About the Scientists
Jerry L. Nadler, M.D.
Director, Strelitz Diabetes Center
Chairman and Professor, Department of Internal Medicine
Jerry L. Nadler, M.D. is Professor and
Chairman of Internal Medicine and the Harry S. Mansbach Endowed Chair in
Internal Medicine and Director of the Strelitz Diabetes Center at
Eastern Virginia Medical School. Dr. Nadler has been a member of a
Special Advisory Committee on Type I Diabetes with the Director of the
National Institutes of Health Diabetes Institute. Dr. Nadler was also
the Associate Director of the NIH funded Diabetes Endocrinology Research
Center at the University of Virginia.
Dr. Nadler has research funding
from the Juvenile Diabetes Foundation, The Ella Fitzgerald Charitable
Foundation and the Iacocca Foundation. Dr. Nadler is a standing member
of the ADA and NIH grant review committees. Dr. Nadler is the scientific
founder of the DiaKine Therapeutics, Inc., a start-up biopharmaceutical
company developing new, proprietary drugs for unmet medical needs in
diabetes and complications related to diabetes.
Aaron I.
Vinik, M.D., Ph.D., FCP, FACP
Scientific Director, Department of Internal Medicine
Professor of Medicine
One of the leading diabetes researchers in the world,
Dr. Vinik is key in the Strelitz Diabetes Center’s quest to cure diabetes. His
focus of attention is:
- the prevention and reversal of diabetic neuropathy and
- the
development of islet cell regeneration research as a cure for diabetes.
Dr. Vinik
spearheaded the discovery of "ilotropin," a chemical substance that can reawaken
a cell’s potential to produce insulin and the gene, INGAP, the protein responsible
for this reawakening.
Dr. Vinik came to the Strelitz Diabetes Center from
the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor where he was professor in Internal Medicine and
Surgery. At the University of Michigan, he established an international reputation for his
research in the areas of hormone secreting tumors and the complications of diabetes,
particularly diabetic neuropathy.
Dr. Vinik has been invited to present his work all over
the world. Recognized as a pioneer and scholar, Dr. Vinik has authored five books, 75 book
chapters, and has published more than 300 papers in peer-reviewed, highly reputable
journals. He has also published more than 260 abstracts, and he and the fellows he has
trained have presented scientific papers and innumerable national and international
meetings.
Dr. Vinik is a member of a number of professional
societies including the American Endocrine, Diabetes, Gastroenterology, and the European
and International Diabetes associations. Dr. Vinik was a member of the National Institute
of Health General Clinical Research Center Study Section and the NIH Data Management
Committee. He was also Chairman of the American Diabetes Association task force on
Nutrition, which established the previous 1985 guidelines for nutritional management of
diabetes, and Chairman of the subcommittee for development of guidelines for neuropathy
testing; in addition, he was also a member of the committee to develop guidelines for
managing lipid disorders in diabetes.
Dr. Vinik has received research funding for his studies
from the National Institutes of Health, the National Cancer Institute, the Kroc
Foundation, the American Diabetes Association, and pharmaceutical industries.
Gary L. Pittenger,
Ph.D.
Associate Professor, Internal Medicine
Associate Professor, Pathology & Anatomy
Director, Protein Chemistry Lab, EVMS Strelitz Diabetes Center
Dr. Pittenger spent 20 years at the University
of Michigan with a particular emphasis on endocrinology. His thesis work
described the role of the low molecular weight heat shock protein in
male reproductive endocrine regulation. He also worked for several years
alongside Dr. Vinik studying the regulation of the gastrointestinal
endocrine system, leading to their collaboration at The Strelitz
Diabetes Center. During this time they developed the concept of "lumones",
hormones that act from the hollow of the organ rather than through the
blood as do hormones. Now, their current research has brought them full
circle with the discovery of INGAP, another growth factor that acts
through the duct of the pancreas.
At the EVMS Strelitz Diabetes Center, Dr.
Pittenger's efforts are focused on two major areas of research. First,
he is studying the proteins that play a role in inducing or regulating
the formation of new insulin-producing cells. He is co-inventor of
INGAP, an inducer of the formation of new insulin-producing cells, and
is currently studying other proteins that play a role in INGAP biology.
