NIH Funds Center for Diabetes Translation Research led by Albert Einstein College of Medicine

BRONX, N.Y., Dec. 8, 2016 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The National Institutes of Health has awarded researchers at Albert Einstein College of Medicine and Montefiore Health System a five-year, $2.9-million grant to launch a new center, one of only 8 in the country, for diabetes translation research. The center—the New York Regional Center for Diabetes Translation Research (NY Regional CDTR)—also includes faculty from the Icahn School of Medicine at Mt. Sinai and the New York Academy of Medicine and will serve as a collaborative hub for investigators conducting studies on pre-diabetes, diabetes and its complications.

The two principal investigators on the grant are Elizabeth A. Walker, Ph.D., R.N., professor of medicine and of epidemiology & population health at Einstein, and Judith Wylie-Rosett, Ed.D., R.D., professor and division head of health promotion and nutrition research in the department of epidemiology & population health, and Atran Foundation Chair in Social Medicine at Einstein.

"Our overall goal is to improve the health of people who have diabetes or are at risk for developing it, with a focus on low-income communities and various racial and ethnic groups that are disproportionately affected by the disease and poor access to care," says Dr. Wylie-Rosett. "Einstein and Montefiore have a long-standing commitment to social justice, and this center provides a way for us to share our research expertise with others trying to reduce health disparities and promote health equity."

Members of certain ethnic and racial groups—including Latinos/Hispanics, African-Americans and Asian-Americans—face a higher risk for developing diabetes than do non-Latino white adults. They are also at increased risk for diabetes-related complications, such as lower limb amputations, vision loss and kidney failure. In addition, diabetes is 70 percent more common in high-poverty neighborhoods than in more affluent ones. This regional research center will concentrate on improving diabetes prevention, care and diabetes self-management education among these groups through research activities.

"Our center will support and promote collaborative, innovative programs of research to tailor diabetes interventions for different ethnicities and age groups and to reduce obesity, a major risk factor for diabetes, and make the best use of electronic medical records and telecommunication—efforts aimed at prevention of diabetes and its complications," says Dr. Walker.

"We are particularly excited that the center will include the newly-created Latino Network for Diabetes Translation Research, a joint effort with investigators from the NIH-funded Hispanic Community Health Study (HCHS)/Study of Latinos (SOL)," adds Dr. Walker.

Consultative resources within the NY Regional CDTR will support diabetes prevention and control research:  across the lifespan; in population health and health systems; and for intervention research methods including biological, behavioral, psychological and social factors.  Other key Einstein-Montefiore faculty leaders include: associate center directors Carmen Isasi, M.D., Ph.D., and Jeffrey S. Gonzalez, Ph.D., and co-investigators Carol Derby, Ph.D., M. Diane McKee, M.D., M.S., and Urvashi Patel, Ph.D., M.P.H.

The new center's multidisciplinary members include 77 investigators doing research in diabetes prevention and control from 16 institutions including: Columbia University; Weill Cornell Medical College; Drexel University; University of Massachusetts Medical School at Worcester; New York University; Penn State University; San Diego State University; Scripps Whittier Diabetes Institute; Stanford University; Tufts University; University of California at Irvine; and University of Illinois at Chicago.

The grant is titled "The New York Regional Center for Diabetes Translation Research" (P30DK111022). 

About Albert Einstein College of Medicine
Albert Einstein College of Medicine  is one of the nation's premier centers for research, medical education and clinical investigation. During the 2016-2017 academic year, Einstein is home to 717 M.D. students, 166 Ph.D. students, 103 students in the combined M.D./Ph.D. program, and 278 postdoctoral research fellows. The College of Medicine has more than 1,900 full-time faculty members located on the main campus and at its clinical affiliates. In 2016, Einstein received more than $160 million in awards from the National Institutes of Health (NIH). This includes the funding of major research centers at Einstein in aging, intellectual development disorders, diabetes, cancer, clinical and translational research, liver disease, and AIDS. Other areas where the College of Medicine is concentrating its efforts include developmental brain research, neuroscience, cardiac disease, and initiatives to reduce and eliminate ethnic and racial health disparities. Its partnership with Montefiore Medical Center, the University Hospital and academic medical center for Einstein, advances clinical and translational research to accelerate the pace at which new discoveries become the treatments and therapies that benefit patients. Einstein runs one of the largest residency and fellowship training programs in the medical and dental professions in the United States through Montefiore and an affiliation network involving hospitals and medical centers in the Bronx, Brooklyn and on Long Island. For more information, please visit www.einstein.yu.edu, read our blog, follow us on Twitter, like us on Facebook and view us on YouTube.

About Montefiore Health System
Montefiore Health System is one of New York's premier academic health systems and is a recognized leader in providing exceptional quality and personalized, accountable care to approximately three million people in communities across the Bronx, Westchester and the Hudson Valley. It is comprised of 10 hospitals, including the Children's Hospital at Montefiore, Burke Rehabilitation Hospital and close to 200 outpatient care sites. The advanced clinical and translational research at its' medical school, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, directly informs patient care and improves outcomes. From the Montefiore-Einstein Centers of Excellence in cancer, cardiology and vascular care, pediatrics, and transplantation, to its' preeminent school-based health program, Montefiore is a fully integrated healthcare delivery system providing coordinated, comprehensive care to patients and their families. For more information please visit www.montefiore.org. Follow us on Twitter and view us on Facebook and YouTube.

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