Thanks to your caring support, we’re making important progress to ensure everyone with diabetes can live long, healthy lives. We’re excited to share how your giving is advancing comprehensive, equitable diabetes care and research that will lead to better treatments for diabetes and associated disorders.
Thanks to generous donor support, five years ago we launched the UW Medicine Diabetes Institute. The institute is a first-of-its-kind in the Pacific Northwest, uniting multidisciplinary diabetes care and state-of-the-art laboratories under one roof to bring the latest research discoveries to patients faster.
In 2022, your support helped us complete 15,000 patient visits at the UW Medicine Diabetes Institute, providing research-informed comprehensive care across glycemic management, nutrition and
diabetes-related complications.
Donor support is vital for getting innovative basic and clinical research projects off the ground. Thanks to foundational support from donors like you, UW Medicine Diabetes Institute scientists authored over 75 publications and secured over $10 million in new
research grants last year.
Reducing heart and kidney disease risk in people with diabetes
The Bornfeldt, Kanter and Vaisar Labs have made important progress in understanding the role of remnant lipoprotein in the increased risk of heart and kidney disease in patients with diabetes. Therapies aimed at blocking production of this lipoprotein could reduce this disease risk.
Resurfacing the small intestine to improve glucose control
Duodenal mucosal resurfacing is an investigational procedure being studied in our Clinical Research Unit to treat type 2 diabetes. During this endoscopic procedure, a portion of the small intestine is treated with heat, normalizing some metabolic functions. In early clinical trials, the procedure improved glucose control and body weight and reduced the need for insulin in patients a year after treatment.
Providing culturally accessible care to institutionally underserved communities
Under the leadership of Dr. Lorena Wright, the LatinX Diabetes Clinic celebrated its second anniversary in 2022 and served nearly 500 patients. The clinic’s mission is to reduce disparities in a population disproportionately affected by diabetes and its complications by providing bilingual, multicultural, personalized care and prevention outreach.