JDRF, the leading global organization funding type 1 diabetes (T1D) research, has announced the winners of five prestigious research awards: the George Eisenbarth Award for T1D Prevention; the Gerold and Kayla Grodsky Basic Research Scientist Award; the Mary Tyler Moore and S. Robert Levine, M.D., Excellence in Clinical Research Award; the David Rumbough Award; and the Robert Goldstein Award.
“We are excited to recognize these amazing researchers whose work supports and furthers the JDRF mission,” said JDRF Vice President of Research Sanjoy Dutta in a press release. “Because of their dedication and work, we have made great strides in the treatment and prevention of T1D, making critical progress toward cures for this disease.”
Åke Lernmark, Ph.D., received the JDRF George Eisenbarth Award for T1D Prevention for his work in examining the role of HLA and non-HLA genes and autoimmunity in the risk for type 1 diabetes. Dr. Lernmark is developing tests for beta cell autoimmunity and carrying out clinical trials to prevent—and thereby cure—type 1 diabetes. His laboratory cloned GAD65, a beta cell protein that is target by autoantibodies which strongly increase the risk for type 1 diabetes and developed a novel assay now in worldwide use to detect these autoantibodies. The award was established in 2013 in memory of esteemed researcher, George S. Eisenbarth, M.D., Ph.D., who transformed the scientific community’s understanding of T1D.
