WE ARE THE UAB COMPREHENSIVE DIABETES CENTER
Celebrating 15 years of diabetes research
This year marks a significant milestone in the UAB Comprehensive Diabetes Center– the 15th anniversary of the center's founding.
UAB Comprehensive Diabetes Center (UCDC) was approved by the Board of Trustees of the University of Alabama and is the result of a collaborative effort between UAB, Children’s Hospital and members of the Birmingham Community. It was established as a university-wide interdisciplinary research center in 2008 with a mission to perform cutting-edge research, train future clinicians and researchers, and develop novel treatment approaches.
Now, the UCDC is comprised of over 200 faculty members from 10 different schools and many departments. It also serves as the umbrella for various research programs and awards; including the prestigious P30 Diabetes Research Center (DRC), U01 Human Islet Research Network (HIRN) grants from the National Institute of Health (NIH) and several research core facilities. Faculty research autoimmune Type 1 diabetes, Type 2 diabetes, diabetes complications, beta cell biology, oxidative stress, signaling and metabolism as well as diabetes risk factors, epidemiology, intervention studies, outcomes research and drug discovery.
Colleagues and friends,
As we enter into our 15th year of the UAB Comprehensive Diabetes Center (UCDC), we extend our gratitude to faculty, staff, trainees, and donors who give so generously of their resources to support the UCDC. Only with your support have we been able to perform cutting-edge research and achieve major breakthroughs in the understanding and treatment of diabetes.
Your impact at the UCDC is clear. Last year alone, we published many peer-reviewed research articles including 30 key papers in prominent journals; launched a strategic recruitment initiative with the Heersink School of Medicine to add up to 10 more faculty and labs to our center; and had several graduate students complete their training and successfully defend their dissertations.
To our donors: We know that you give with a purpose. You give in honor of a loved one with diabetes. You give in hope that we will find curative therapies and oral treatments. You give to advance science. The center is honored and propelled by your impactful gifts.
To our researchers: Let's continue to expand our understanding of diabetes with every experiment, analysis, and validation that we run. May we not forget our "why" as we move toward new curative therapies for diabetes. Each of you is essential to our mission to improve the lives of those with diabetes, and the center is grateful for your dedication to diabetes research.
As we continue through 2023 and beyond, we look forward to the UCDC growing in the number of research professionals as well as trainees. As we grow, so will our research expertise and capabilities, allowing us to continue to discover novel diabetes treatment options.
Sincerely,
Anath Shalev, M.D. | Professor & Director
UAB Comprehensive Diabetes Center
Nancy R. and Eugene C. Gwaltney Family
Endowed Chair in Juvenile Diabetes Research
Department of Medicine | Heersink School of Medicine
Celebrating 15 years of love for what we do
To mark this momentous anniversary, we intend to celebrate all year. Stay tuned to our socials and newsletter for important announcements celebrating incoming faculty and new discoveries.
Every gift propels us forward
When you donate to the UCDC, you directly support our continuous research efforts to enhance the understanding and treatment of diabetes. Whether you give in honor of a loved one, colleague, or friend, the UCDC is grateful for your support. Located at the epicenter of the diabetes epidemic, the center is uniquely positioned to address this major challenge to our community. Supported by one of the four largest academic medical centers in the United States, the UCDC is a powerhouse for understanding and treating diabetes through its large body of research.
As the UCDC embarks on its next stage of growth, it is launching an ambitious fundraising campaign to accelerate and expand discovery and innovation efforts. These fundraising efforts will support for one, the new Strategic Faculty Recruitment Initiative in Diabetes Research recently launched in collaboration with the Heersink School of Medicine to bring the center’s highly successful, robust interdisciplinary research to the next level and two, to push the boundaries of science to develop even better and more targeted diabetes treatment approaches and diagnostic tools.
