KDC Training Environment

The Kovler Diabetes Center at the University of Chicago offers an outstanding environment for specialized training of young scientists in many aspects of the diabetes research that is ongoing in the Center as well as for developing their early independent careers. The training goes right through from undergraduate summer research programs, to graduate students, post doctoral fellowships (both basic and clinical) and junior faculty.

The Committee on Molecular Metabolism and Nutrition (CMMN) at the University of Chicago provides a graduate training program with strong ties to the Kovler Diabetes Center. The CMMN is a unique doctoral training program in the molecular basis of biological processes as they relate to metabolic homeostasis, nutritional status and human disease, especially diabetes and obesity. The majority of CMMN graduate research projects are related to obesity and/or diabetes. All members of the Kovler Diabetes Center at the University of Chicago, are also on the faculty of the CMMN. Some members of the Kovler Diabetes Center are additionally linked to other graduate training programs, including immunology, developmental biology, and genetics and cell biology, that casts the net further a field  in graduate training in diabetes/obesity research.

The Kovler Diabetes Center is also tightly linked to the Section of Endocrinology, Diabetes & Metabolism in the Department of Medicine at the University of Chicago. As part of this Section is a strong Endocrine Fellowship training program, where young clinician scientists specialize in Endocrinology, of which a major part is Diabetes and Obesity research.

As well as these formal training programs there are numerous data sessions, journal clubs, internal and external seminars that are part of the research programs going on in the Kovler Diabetes Center. This creates a marvelous training environment for basic diabetes/obesity research for postdoctoral fellows for which there is a strong history and tradition at the University of Chicago. The Diabetes Research and Training Center (DRTC) as part of the Kovler Diabetes Center plays an instrumental role in this training program, especially via its Enrichment Core that sets up programs, workshops, seminars and local/regional scientific meetings to cater for the education and ‘hands on' specialization in diabetes/obesity research of postdoctoral fellows and young scientists. Moreover, the DRTC's successful Pilot and Feasibility program enables young scientists and junior faculty to pursue their own research ideas and set them well own their career path of independent research.

Of course, the general scientific environment at the University of Chicago offers terrific core facilities for many programs in diabetes/obesity research and training.