Yale University

The Yale Diabetes Research Center (DRC) was established in the spring of 1993 with the goal of promoting research in diabetes and related metabolic and endocrine disorders at the university. The DRC brings together a multidisciplinary group of nearly 100 independent member scientists as well as professional supporting staff, new investigators and research trainees from the Departments of Internal Medicine, Pediatrics, Immunobiology, Biology, Cell Biology, Molecular Biophysics and Biochemistry, Genetics, Molecular and Cellular Physiology, Pharmacology, Surgery, Orthopedics, Neurosurgery, Neurology, Psychiatry, Dermatology, Obstetrics and Gynecology, Diagnostic Radiology and from the Schools of Public Health and Nursing.

The scope of the research activities of the membership is very broad, ranging from basic molecular biology to whole body clinical physiology in patients with diabetes. The members, however, share a common interest in research that is related to diabetes and metabolism or is fundamental to understanding its pathogenesis or for the development of new treatment strategies. The design of the Yale DRC is aimed at developing an infrastructure that could serve as a catalyst to stimulate innovative research. The cornerstone of the Yale DRC is its five Research Cores that provide funded basic and clinical investigators with the opportunity to more efficiently utilize resources and expand the scope of their research programs. The Clinical Metabolism Core facilitates metabolic research in patients. The Molecular Genetic Core, the Physiology Core, and the Cell Biology Core offer investigators the tools to create and test novel animal models starting from the molecule and ending with biological outcomes. The Diabetes Translational Core provides an infrastructure to facilitate patient-based diabetes research. The Administrative Core oversees the operation of the DRC, its Pilot/Feasibility Project and Enrichment Programs, and helps to coordinate patient-based research in diabetes.

The goals of the DRC are to:

• stimulate multidisciplinary interactions, particularly between basic and clinical scientists;
• efficiently organize time consuming and/or costly techniques through Core facilities to enhance the productivity of investigators conducting research in diabetes related areas;
• promote new research programs through pilot feasibility projects;
• enhance the quality of research training and
• create an institutional environment that amplifies and expands research efforts in diabetes or related metabolic and endocrine disorders.