Alberto Pugliese, M.D., Director of The Wanek Family Project for Type 1 Diabetes

For National Diabetes Month, Ashley’s Beyond Home Promise is highlighting City of Hope’s Arthur Riggs Diabetes & Metabolism Research Institute to raise awareness about how diabetes affects people in the United States.

Diabetes is a chronic health condition that affects how your body turns food into energy. It affects millions of people worldwide and can cause serious and life-threatening complications over time.

There is no cure for diabetes. With your support, Ashley and City of Hope are determined to change that.

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Scientists at City of Hope’s Arthur Riggs Diabetes & Metabolism Research Institute discuss the groundbreaking research they are conducting as part of the Wanek Family Project for Type 1 Diabetes.

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Diabetes incidence is growing.

There is an urgent need for better prevention, treatment and cures.

1 out of every 10 people in the U.S. has diabetes — that’s 37.2 million people.
Of those, 1.8 million have type 1 diabetes. The rest have type 2.
1 in 5 people in the U.S. with diabetes do not know they have it.
About 97 million people in the U.S. are at risk of developing type 2 diabetes.

Symptoms of diabetes include increased thirst, frequent urination, extreme hunger, unexplained weight loss, fatigue, irritability, blurred vision, slow-healing sores and frequent infections (such as gum or skin infections).
Diabetes complications include heart disease, nerve damage, kidney damage, eye damage, foot damage, skin conditions, hearing impairment, Alzheimer’s disease and depression.

How City of Hope Is Helping

City of Hope is a global leader in diabetes research and one of the largest cancer research and treatment organizations in the United States. Synthetic human insulin, essential to millions of diabetics worldwide, was developed through research performed here. With support from the Wanek Family Project for Type 1 Diabetes, investigators at the Arthur Riggs Diabetes & Metabolism Research Institute are advancing some of the world’s most promising approaches to treat type 1 diabetes and to prevent and slow the progression of type 2 diabetes.

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Exciting Areas of Research Underway

City of Hope approaches diabetes from all angles: early identification, treatment, cures and complication prevention. Some promising areas of research include:

Biomarkers

City of Hope has identified key new biomarkers that may facilitate the prediction and prevention of diabetes.

Immunotherapy

It has developed immunotherapies to stop the attack on beta cells that is the hallmark of type 1 diabetes, including a preventive “vaccine” that is being tested in humans.

Cancer and Diabetes

Modified groundbreaking cancer therapies, such as antibody and CAR T cell therapies, are being applied to type 1 diabetes, both to rescue insulin-producing beta cells from immune system attack and to rejuvenate them.

Gene editing

Novel strategies, such as gene editing, are being explored to prevent diabetic complications.

Impact of the Wanek Family Project

Since the collaboration between City of Hope and the Wanek Family Project began in 2017, City of Hope has achieved:

21 patents for next-generation therapies
Six clinical trials to test promising treatments and therapies
385+ publications, sharing findings with other researchers that have revolutionized the way diabetes is understood around the world

The work is ongoing and accelerating.

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Wanek Project Director conducting medical research in the lab

You can help accelerate treatments and cures

Thanks to incredible advances in research and treatment, there’s hope for people living with diabetes and their loved ones. You can help accelerate this work to save lives and find cures.

Support from the Wanek family and people like you enables City of Hope to help more people — faster. Please join us.

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