Boston Area Diabetes and Endocrinology Research Center (BADERC)

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ABSTRACT The Boston Area Diabetes Endocrinology Research Center (BADERC) is a consortium of laboratory-based and clinical investigators whose efforts are directed toward addressing the major research questions bearing on the etiology, pathogenesis, treatment and cure of type 1 and type 2 diabetes, and their associated microvascular and macrovascular complications. The Center Director (Jose Florez) and Associate Directors (Barbara Kahn and Alexander Soukas) are highly productive senior investigators of international stature. The 64 participating scientists, with combined annual direct costs in excess of $110M in diabetes-related grant support, are based at various Boston-area research institutions, including the major Harvard Medical School-affiliated teaching hospitals (the Massachusetts General Hospital, the Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, the Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston Children’s Hospital) and research institutes (the School of Public Health, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, the Broad Institute), the Boston University Medical Center, and the Tufts New England Medical Center. These investigators are working at the cutting edge of fields most relevant to defining the pathogenesis and optimal treatment of type 1 and type 2 diabetes, such as 1) the molecular basis of insulin action and insulin resistance; 2) the neurobiology of energy balance; 3) the immunologic basis and optimal therapies for autoimmunity and transplant rejection; 4) the genetic architecture of diabetes and related traits; and 5) the development of new methods for glycemic monitoring and control. The BADERC offers these scientists an Enrichment Program and an array of core support services (Cell Biology, Transgenic Animals, Metabolic Physiology) that incorporate the latest technical advances in molecular genetics, cell biology, and metabolic physiology provided by acknowledged experts and provide hands-on training. New Cores in Clinical Investigation and Bioinformatics are proposed in this application. BADERC investigators also receive facilitated access to several platforms of the Broad Institute (Genomics, Proteomics, Metabolomics, Imaging, Gene editing). The BADERC also offers a highly subscribed and successful Pilot & Feasibility grant program, and BADERC investigators support summer medical students for a research experience. The easy access to cost-effective support services of outstanding quality, together with the educational and pilot grants program, have promoted many collaborations, and attracted new talent from this outstanding scientific community to diabetes research. Finally, the Center strives to foster the closest interactions between the laboratory based and clinical scientists, so as to ensure the translation of research discoveries into advances in the care of patients with diabetes.