City of Hope’s newly-created Department of Diabetes and Metabolic Diseases Research, housed in the Leslie & Susan Gonda (Goldschmied) Diabetes & Genetic Research Center, is one of eight departments of Beckman Research Institute. It encompasses the laboratory efforts of the Division of Diabetes, Endocrinology & Metabolism and the Division of Gene Regulation and Drug Discovery. Combining these resources with an efficient administrative infrastructure allows for a uniquely focused approach to diabetes research.

City of Hope has a long and impressive history of groundbreaking discoveries in the field of diabetes, spanning over four decades of intense investigation. Arthur Riggs, Ph.D., chair of the new Department of Diabetes and Metabolic Diseases Research and director emeritus of Beckman Research Institute, is a pioneer in diabetes research. He is recognized for his work in synthesizing human insulin, which largely replaced animal-derived (porcine or bovine) insulin and became the standard of care for diabetes worldwide. City of Hope’s Division of Diabetes, Endocrinology & Metabolism is also renowned for its islet cell transplantation program, which offers an increasingly viable treatment option for type 1 diabetes.

The incidence of diabetes has doubled over the last 30 years, according to the American Heart Association. A study conducted by the Centers for Disease Control warns that type 2 diabetes – which accounts for 90 to 95 percent of diabetes cases – is increasing at the alarming rate of 5 percent per year. This increase is occurring in tandem with a sharp rise in obesity. The combination of diabetes and obesity, known as metabolic syndrome, is associated with markedly elevated rates of atherosclerotic heart disease and stroke. In addition, research suggests a strong link between the genetic and molecular mechanisms of diabetes and the development of cancer, making the prevention and control of diabetes even more urgent. These issues are the major focus of the Division of Gene Regulation and Drug Discovery.

The Department of Diabetes and Metabolic Diseases Research incorporates the research of its two divisions, and has as its primary goals:

• Advancing islet cell transplantation and related treatments for type 1 diabetes
• Understanding the genetic and molecular signaling mechanisms that lead to diabetes and its complications
• Developing drugs that precisely target receptor molecules responsible for diabetes, and in so doing, preventing the development of associated diseases such as cancer, heart disease and stroke
• Probing the relationship between diabetes and cancer in order to better understand cancer etiology and to develop effective therapeutic
• interventions that address molecular targets common to both diseases

Through a generous gift from its namesakes, an addition to the Leslie & Susan Gonda (Goldschmied) Diabetes & Genetic Research Center is expected to be completed in 2010, providing the department even greater resources to continue its vital research endeavors.