Diabetes Clinical Research Center

Overview

Clinical and translational researchers in the Diabetes Unit have a long history of developing and applying effective new treatments of diabetes.

Highlights include:

• Development of new methods for measuring long-term glucose control that guide therapy;
• Pancreas and islet transplantation for type 1 diabetes
• Development of implantable insulin pumps
• Intensive therapies for type 1 and type 2 diabetes
• Discovery of new hormonal therapy for type 2 diabetes
• Innovative methods to treat the disease and prevent long-term complications
• Development of the bionic pancreas in collaboration with Boston University
• Translation of research to practice
• Development of health care policy recommendations
• Quality improvement research
• Precision medicine

Group Members

Our researchers include epidemiologists, physicians, bench scientists, dietitians and nurses.

Clinical Investigators

• Rhonda M. Bentley-Lewis, MD, MBA
• Enrico Cagliero, MD
• Linda M. Delahanty, MS, RDN
• Jose C. Florez, MD, PhD
• Mary Larkin, MS, RN, CDE
• David M. Nathan, MD
• Steven J. Russell, MD, PhD
• Nancy J. Wei, MD
• Deborah J. Wexler, MD

Clinical Research Nurses

• Courtney A. Balliro, BS, RN, CDE
• Andrea deManbey, RN, BSN, CDE
• Michele Maheno, RN, BSN
• Kimberly Martin, RN, BSN
• Christine R. Stevens, BS, RN
• Lindsey Wilkinson RN, CDE

Clinical Research Dietitians

• Ellen Anderson, MS, RD, LDN
• Laurie Bissett, MS, RDN
• Valerie Goldman, MS, RDN
• Jeanna Perrotta, MS, RD

Research Projects

In total, the researchers from the Diabetes Clinical Research Center are currently following more 1,000 research participants in our studies conducted at Mass General. Click on the page links for more information about these studies.

Current Research Clinical Trials

• Closed loop pump therapy of type 1 diabetes: Development of an artificial pancreas for the treatment of type 1 diabetes
• Diabetes Prevention Program Outcome Study: Follow-up of the Diabetes Prevention Program cohort to determine the long-term effects of diabetes prevention
• Epidemiology of Diabetes Interventions and Complications Study: Follow-up of DCCT cohort to examine the long-term effects of intensive therapy
• LookAHEAD Study: Examines the means of preventing heart disease in type 2 diabetes
• SUGAR-MGH and PHARMGen: Determination of the effect of genetic background on responsiveness to different treatments of type 2 diabetes, to introduce precision medicine
• SIGMA mixed meal tolerance test: Determination of the effect of a high-calorie, high-carbohydrate challenge reflective of the American diet on glucose control, depending on genetic background
• Reversal of type 1 diabetes with BCG treatment: Pilot study based on previous mouse studies to reverse the autoimmunity of type 1 diabetes
• TODAY: Study of the best means to treat type 2 diabetes in children and adolescents
• GRADE Study: Study to determine the most effective glucose-lowering drug added to metformin in type 2 diabetes
• REAL HEALTH-Diabetes: Study to test effectiveness of group lifestyle intervention (diet and exercise program) based in primary care in the community on weight loss and diabetes outcomes in type 2 diabetes

Notable Past Research Clinical Trials

• Diabetes Control and Complications Trial (DCCT): Hailed as the most important studies in diabetes since the discovery of insulin, the DCCT demonstrated the primacy of intensive metabolic control in preventing the development of complications in type 1 diabetes and established Mass General as one of the premier centers for the study of type 1 diabetes and its complications
• Implantable Pump Project: an international study lead by Mass General investigators that established the utility of an implantable pump (first developed by Mass General investigators, in the treatment of type 1 diabetes.)
• Whole organ transplantation: the first program in New England to establish a high rate of success and safety of simultaneous kidney/pancreas transplantation.
• Islet transplantation: the first successful isolation and purification of human islets in New England with subsequent transplantation
• Diabetes Prevention Program (DPP): A multicenter, NIH-sponsored study, lead by MGH investigators, that established the means of preventing type 2 diabetes.
• Immune Tolerance Network Study: an international study investigating islet transplantation as a treatment of type 1 diabetes.
• Established a 75% success rate in normalizing blood sugar control in type 1 diabetes.

Other Clinical Research

In addition to the clinical trial studies highlighted above, the MGH Diabetes Unit has performed studies of human physiology and numerous epidemiologic studies in collaboration with the Framingham Heart Study, Baltimore Longitudinal Study of Aging, and Nurses and Physicians Health Studies that have explored the risk factors of diabetes and its complications and in particular the relationship between glycemia and heart disease. Other areas of active research include quality improvement, translation, and health care policy research.

For information about participating in clinical research, read a Harvard Catalyst Guide on being a research subject.

Publications

View recent publications from the Diabetes Clinical and Translational Research Center. Some full-text articles may require a subscription