Of particular interest are the proteins that bind INGAP. These may
include INGAP receptors on cells, carrier proteins that would allow
transport, or direct interactions with signaling molecules. This figure
shows the targeting of a fluorescent-tagged INGAP to duct cells in the
pancreas, which are thought to be the cells originating new islets.
Dr. Pittenger is also leading studies on how
diabetes causes nerve damage as well as developing methods, such as
measuring nerve fibers in skin, for quantitating the degree of nerve
damage in the skin. These figures illustrate the differences that can be
seen in control subject's skin and the skin of a diabetic neuropathy
patient.
Techniques developed by Dr. Pittenger are now
being used clinically to identify patients that might benefit from
autoimmune therapy and to monitor nerve regeneration in patients who are
responding to therapy. This cartoon illustrates the dying back of nerve
fibers that happens with neuropathy and the regeneration of the nerve
fibers that can occur with appropriate treatment. The nerve endings in
skin are lost as neuropathy advances. After treatment there is a
regrowth of nerve fiber endings into the skin.
Dr. Pittenger is author of over 50 peer-reviewed
journal articles, 75 abstracts and five book chapters and has presented
work done at The Strelitz Diabetes Center at many national and
international meetings. He has trained numerous students at the high
school, undergraduate, graduate and post-graduate levels. He is a member
of several professional societies including the American Diabetes
Association, the New York Academy of Sciences, the American Society for
Cell Biology and the Peripheral Nerve Society.
David Taylor-Fishwick, Ph.D.
Director of the Cell and Molecular Biology Lab
EVMS Strelitz Diabetes Research Center
Assistant Professor, Department of Internal Medicine
Dr. Taylor-Fishwick has been a member of basic science
research teams in England, Switzerland, and the USA. A goal of his research has
been the development of new strategies for disease cure through an understanding of how
growth factors regulate cell function. Before joining SDC, David spent four years in
pharmaceutical research at AstraZeneca in England, latterly as a Principal Molecular
Immunologist. Here he helped identify novel regulatory pathways and investigated the role
of small molecular weight entities on cell regulation in the immune system.
At the SDC Dr. Taylor-Fishwick's major research focus is to identify the genes, proteins and receptors required to regenerate insulin-producing
cells and reverse diabetic neuropathy. INGAP is an islet regenesis-factor identified at
the SDC. The Cell and Molecular Biology lab is studying the regulation of INGAP and its
receptor. By combining these molecular findings with strategies to prevent the immune
destruction of newly generated islets it is anticipated that INGAP or INGAP-like factors
will facilitate a cure for diabetes.
Henri K. Parson,
Ph.D.
Research Assistant Professor
Dr. Henri Parson joined the EVMS
Strelitz Diabetes Research Center (SDRC) in January of 2001. During her
first year, she was extensively involved in the coordination of a
clinical research study involving physical activity, in situ nitric
oxide measurements and neurovascular dysfunction. Subsequently, she was
awarded a two-year American Diabetes Association (ADA) fellowship to
continue performing research on the mechanistic defect in diabetic
neuropathy. She has also presented her work at ADA scientific meetings
and published the results in several peer-reviewed journals. Dr. Parson
was promoted to Director of the Microvascular Biology Lab at the SDRC.
Her mission is to make advances in diabetic neuropathy research by
understanding the mechanistic defect in neurovascular dysfunction and
the cultural and socioeconomic disparities that cause increased diabetic
ulcerations and amputations in minority populations.
Patricia M. Barlow, RN, BSN
Senior Clinical Research Coordinator
Pat Barlow began her career as a
registered nurse working on a diabetes inpatient unit at the University
of Michigan Medical Center, where she met Dr. Aaron
Vinik. In 1985 she began coordinating clinical research trials for him.
When he took the position as Director of Research at the Strelitz
Diabetes Center in 1990, he asked her to join him in setting up and
administering the clinical research program. She now coordinates a team
of researchers working with human subjects to test new and innovative
treatments primarily for diabetic neuropathy (nerve damage), as well as
conducting training for new clinical research employees. She still runs clinical trials, providing care and
monitoring the subjects involved as well as documenting all study-related data.
Ms.
Barlow has worked closely with the research team to describe many of the
nuances of diabetic neuropathies. She has been a co-author on
numerous scientific articles, abstracts and book chapters.
She is a member of the Association of Clinical Research Professionals
and is certified by the ACRP as a Clinical Research Coordinator.
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