Methods Analysis; Adeyinka Taiwo presented Metabolomics analysis of Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease; Megan Beetch, Briana Clifton, Brian Ahkaphong, and Emilyn Alejandro presented Mechanisms of Fetal Programming of Metabolic Dysfunction by Placental mTORC1 Nutrient Sensing; Tyler Titcomb presented Association of Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus with Dementia-related Mortality Among Postmenopausal Women: A Prospective Cohort Study; Gary Deng presented Loss of ciliary adenylyl cyclase 3 in the ventromedial hypothalamus results in a sex-dependent obese phenotype in Type 1 Diabetes. The winners of the 2021 Collaborative Pilot & Feasibility Grant, Katie Larson-Ode, MD, Clinical Associate Professor, Department of Pediatrics in the Division of Endocrinology at University of Iowa and Melena Bellin, MD, Associate Professor in the Department of Pediatrics, Division of Endocrinology, University of Minnesota gave a talk on their Pilot & Feasibility research entitled “Mechanisms of Dysglycemia and Development of Diabetes in Children with Acute Recurrent or Chronic Pancreatitis:” In addition, in our virtual talk sessions (in lieu of a traditional in person poster session) we featured over 130 faculty members, trainees, post-docs, and graduate students from both the University of Iowa and the University of Minnesota. The Diabetes Research Day 2022 a resounding success. We are already looking forward to Diabetes Research Day 2023! Related Articles DRC Director's Report - July 2021 The Spring 2021 issue of the Carver College of Medicine Magazine “Medicine at Iowa”, circulated to all UI alumni, featured an important serendipitous breakthrough by scientists at the University of Iowa Fraternal Order of Eagles Diabetes Research Center (FOEDRC). FOEDRC scientists discovered at safe new way to manage blood sugar non-invasively with electromagnetic fields (EMFs). This discovery could have major benefits in diabetes care, particularly for patients whose current treatment plan is cumbersome and involves checking their blood sugar multiple times daily with finger sticks. DRC Director's Report - September 2022 Over the past decade, evidence has emerged indicating that high blood sugars in type 1 diabetes cause adverse brain changes in children. The adverse changes include abnormal brain structural alterations and reduced functioning on some cognitive tests. Over the past few years, hybrid closed-loop insulin pumps have become commercially available. These devices combine a continuous glucose monitor (CGM) with an insulin pump that is controlled by an algorithm that uses the CGM data to inform insulin delivery. DRC Director's Report - July 2023 Dr. Julien Sebag is leading one of the research projects funded through the Bridge to Cure program. This month, his project has reached a major milestone, having been published in a prestigious journal. In this publication Dr. Sebag recognized the support provided by the FOE through the Bridge to the Cure program. DRC Director's Report - July 2020 The greatest risks to long-term health in people with diabetes arise from diabetic complications, particularly cardiovascular disease. However, the mechanisms by which the metabolic changes associated with type 2 diabetes like insulin resistance increases the risk of heart failure are less understood. In a recent publication in JCI Insight, E. Dale Abel, MD, PhD, and other members of the Fraternal Order of Eagles Diabetes Research Center in collaboration with other institutions, have uncovered an important molecular link between diabetes and heart failure. DRC Director's Report - May 2022 Obesity causes a buildup of fat metabolites, including a toxic lipid molecule ceramide. Buildup of ceramide worsens health because it contributes to the development of diabetes and other diseases. Previous work has shown that targeting ceramide is an effective strategy to treat obesity, diabetes and associated cardiovascular disease. This can be achieved using a molecule called myriocin which is a very potent inhibitor of ceramide generation. Myriocin-mediated reduction of ceramide levels was found to be an effective way to treat obesity and associated diseases in rodents. Myriocin, which is not approved for use in humans, is abundant in a number of fungal species including the one called Cordyceps which is routinely consumed as part of traditional Chinese medicine used for the treatment of numerous diseases including diabetes. DRC Director's Report - June 2022 On May 24, 2022, Fraternal Order of Eagles members joined the University of Iowa President, College of Medicine Executive Dean, faculty, staff and students for an investiture ceremony honoring three Carver of College of Medicine faculty. Showing 0 Comment Comments are closed.