This is an application for funds in partial support of an international course to train young investigators in the fundamentals of diabetes epidemiology. A primary goal of a course of this kind is to stimulate in young researchers an interest to further pursue diabetes epidemiology. There is a pressing need for training investigators in this discipline. At the present time, there is only one training program in diabetes epidemiology in the U.S. Furthermore, an international training course of this kind will foster collaborative relationships that cross national boundaries. International collaborations have a high likelihood of significantly advancing our knowledge about the etiology and pathogenesis of this disease. Prevalence of diabetes mellitus is very high in migrant Asians. Some Asian countries are also beginning to demonstrate increased prevalence of diabetes. Due to the large population in Asia, as well as the rapidly increasing Asian and Pacific Islander American population in the United States, an increasing burden from diabetes in terms of morbidity and mortality can be expected. To learn more about factors responsible for this increasing problem, it is important that young researchers interested in diabetes in Asian and Pacific Islander populations become skilled in the methods of diabetes epidemiology and to develop collaborative networks with established researchers. Thus the First Japan-U.S. Diabetes Epidemiology Training Course was held in August, 1991, in Tochigi, Japan, supported by a subsidy from the Japan Diabetes Foundation. It was decided then that the second course would be hosted by the U.S., to be held at the East-West Center, Honolulu, Hawaii. The second course is modeled after the successful first course and is designed to address the continued need for researchers familiar with diabetes epidemiology by introducing this discipline to young researchers from those countries within the Western Pacific Region of the International Diabetes Federation and from Hawaii and North America. Approximately 30 students will interact closely with a faculty of 21 instructors who will be from Asia, Hawaii, North America, and Europe. The 6-day course will consist of a combination of didactic lectures and small work-groups. A syllabus will be provided at the beginning of the course and the course proceedings will be published following the conclusion of the course.
