Sansum Diabetes Research Institute

Research:RESEARCH TYPE 1 DIABETES:SDRI IS COMMITTED TO RESEARCH TO IMPROVE THE LIVES OF PEOPLE IMPACTED BY DIABETES IN ALL FORMS. FOR OVER A DECADE, SDRI HAS BEEN A GLOBAL LEADER IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE ARTIFICIAL PANCREAS (AP), PARTNERING WITH SUCH ILLUSTRIOUS INSTITUTIONS AS HARVARD UNIVERSITY, UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, SANTA BARBARA, MAYO CLINIC, MOUNT SINAI MEDICAL CENTER AND THE UNIVERSITY OF VIRGINIA, TO NAME JUST A FEW. THE GOAL OF THE AP SYSTEM IS TO PROVIDE AUTOMATED GLUCOSE REGULATION THROUGH CONTROLLED INSULIN DELIVERY IN RESPONSE TO DETECTED PATTERNS OF CHANGE. SDRIS ARTIFICIAL PANCREAS PROGRAM PROVIDES TRAINING AND SUPPORT FOR PATIENTS WITH TYPE 1 DIABETES WHO HAVE BEEN PRESCRIBED THIS TREATMENT BY THEIR PHYSICIAN OR AS PART OF ONE OF OUR RESEARCH STUDIES. SDRIS CERTIFIED TRAINERS MEET WITH PATIENTS ONE-ON-ONE TO TRAIN AND THEN MONITOR THEIR USE OF THIS NEW TECHNOLOGY. APPOINTMENTS INCLUDE EDUCATION ON GLUCOSE MONITORING, INSULIN SENSITIVITY FACTORS, AND OVERALL WELL-BEING. SDRI IS DOING GROUNDBREAKING RESEARCH, FUNDED BY THE NIH, STUDYING AUTOMATED INSULIN DELIVERY IN PREGNANT WOMEN WITH TYPE 1 DIABETES. IT IS A FIRST-OF-ITS-KIND STUDY IN COLLABORATION WITH JOHN A. PAULSON SCHOOL OF ENGINEERING AND APPLIED SCIENCES AT HARVARD UNIVERSITY, ICAHN SCHOOL OF MEDICINE AT MOUNT SINAI, AND THE MAYO CLINIC. SDRI SCIENTISTS ALSO ENGAGE IN RESEARCH AND CLINICAL STUDIES TESTING NEW DEVICES AND MEDICATION AS WELL AS INVESTIGATOR-INITIATED RESEARCH DESIGNED TO UNDERSTAND THE DIABETES PROCESS AND OPTIMIZE TREATMENT. RECENTLY, ONE OF OUR RESEARCH PROGRAMS CONTRIBUTED TO FDA APPROVAL OF THE OMNIPOD 5 AP SYSTEM FOR PATIENTS WITH TYPE 1 DIABETES. SDRI CONDUCTED OVER A DOZEN DEVICE RESEARCH TRIALS IN 2022, LOOKING AT THE EFFICACY OF CONTINUOUS GLUCOSE MONITORING, AUTOMATED INSULIN DELIVERY SYSTEMS, AND KETONE MONITORING SYSTEMS.RESEARCH TYPE 2 DIABETES:UNDER THE LEADERSHIP OF OUR CHIEF SCIENTIFIC OFFICER, DR. SAMUEL KLEIN, SDRI HASDEVELOPED A NEW PROGRAM IN THE SCIENCE OF PRECISION METABOLISM. THIS RESEARCH INITIATIVE WILL PROVIDE A BETTER UNDERSTANDING OF THE MECHANISMS RESPONSIBLE FOR THE METABOLIC ALTERATIONS (E.G., INSULIN RESISTANCE, ALTERED HORMONAL RESPONSES TO MEAL INGESTION, ADVERSE BLOOD LIPIDS, INFLAMMATION IN FAT TISSUE) ASSOCIATED WITH CARDIOMETABOLIC DISEASES AND HOW SPECIFIC NUTRITIONAL INTERVENTIONS CAN IMPROVE METABOLIC HEALTH AND DECREASE THE RISK OF COMPLICATIONS. THIS RESEARCH GOES BEYOND THE IMPORTANCE OF DIET IN MAINTAINING BLOOD GLUCOSE CONTROL. IN 2021, SDRI ESTABLISHED THE SANTA BARBARA NUTRITION HEALTH COALITION. THE OVERARCHING GOAL OF THIS COALITION IS TO IMPROVE THE HEALTH AND WELL-BEING OF PEOPLE AT HIGH RISK FOR CARDIOVASCULAR AND METABOLIC DISEASES LIVING IN SANTA BARBARA COUNTY, BY DEVELOPING AND IMPLEMENTING INNOVATIVE COMMUNITY-BASED, AND EVIDENCE-BASED NUTRITION INTERVENTION PROGRAMS.46% OF THE PEOPLE LIVING IN SANTA BARBARA ARE LATINO AND ARE DISPROPORTIONATELY BURDENED BY OBESITY AND TYPE 2 DIABETES. TO COMBAT THIS EPIDEMIC, SDRI LAUNCHED A RESEARCH PROGRAM IN 2022 TO EVALUATE THE CLINICAL EFFICACY, ACCEPTANCE, AND POTENTIAL DISSEMINATION OF AN INNOVATIVE, CULTURALLY APPROPRIATE DIET INTERVENTION PROGRAM DEVELOPED BY SDRI INVESTIGATORS AND COLLABORATORS IN SOCIOECONOMICALLY DISADVANTAGED LATINO ADULTS WITH OBESITY AND DIABETES.

