Kovler Diabetes Center Research Studies

DESIGNATE is a phase 1b clinical trial, sponsored by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID). This study will assess the ability of the medication siplizumab to block or reduce t cells that attack the beta cells in the pancreas. We are currently seeking participants ages 18-45 with type one diabetes onset within 18 months. The principal investigator is Louis Philipson, MD, PhD. Contact Demetra Reyes at Demetra.Reyes@bsd.uchicago.edu or visit https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT05574335 for more information.

This study, Using Technology to Address Disparities and Promote Healthcare Equity in Type 1 Diabetes or EquiT1D, aims to address disparities in type 1 diabetes by helping adult patients with type 1 diabetes who have been hospitalized with diabetic ketoacidosis more than once in the last five years obtain continuous glucose monitors (CGMs). A patient navigator will then help the patient learn to use their CGM and contact them to follow up throughout the course of the study.

The EquiT1D research team led by Celeste Thomas, MD, MS, will evaluate this intervention’s impact on participants’ diabetes measurements and self-management practices. Its finding could create a new standard of care for diabetes management. Contact Elizabeth Murphy, MS, RDN, LDN for more information.

The Multicenter Assessment of the Pancreas in Type 1 Diabetes (MAP-T1D) is an international team of researchers that focus on using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to investigate changes in pancreas volume and microarchitecture in individuals with diabetes. Center Director Louis Philipson, MD, PhD, and Siri Atma Greeley, MD, PhD, are the principal investigators at UChicago Medicine for the MAP-T1D project.

Contact Demetra Reyes or visit https://www.map-t1d.com/ for more information.

The Rare and Atypical Diabetes Network (RADIANT) trial, for which Center Director Louis Philipson, MD, PhD, and Siri Atma Greeley, MD, PhD, are the principal investigators, is discovering and defining rare and atypical forms of diabetes—a signature project of the Kovler Diabetes Center.

RADIANT is supported by the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK). RADIANT is a network of universities, hospitals and clinics across the United States dedicated to better understanding atypical diabetes. Our team of academic institutions and scientists collaborate with physicians and healthcare groups to identify people with atypical diabetes and learn more about their health.

Contact Shanna Banogon, at shannad@medicine.bsd.uchicago.edu or visit https://www.atypicaldiabetesnetwork.org/ for more information.

UChicago Medicine is participating in a phase 2 clinical trial, sponsored by Indiana University. This study will assess the effectiveness, safety, and tolerability of Difluoromethylornithine (DFMO) to preserve insulin production in people living with type 1 diabetes.

For more information about the study and to learn if you may be eligible, please contact Cathleen Mulcahy at 773-702-9968 or visit https://clinicaltrials.gov/study/NCT05594563.

UChicago Medicine is participating in a new clinical research study of an investigational infusion of islets in individuals who have been diagnosed with type 1 diabetes with low blood sugar and impaired hypoglycemic awareness. In this study, islets manufactured from stem cells are infused into the liver with a goal of providing replacement cells producing insulin for cells that have been lost.

Contact: Shanna Banagon, BSN, RN or Lindsay Basto, RN MSN for more information.