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Strelitz Diabetes Center: Research

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:

  1. the prevention and reversal of diabetic neuropathy and
  2. 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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