UAB's Comprehensive Diabetes Center is known for groundbreaking research in immunity and autoimmunity, examining the biological mechanisms that cause diabetes, and offering new treatments.

National Spotlight

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) has designated the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) one of only six Diabetes Research and Training Centers in the country, putting UAB at the forefront in the development of new methods to treat, prevent and, ultimately, cure diabetes and its complications. The NIH award gives UAB $6.3 million over five years to grow its diabetes initiatives.

Clinical Trials

Working closely with the Multidisciplinary Comprehensive Diabetes Clinic is the Diabetes and Endocrine Clinical Research Unit (DECRU), the clinical research arm of the Comprehensive Diabetes Center. The goal of the DECRU is to match patients with specific clinical trials and develop a database to benefit epidemiological, outcome, and other patient-oriented studies.

Among the First and Most Experienced

The research unit will be one of the first in the world to test a plasmid DNA intramuscular injection, a potential treatment for type 1 diabetes. It will be the first center in the nation to use mesenchymal stem cells and is among the most experienced in the U.S. with anti-CD4 monoclonal antibodies to treat diabetes.

Capable of performing phases 1, 2, 3, and 4 of clinical research, the DECRU also conducts research on management of type 2 diabetes and non-diabetes trials involving other endocrine or metabolic disorders. Read more . . .