(The diabetes center) would be inter-institutional,” Dr. Sedor said. A joint diabetes center through which local researchers could apply for grants …
Creation of diabetes research center sought
January 10, 2005
By Shannon Mortland
Case Western Reserve University and the major medical centers in Cleveland
are discussing creating a joint Center for Diabetes that would focus on
research and education
The creation of the center was discussed at a diabetes retreat last month
attended by more than 200 local researchers The retreat was held to
discuss the research projects currently in the works at various local
institutions, said Suzanne Johnson, research coordinator at the Diabetes
Association of Greater Clevelands Dietrich Diabetes Research Institute
Dr John Sedor, professor of medicine and physiology and vice president for
research at MetroHealth Medical Center, said the retreat showed much
diabetes research is being conducted locally and that theres great
interest in collaborating on a centralized diabetes center
The diabetes center would be inter-institutional, Dr Sedor said
Anybody that wants to be part of it could be Anybody working together to
cross-pollinate is always more effective
Institutions that already have shown interest in creating a diabetes center
include the Cleveland Clinic, MetroHealth and University
Hospitals Health
System, said Dr Ralph Horwitz, dean of the Case School of Medicine
Dr Horwitz said he hopes to form a task force in January to develop a plan
for the diabetes center, which would focus on diabetes, obesity and
metabolic syndrome Metabolic syndrome is a group of risk factors, such as
elevated blood pressure and obesity, that are found in one person
Dr Horwitz said he and Case are very committed to making sure the center
is established and that it would become nationally known for its diabetes
research
Dr Sedor said the ultimate goal would be for the center here to become a
National Institutes of Health-designated diabetes center The NIH now has
16 such centers at various universities across the country; it provides
those centers with money to create collaborations among researchers doing
high-level diabetes research projects
A joint research effort is particularly important in Northeast Ohio because
1 in 16 local residents has diabetes, Dr Sedor said Theres also a
growing epidemic both locally and nationally of Type-2 diabetes in children
- something that wasnt even discussed in medical schools 20 years ago, he
said So far, theres no explanation for the epidemic in
children, but he
said obesity might play a part in it
Collaboration could help solve such mysteries, but working together hasnt
always been easy, said Dr F Ismail-Beigi, professor of medicine and chief
of clinical and molecular endocrinology at Case
Dr Ismail-Beigi said local medical centers often have felt like they were
in competition with one another, and research grants usually are awarded to
one institution A joint diabetes center through which local researchers
could apply for grants would make it easier for them to work together,
regardless of their employer, he said
Ms Johnson said the Diabetes Association of Cleveland long has envisioned
the creation of a research center and will do whatever it can to make the
dream a reality
The idea is to bring all of these people together, to bring all of the
available resources together, she said Were working in conjunction with
Case and the hospitals to try to do what we can to make that happen
Displayed with Permission of Crains Cleveland Business
Copyright Crains Communications Inc 2005
