Despite major advances in treatment during the past decade, type 2 diabetes remains a leading cause of death and disability. Improved strategies for primary and secondary prevention are urgently required to check the expanding public health burden related to type 2 diabetes. Improvements in primary prevention will hinge on the identification of novel modifiable risk factors beyond obesity and physical inactivity. Improvements in secondary prevention will depend on the development of strategies to translate existing knowledge about treatment into clinical practice. In the US, the need for such advances is especially acute in African Americans and other minority populations, who have higher prevalence rates of type 2 diabetes and its complications, yet less access to high-quality medical care. To make these advances, young patient-oriented researchers will need mentorship in the areas of molecular epidemiology, clinical epidemiology, clinical trials, and preventive medicine. As an expert in these areas, Dr. Brancati proposes to apply K24 funds towards the mentorship of a growing cadre of young patient-oriented scholars at Johns Hopkins committed to the epidemiology and prevention of type 2 diabetes and its complications, with special emphasis on diabetes in the African American community.
Specific aims on the way to this overarching goal are as follows:1. Recruit a diverse, multi-disciplinary team of talented, young diabetes scholars from a variety of fields.2. Promote formal training in epidemiology and clinical research methods leading an Masters or PhD.3. Place trainees in a rich, supportive, highly collaborative research environment.4. Guide trainees towards novel research questions that spark collaborations with laboratory scientists. 5. Provide research mentorship for projects based in one of the following NIH-funded studies.a. ARIC Study - a long-term epidemiologic study of 15,000 middle-aged adultsb. Look AHEAD - a secondary prevention trial in 5,000 overweight adults with diabetesc. Project Sugar 2 - a cost-effectiveness trial in 800 urban African Americans with diabetes Dr. Brancati has already established a strong track record of mentorship in patient-oriented research in the epidemiology and prevention of type 2 diabetes and its complications. With K24 support, he can expand the breadth of his mentorship activities, drawing even more young scholars into patient-oriented diabetes research at Hopkins and preparing them to make scientific advances in diabetes prevention.
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