Education & Research Team
Christopher J. Rhodes, PhD
Director of Scientific and Translational Research, University of Chicago Kovler Diabetes Center;
Professor of Medicine
In his role Director of Scientific and Translational Research, Dr. Rhodes leads a team committed to further strengthening collaborations between basic research and clinical care, so that findings from the research lab can be applied to improve treatment. Dr. Rhodes is a nationally respected authority in pancreatic islet/beta-cell research, including molecular mechanisms that control pancreatic islet beta-cells. His current investigations focus on increasing beta-cell growth and survival as a means to potentially delay or even prevent onset of Type II diabetes.
Graeme I. Bell, PhD
Director, Diabetes Research and Training Center (DRTC);
Louis Block Professor of Medicine
The overall goal of Dr. Bells research program is to identify the genes that cause diabetes directly or that increase susceptibility to diabetes. He is studying both monogenic and polygenic forms of diabetes. He and his colleagues have shown that maturity-onset diabetes of the young, a monogenic form of diabetes characterized by autosomal dominant inheritance, onset usually before 25 years of age and often in childhood or adolescence, and a primary defect in pancreatic beta cell function can result from mutations in the glycolytic enzyme glucokinase and the transcription factors hepatocyte nuclear factor (HNF)-1a, -1 and 4a. They are also studying the genetics of type 1 and type 2 diabetes and carried genomewide screens to map the genes that affect the development of these two forms of diabetes. They recently showed that sequence variation in the calpain-10 gene is associated with a 1.4-3-fold increased risk of type 2 diabetes and clinical studies suggest that variation in this gene affects risk through the effects of calpain-10 on insulin action and insulin secretion. Dr. Bells studies are providing a better understanding of the pathophysiology of diabetes and the diverse molecular mechanisms that can lead to hyperglycemia.
David Ehrmann, MD
Director of Education, University of Chicago Kovler Diabetes Center; Director, University of Chicago Center for PCOS;
Professor of Medicine
Dr. Ehrmann is board certified in endocrinology, diabetes and metaboilism, and in internal medicine. As an endocrinologist, he has a key role in diabetes education. Dr. Ehrmann oversees all educational programs aimed at patients, physicians and the general public. He is an expert on polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) in women, as well as type 2 diabetes in men and women. Because women with PCOS are more likely to also have diabetes, Dr. Ehrmann's research includes studies of the relationship between insulin-sensitizing agents and PCOS. He has written more than 60 medical publications and served on numerous national committees and editorial boards.
Donald F. Steiner, MD
A.N. Pritzker Distinguished Service Professor of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
Dr. Steiner is recognized among the world's leading diabetes researchers. In 1965, he discovered that the double-chain hormone insulin is made in the pancreas as proinsulin - a single chain that doubles back on itself and is later transformed to become insulin. Proinsulin was the first "pro-hormone" to be discovered. Dr. Steiner's findings about how proinsulin becomes insulin enabled pharmaceutical companies to improve the purity of animal-based insulin preparations and revolutionized the management of insulin-dependent diabetes for individuals worldwide.
