Diabetes Research
The University of Arizona has a dedicated focus on diabetes research, with a hub of laboratory investigators housed in the Medical Research Building of the Arizona Health Sciences Center.
UA Diabetes Research faculty members include:- David G. Armstrong, DPM, PhD, Professor of Surgery and Director Southern Arizona Limb Salvage Alliance (SALSA) investigates the epidemiology, classification, and treatment of lower extremity complications of diabetes and wound healing.
- Janis Burt, PhD, professor in the Department of Physiology, studies the role of gap junctions to heart and vascular cell growth, communication and response to injury or diseases such as diabetes.
- Heddwen Brooks, PhD, associate professor of Physiology, is investigating the role of menopause and sex-related hormones on diabetes, particularly how these impact diabetic kidney disease.
- Betsy Dokken, NP, PhD, assistant professor, Department of Medicine, is studying the effects of diabetes on heart function and recovery from injury. Her recent work investigates how gastrointestinal tract hormones or their pharmaceutical analogs may protect heart cells from damage.
- Janet Funk, MD, research associate professor in the Department of Medicine, studies the efficacy of botanicals in inflammatory processes, and the emerging link between metabolic diseases such as diabetes and osteoporosis.
- Erik Henriksen, PhD is a professor in the Department of Physiology and an expert in skeletal muscle insulin resistance in diabetes and the metabolic syndrome. He is currently investigating the contribution of glycogen synthase kinase-3 to insulin resistance and the effects of inhibiting this system thereby improving muscle glucose metabolism.
- Sean Limesand, PhD, assistant professor of animal sciences, studies the effects of hormonal and environmental factors on intra-uterine fetal pancreas development, insulin secretion and glucose homeostasis.
- Ronald Lynch, PhD, professor in the Department of Physiology, investigates how energy metabolism is integrated with function in nutrient-sensing cells, and cells of the vasculature. These studies relate directly to understanding the development of diabetes and its many complications.
- Leslie Ritter, RN, PhD, a professor from the Department of Neurology and the College of Nursing, studies the damaging effects of high-circulating glucose upon cerebral vascular tissues, and determines mechanisms by which people with diabetes suffer more severe brain injuries after a stroke.
- Alexander Simon, PhD, associate professor of Physiology, studies the role of intracellular channels made up of connexin proteins and how these channels impact heart and blood vessel development and function.
- Craig Stump, MD, PhD, associate professor of medicine, is the interim director for the Diabetes Research Program. His laboratory investigates the contribution of physical inactivity, obesity and insulin resistance to the development of type 2 diabetes mellitus, metabolic syndrome, cardiovascular disease and related co-morbidities.
- Tsu-Shuen Tsao, PhD, assistant professor, Department of Biochemistry, is working to understand the molecular, cellular, and whole body physiological basis of obesity and the metabolic adaptations that develop in response to this condition, particularly with regard to the structure and function of hormones derived from fat cells.
- Stephen Wright, PhD, professor in the Department of Physiology, investigates the intricate tubular system of the kidney and the organic electrolytes from dietary or pharmaceutical sources transported across tubular cell membranes.
CLINICAL and TRANSLATIONAL RESEARCH
- Craig Stump, MD, PhD, in conjunction with the Arizona Proteomics Consortium, is working to identify modified protein biomarker(s) of diabetes and pre-diabetes which would lead to early diagnosis and treatment.
Contact Us
Diabetes Research at The University of Arizona College of Medicine
Medical Research Building
PO Box 245218
Tucson, AZ 85724
(520) 626-4317
