Dr. Laffel focuses her research and clinical interests on preventing the late complications of type 1 diabetes and preserving the health, normal growth, development and family functioning of children, adolescents and young adults with diabetes. Under her leadership, the Joslin Clinic Pediatric, Adolescent and Young Adult Section has nearly quadrupled in size, with a large pediatric research program complementing the clinical activities. Dr Laffel and her associates have ongoing studies looking at factors that are predictors of persistence and progression of micralbuminuria in childhood type 1 diabetes onset.
A primary focus of Dr. Laffel's research has been the design, implementation, and evaluation of office-based interventions aimed at increasing family involvement in the day-to-day care of youth with diabetes in order to prevent the expected deteriorations in self-care behaviors and glycemic control that usually occur in late adolescence. This effort has had ongoing funding from the National Institutes of Health and private foundations since 1993. Currently, her research interests include the study of the relationship between nutrition and type 1 diabetes, with 5 years of funding from the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD). She also serves as Principal Investigator on an investigation examining barriers to sustained Continuous Glucose Monitoring use in youth and a behavioral intervention to facilitate adherence to diabetes management tasks in teens. Both of these investigations are funded by NIH.
