Diabetes Pro Quarterly - Summer 2017 - 15

77TH SCIENTIFIC SESSIONS NEWS

National Scientific and Health Care Achievement Award Recipients
The American Diabetes Association recognized eight top researchers, clinicians, and educators in the field of diabetes with
National Scientific and Health Care Achievement Awards at its
77th Scientific Sessions in San Diego, Calif., in June.
The Association's highest honor,
the Banting Medal for Scientific
Achievement, was presented to
Domenico Accili, MD (shown on right),
the Russell Berrie Foundation Professor
of Diabetes, chief of the Endocrinology
Division, and director of the Diabetes
Research Center at Columbia University
College of Physicians and Surgeons in
New York, N.Y.
Dr. Accili, who has contributed to more than 230 publications,
is highly regarded for transformative research findings that
have advanced our understanding of the pathogenesis of type
2 diabetes.
His research program has been instrumental in defining the
integrated physiology of insulin action and mechanisms of pancreatic β-cell failure. He is best known for his work to elucidate
mechanisms of hepatic glucose production, enteroendocrine cell
differentiation, and β-cell dedifferentiation. Perhaps his most important contributions to date have been in the area of pancreatic
β-cell biology, and specifically in the demonstration that β-cell
failure, long held to be a consequence of cell death, can result
from a dedifferentiation process, whereby β-cells lose the ability
to make insulin, revert to a progenitor stage, and convert to cell
types that produce other hormones. Germane to this discovery
is the observation that enteroendocrine cells have the potential
to give rise to functional insulin-producing cells in the gut-a
property that is being investigated as a therapeutic opportunity
for type 1 diabetes.
This work comprised a significant portion of Dr. Accili's Banting
Medal Lecture, titled "The New Biology of Diabetes," which
concluded that, with more research to provide a comprehensive
picture of the β-cell, we should be able to identify actionable targets for new drug intervention to restore β-cell function. These
exciting studies were complemented by Dr. Accili's presentation
of data showing that intestinal cells can be reprogrammed to
produce insulin. This intriguing result may lead to a new way to
treat type 1 diabetes with patients' own cells in a way that may be
safe from autoimmunity and immune destruction.
Gregory R. Steinberg, PhD, was
awarded the Outstanding Scientific
Achievement Award, which recognizes
a researcher under the age of 50 years
who has made significant contributions
to the field of diabetes research, demonstrating originality, independence of
thought, and substantial impact. Dr.
Steinberg is a professor of medicine,
Canada research chair, and J. Bruce

Duncan Endowed Chair in Metabolic Diseases, and co-director
of the Metabolism and Childhood Obesity Research Program at
McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada.
Dr. Steinberg identified important connections between inflammation and fat metabolism and how they contribute to insulin
resistance. He found that the active ingredient in aspirin may
promote health by increasing the activity of a protein kinase
that promotes lipid and glucose homeostasis. He also identified
the molecular mechanisms explaining how the glucose-alanine
cycle maintains blood glucose during prolonged fasting and
how exercise and metformin elicit their glucose-lowering effects.
Dr. Steinberg's laboratory recently described the first endocrine
factor shown to inhibit brown fat activity and a key molecule
required for maintaining mitochondrial function in this tissue.
These pioneering discoveries may have important implications
for treating metabolic diseases, and Dr. Steinberg is actively
involved in translating this body of science to the development of
new therapeutics for type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease.
In his award lecture titled "Energy Sensing and Metabolism:
Implications for Treating Diabetes," Dr. Steinberg explained how
energy sensors inside cells measure the status of nutrients and
regulate energy use and storage. His laboratory has discovered
that, when activated, AMP-kinase informs the body that its fuel
level is low. Alternatively, when the body's energy level is high,
synthesis of peripheral serotonin is increased, and AMP-kinase
activity is suppressed. Results from Dr. Steinberg's work suggest
that we may be able to develop new therapies to treat type 2
diabetes by activating AMP-kinase and inhibiting peripheral serotonin and that these new medications may act in concert with
metformin to further improve diabetes-related outcomes.
Daryl K. Granner, MD, a professor emeritus of molecular physiology and biophysics at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tenn.,
and professor emeritus of molecular physiology and biophysics
and internal medicine at the University of Iowa in Iowa City, was
recognized with the Albert Renold Award, presented for careers
distinguished by outstanding achievement in mentorship of
diabetes research scientists.
With a renowned research program investigating the hormonal
regulation of gene expression, Dr. Granner's laboratory made
significant contributions to our understanding of how insulin
regulates glucose metabolism. Most of his trainees have become
tenured faculty members in diabetes and metabolism. Beyond
his own laboratory, Dr. Granner founded and directed National
Institutes of Health (NIH)-sponsored training programs in molecular endocrinology at the University of Iowa and Vanderbilt
University. Combined, these two programs have trained more
than 120 students and fellows. Furthermore, Dr. Granner led the
Vanderbilt Medical Scientist Training Program, which tripled
in size under his leadership. He established an NIH-supported
Diabetes Endocrinology Research Center at Iowa and, more
recently, their Fraternal Order of Eagles Diabetes Research
Center. At Vanderbilt, he consolidated several entities into the
Comprehensive Vanderbilt Diabetes Center and co-founded
continued on page 16

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