Members of certain ethnic and racial groups including Latinos/Hispanics, African-Americans and Asian-Americans, face a higher risk for developing diabetes than non-Latino white adults. They are also at increased risk for diabetes-related complications, such as lower limb amputations, vision loss, and kidney failure. In addition, diabetes is 70 percent more common in high-poverty neighborhoods than in more affluent ones.
NIH www.nih.gov has awarded researchers at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine www.einstein.yu.edu and Montefiore Health System www.montefiorehealthsystem.org a five year $2.9 million grant that will enable a new center to be launched which will be only one of eight in the country for diabetes translation research.
The Center to be called the “New York Regional Center for Diabetes Translation” (NY Regional CDTR) will include faculty from the Icahn School of Medicine at Mt. Sinai and the New York Academy of Medicine. The Center will serve as a hub for investigators conducting studies on pre-diabetes, diabetes, and complications.
Consultative resources within the NY Regional CDTR will support diabetes prevention and research across the lifespan which will include biological, behavioral, behavioral, psychological and social factors, and also support population health and health systems.
According to Elizabeth A. Walker Principal Investigator, the Center will include the newly-created Latino Network for Diabetes Translation Research, a joint effort with researchers from the NIH-funded Hispanic Community Health Study (HCHS)/Study of Latinos (SOL).