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.

The UCDC is a University-Wide Interdisciplinary Research Center 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.

Ongoing projects in the UCDC span clinical, translational and basic research and encompass 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. UCDC faculty research projects are supported by funding from the National Institutes of Health, Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation, American Diabetes Association, American Heart Association, Veterans Affairs and the Department of Defense, as well as industry.

UAB Comprehensive Diabetes Center also offers an active enrichment program with educational services including diabetes related conferences, seminars and training opportunities for established scientists and clinicians as well as for trainees covering a broad spectrum of topics and featuring local experts and speakers from across the nation and around the world.

UAB Comprehensive Diabetes Center Vision Statement

We envision a Comprehensive Diabetes Center that serves as one of the nation’s foremost contributors to cutting-edge diabetes research, comprehensive education and training, and provides breakthroughs that ultimately enhance the clinical care and improve the lives of those affected by diabetes in our community and beyond. To achieve these goals all members of the Comprehensive Diabetes Center contribute their ingenuity, talent and expertise and work collaboratively together making the UCDC a nationally recognized entity in the quest for a diabetes cure.

Center Leadership

Director: Anath Shalev, MD

Center Administrator: Tiffany Grimes, RN