Mark Atkinson

UFDI investigators and collaborators found that granulocyte colony stimulating factor monotherapy did not affect C-peptide production, HbA1c, or insulin dose.This study supports the continued exploration of G-CSF and other mobilizing agents in subjects with T1D, but only when combined with immunodepleting agents where synergistic mechanisms of action have previously demonstrated…

UFDI investigators and collaborators at Arizona State University found that the Epstein-Barr virus may have a role in type 1 diabetes development.

Two recent publications explored different methods of delivering a vaccine for type 1 diabetes, both of which prevented 40 percent of mice from developing the disease.

UFDI faculty and a University of Miami researcher found that “reduced pancreas weight allows for comparisons across a wide range of donor ages by eliminating confounding variables.”…

“In less than a decade, nPOD has provided more than 140 research teams with tissues for T1D-related research and grown from 6 collaborating labs to 168 in 17 countries.”…

Diamyd Medical, a Swedish medical research company, annouced that it will join a research initiative launched by JDRF aimed at increasing the understanding of the natural progression of type 1 diabetes in order to transform and accelerate drug development for the disease. Diamyd Medical will contribute data that will be made available to industry and academia partners through an open access database together with similar data from other late stage type 1 diabetes studies.

Mark A. Atkinson, PhD., director of the University of Florida Diabetes Institute, and Alberto Pugliese, M.D., head of the Immunogenetics Program at the University of Miami's Diabetes Research Institute, were recently honored with the JDRF Mary Tyler Moore and S. Robert Levine Excellence in Clinical Research Award on behalf of the JDRF Network for Pancreatic Organ Donors with Diabetes (nPOD). Learn more.

Researchers at the University of Florida Diabetes Institute and University of Miami Diabetes Research Institute will share a new $3.3 million collaborative grant awarded by The Leona M. and Harry B. Helmsley Charitable Trust that will help fast-track significant discoveries in Type 1 diabetes worldwide. Read more.

Benjamin Keselowsky, Ph.D. has received a new NIH R01 grant for “Biomaterial Delivery System for Type 1 Diabetes Vaccine”. Funded by the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases in collaboration with UF Diabetes Institute Director, Mark Atkinson, Ph.D., and Clive Wasserfall, this, $1.5M grant will fund the investigation of biodegradable microparticle/hydrogel formulations delivering immuno-modulatory factors to targeted immune cell types for the prevention and reversal of T1D.

In 2013, the global prevalence of diabetes was estimated at 382 million. By 2035, the number is expected to reach 592 million. The International Diabetes Federation (IDF) estimates that 8.3% of adults – 382 million people – have diabetes, and the…