History

The University of Alabama Diabetes Research and Training Center was first established in 2008 by Dr. W. Timothy Garvey. In 2013 it became the UAB Diabetes Research Center (DRC). The UAB DRC is the only NIDDK diabetes center located in the Deep South, at the 'Diabetes Belt' epicenter characterized by the highest rates of diabetes in the US. The Center has developed a comprehensive strategy for new discoveries and a strong environment for training the next generation of research leaders. Thus, the UAB DRC endeavors to lessen the burden of patient suffering and the high social costs of diabetes.

Mission

The primary mission of the center is to promote excellence in diabetes research. The UAB DRC offers extensive laboratory, personnel, and programmatic resources in support of diabetes related research. The DRC encompasses five research core facilities: REDOX Biology, Animal Physiology, Human Physiology, and Interventions & Translation Research. The resources and facilities attendant to each core are described in detail in the individual core descriptions. There are many university-wide resources available to researchers and trainees of the DRC. Our center is part of this rich environment and is key to our success and productivity. Over the past 6 years, the DRC has galvanized the UAB research community around the study of diabetes resulting in an increase in membership from 115 to 179, and a 32.5% increase in extramural research funding. Through these efforts, the center ultimately endeavors to decrease diabetes morbidity/mortality, and to provide an outstanding environment for training and career development in diabetes research.

Our specific aims are to:

1. Facilitate and enhance diabetes research by sponsoring research core facilities expressly required by our investigator base. The five research cores cover a broad translational spectrum: Bioanalytical REDOX Biology, Animal Physiology, Human Biology, and Interventions & Translation Cores.
2. Augment diabetes research via a pilot & feasibility grant program that will emphasize innovation, translation, and career development of highly promising junior investigators.
3. Sponsor an integrated Enrichment Program that promotes a cohesive environment for an outstanding multi-disciplinary investigator base, which will enhance learning, collaboration, collegiality, and innovation.
4. Build upon the progress achieved over our first 4 years by responding to the evolving needs of our investigators and through leadership that impels new ideas and lines of investigation.
5. Emphasize research, training, and outreach that are responsive to the needs of our trainees, achieve better outcomes for our patients, and lessen the high burden of diabetes in our community and nation.
6. Leverage the resolve of UAB leadership, substantial institutional commitments, and generous philanthropy from our community to further impel the development of a pre-eminent center of diabetes research excellence in the heart of the Deep South. Our DRC is located in a community with the highest rates of diabetes in the US, and unites investigators around common themes to study diabetes in the context of cardiometabolic disease.

Acknowledge the DRC

It is extremely important for our continued funding that we show progress and growth. One of the best indicators of this is our publications. Please always remember to acknowledge the Diabetes Research Center.

A suggestion for how the acknowledgement can be worded is:

We are grateful to the UAB Diabetes Research Center (NIH P30 DK-079626) for providing outstanding core services in support of this research.