Care:sdri provided clinical care in 3 areas: Diabetes in pregnancy, pediatric care andadult endocrinology. In the last year alone, our staff have helped over 105 womennavigate the difficult road of pregnancy complicated by Diabetes in order to deliverhealthy babies. It wasnt too long ago that women with Diabetes were told not to have children given the risk of possible birth defects. Our late chief scientific officer, dr. lois jovanovic, developed protocols that helped women with Diabetes worldwide give birth to healthy babies. Her groundbreaking work continues today. Our Diabetes and pregnancy clinical care program supports women with either type 1, type 2, or gestational Diabetes. Our pediatric department specializes in working with children and teenagers, supporting patients with artificial pancreas technology, glucose control, and insulin pumps. Our physicians care for both type 1 and type 2 Diabetes as well as other endocrine issues.

Education & community outreach:sdri conducts multi-faceted education series throughout the community to residents with or at risk of Diabetes. This includes classes aimed at certain target populations. To help women whose pregnancies are complicated by Diabetes, sdri offers education for before, during, and after pregnancy to give women with Diabetes the same chance of birthing a healthy baby as women without Diabetes. At sdri, our team is committed to improving health outcomes for underserved populations. A key element of sdris efforts include hiring bilingual community health workers (chw) who serve a critical role in building trust and rapport within the local latino population. Additionally, chw provide multi-lingual nutrition education, training on technology to better manage Diabetes, conducting health screenings, recruiting study participants, and maintaining communication with key community organizers to promote sdris health education programs. The important work performed by sdris chw ultimately helps to reduce the rate of type 2 Diabetes and prevent future generations from developing type 2 diabetes.sdris veggie iq program is a module-based curriculum that encourages community youth scientists across grades k through 12 to use science and technology to discover the important links between diet and health. Sdri created six modules and an online platform where teachers and administrators can access lesson plans and lesson video downloads, along with a menu of interactive activities tailored to different grade levels. In 2022 alone, veggie iq was first launched in 32 classrooms and involved 700 students in grades k-8. Veggie iq continued as a two cycle, 8-week summer program for teens, grades 9-11, in santa barbara and lompoc. Both programs were overwhelmingly successful for all ages.sdri recognized the need for seniors in our community who wanted to integrate Diabetes technology into their daily lives, but felt unprepared to manage this on their own. Responding to this need, sdri created a senior education program that consisted of six sessions, including four one-hour classes with our certified Diabetes care and education specialist (cdces)/nurse practitioner. Classes, offered in both english and spanish, were comprised of only four to five participants and focused on training seniors about the new technology while providing personal support when transitioning to new technology. The aim of the program is that all participants are comfortable using these devices on their own. Through effective use of this technology, our patients spend less time managing their Diabetes, and more time enjoying life. In 2022, sdri successfully served 120 senior participants.