Arthur Riggs Diabetes & Metabolism Research Institute
Overview
The Arthur Riggs Diabetes & Metabolism Research Institute is one of the world's foremost scientific organizations dedicated to investigating the biology of diabetes and its treatment — led by Debbie C. Thurmond, Ph.D., Chan Soon-Shiong Shapiro Distinguished Chair in Diabetes.
The Riggs Institute's primary goals include:
- Discovering new biomarkers to identify those at risk for developing diabetes and its complications
- Deciphering epigenetic mechanisms and related drug targets for diabetic complications and metabolic memory
- Developing drugs that precisely target the receptor molecules responsible for diabetes
- Developing new immune therapies to rebalance the immune system and halt or reverse type 1 diabetes
- Reviving and/or replacing the cells that make insulin
- Studying the relationships between diabetes and cancer
Through a private partnership and significant commitment of institutional funds, we have brought together collaborative research teams, appointed world-renowned leaders and recruited top talent from around the world — and this is just the beginning.
Educational Programs
The PROMT (Prevention Risk Omics Metabolism and Therapy of Diabetes) Interdisciplinary Training Program provides two years of clinically relevant education and training to students from traditionally underrepresented backgrounds. Graduates of the PROMT program have the necessary skills and motivation to identify and overcome barriers to translating discoveries into practice for the betterment of individuals with diabetes and other metabolic diseases.
The Arthur Riggs Diabetes & Metabolism Research Institute Summer Research Program offers high school and undergraduate students real-world research experience in diabetes and metabolism.
Clinical trials are designed to test the safety and/or effectiveness of promising new treatments that are not yet approved. Other studies gather information through questionnaires or blood samples to help develop future treatment advances.
Latest News at the Riggs Institute
Annual Events
This symposium honors Dr. Rachmiel Levine and Dr. Arthur Riggs who had a major impact on the understanding and treatment of diabetes and its complications worldwide.
This symposium brings together researchers who are building expertise along the interfaces of obesity, carcinogenesis, diabetogenesis, and complications of treatments.
Recent Grants and Publications
- JDRF — Three-year grant, $900,000
Sequential multi-molecule release from nanofiber scaffolds for improved stem cell-derived islet transplantation under the skin
Co-investigators: Hirotake Komatsu, M.D., Ph.D., City of Hope, Andrew J. Steckl, Ph.D., NanoLab, University of Cincinnati, and Eiji Yoshihara Ph.D., The Lundquist Institute for Biomedical Innovation at Harbor UCLA Medical Center - JDRF — Three-year grant, $750,000
Clinical trial of denosumab for type 1 diabetes
Principal investigators: Rupangi Vasavada, Ph.D., and Fouad Kandeel, M.D., Ph.D.
Co-investigator: Nagesha Guthalu Kondegowda, Ph.D.
Project manager: Jeannette Hacker
- Qureshi, F. M., Panzer, J. K., Põder, J., Malek, T. R., & Caicedo, A. (2023). Immunotherapy with low-dose IL-2/CD25 prevents β-cell dysfunction and dysglycemia in prediabetic NOD mice. Diabetes, 72(6), 769–780.
- Qureshi, F. M., Panzer, J. K., Põder, J., Malek, T. R., & Caicedo, A. (2023). Immunotherapy with low-dose IL-2/CD25 prevents β-cell dysfunction and dysglycemia in prediabetic NOD mice. Diabetes, 72(6), 769–780.
City of Hope has one of the most influential diabetes research programs in the world, drawing from more than four decades of intense investigation since Rachmiel Levine, M.D., revealed the role of insulin in glucose transport, Samuel Rahbar, Ph.D., discovered HbA1C in diabetes patients and Arthur Riggs, Ph.D., and Keiichi Itakura, Ph.D., first engineered synthetic human insulin. Our scientists continue their work today with exciting developments in cell transplantation, gene regulation, immune tolerance and gaining systemic understanding of diabetes as a complex, multifaceted disease.
View our research milestones
Learn about Dr. Riggs’ contributions
The heart of City of Hope’s prolific diabetes program is its people. Hear from the leaders of the Arthur Riggs Diabetes & Metabolism Research Institute — brilliant minds who are shaping the way we understand and treat the disease.
Join one of our institutes and help us on our mission to save lives.