Dr. Desmond Schatz, associate chairman of pediatrics at the UF College of Medicine and medical director of the UF Diabetes Center of Excellence

The University of Florida is one of 14 nationally recognized diabetes clinical centers selected to participate in the TrialNet research network aimed at preventing or delaying the onset of type 1 diabetes.

The $3 million, five-year grant from the National Institutes of Health provides funding for TrialNet studies at UF and represents a continuation of resources that have supported type 1 diabetes research at UF for more than 20 years.

The TrialNet consortium of 14 centers in the United States and five international centers is funded jointly by the NIH and private diabetes foundations. Through the research network, scientists hope to improve the understanding of the natural history of type 1 diabetes, screen and identify persons at risk and conduct clinical trials to evaluate promising new therapies that prevent, slow or reverse the progression of the disease.

“Involvement in TrialNet is critical because these kinds of studies require participation from hundreds of patients if we are to really understand what treatments are effective,” said Dr. Desmond Schatz, associate chairman of pediatrics at the UF College of Medicine and medical director of the UF Diabetes Center of Excellence. “One center cannot recruit enough patients to reach these numbers, so we are successful only if we work together.”

Abigail Neal was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes at age 4. At the time, she was the youngest patient to receive an insulin pump at Shands at UF.

Type 1 diabetes, previously known as juvenile diabetes, is usually diagnosed in children and young adults. It is an autoimmune disease in which the insulin-producing cells in the pancreas are destroyed by the immune system, requiring daily insulin replacement and frequent blood sugar checks by patients. Type 1 diabetes is one of the most prevalent chronic diseases diagnosed in children in the United States.

UF’s TrialNet investigators include Schatz, Dr. Michael Clare-Salzler, chairman of the department of pathology, immunology and laboratory medicine; Mark Atkinson, professor of pathology and the American Diabetes Association eminent scholar chair; and Dr. Michael Haller, assistant professor of pediatric endocrinology.

As one of the original institutions participating in TrialNet, UF has been a top performing center in the network. TrialNet studies at UF include a vaccination study that aims to preserve insulin production in patients with newly onset diabetes, a study to determine the risk of diabetes for family members of children with type 1 and research into the prevention or delay of diabetes through the administration of insulin.

From left, Drs. Mark Atkinson, Mike Haller, Desmond Schatz and S. Robert Levine

Washington, DC, June 13, 2008 — Mary Tyler Moore, the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation’s international chairman, and her husband, S. Robert Levine, M.D., presented the sixth annual “Excellence in Clinical Research Award” to a team of UF College of Medicine scientists at JDRF’s annual conference today in Washington, DC.

The recipients of this year’s prestigious honor are Mark Atkinson, Ph.D., director of the JDRF Gene Therapy Center for Diabetes and Diabetic Complications at the University of Florida and University of Miami; Michael Haller, M.D., a professor of pediatrics and a researcher; and Desmond Schatz, M.D., medical director of the UF Diabetes Center of Excellence and associate director of the General Clinical Research Center.

The three researchers are involved in several innovative JDRF-funded studies to accelerate the development of a cure for type I diabetes, including using umbilical cord blood stem cells as a potential therapy and investigating drug treatments used in tandem to provide immune suppression while boosting the regeneration of insulin-producing cells.

“We are honored to present JDRF’s 2008 Excellence in Clinical Research Award to Drs. Schatz, Haller and Atkinson. Their willingness to challenge conventional wisdom and consequent ground-breaking work in translating novel scientific insights into new, potentially life-changing therapies and cures represents the sort of leadership we value most. Their pioneering research in the area of preservation and restoration of pancreatic beta cell mass and function in type 1 diabetes has moved us many steps closer to a cure,” stated Mary Tyler Moore and S. Robert Levine MD.

Dr. Atkinson has spent 25 years in the field of type 1 diabetes research. An internationally recognized authority in several research fields and a past JDRF chair for medical science research, his work focuses on disease prediction and prevention, environmental factors in the onset of the disease and the study of gene therapy to cure diabetes and prevent its complications.

Dr. Haller has committed his career to developing safe and effective therapies to prevent and reverse type 1 diabetes. The recipient of several prestigious awards for his work, he is an active investigator in TrialNet Research funded by the National Institute of Health and chairs the Clinical Implementation Committee of the TEDDY study, which focuses on determining the role of environmental factors in the development of diabetes.

Dr. Schatz has been involved in type 1 diabetes research since the 1980s, focusing on prediction, natural history, genetics and prevention of the disease, as well as the management of children and adolescents with type 1 diabetes. The author of more than 170 manuscripts, he is the principal investigator on several JDRF and NIH projects and co-principal investigator on a JDRF-funded project studying the origin and development of type 1 diabetes.

The annual “Excellence in Clinical Research Award” recognizes outstanding scientists who are pursuing research toward finding a cure for type 1 diabetes and its complications. Presented each year at JDRF’s conference, it is named for Moore and Levine in honor of their longtime extraordinary efforts and commitment to JDRF’s mission to find a cure for diabetes and its complications through the support of research.