AURORA, Colo. (Nov. 20, 2006) – George Eisenbarth, MD, PhD, executive director of the Barbara Davis Center for Childhood Diabetes at the University of Colorado at Denver and Health Sciences Center, was recognized Nov. 18 at the Sorbonne in Paris for his accomplishments in medical research concerning childhood diabetes. He was awarded the senior prize in biomedical therapeutics by Pasteur/ Weismann Servier International.
The Pasteur/Weizman Council is an international collaborative organization that sponsors research, educational grants, symposia and scientific exchange with the overall goal of promoting cooperation in biomedical research. The award is granted once every three years to an internationally recognized scientist who has made a significant biomedical contribution leading to new therapeutic treatments.
Eisenbarth was selected for the award for his work in the therapeutic treatment of diabetes. In his early work, Eisenbarth and colleagues discovered that type 1 diabetes was a chronic autoimmune illness. He proposed the now standard model of type 1 diabetes, which recognizes a genetic predisposition for the disease and a predictable series of stages that it follows. Eisenbarth has since instituted testing for infants that can predict diabetes, and therapeutic insulin treatments to prevent the disease.
“Receiving this award is a great honor to me and all of my research collaborators over the past years,” Eisenbarth said. “Type I diabetes is a huge global health problem and more research in this area is crucial. I believe it will be possible to develop an immunologic vaccine using response to insulin to prevent this disease and our work to achieve this aim will continue.”
Eisenbarth completed his undergraduate work at Columbia University and went on to receive his MD and PhD from Duke University Medical School. He has been at UCDHSC since 1992, and currently serves as a professor of pediatrics immunology and medicine at the UCDHSC School of Medicine in addition to his duties as director of the Barbara Davis Center for Childhood Diabetes.
Approximately 4.9 million people worldwide are currently diagnosed with type 1 diabetes. Diabetes occurs when the pancreas does not produce sufficient levels of insulin, a hormone that regulates blood sugar. Left untreated, type 1 diabetes can result in loss of sight, kidney failure, heart attack, stroke, and sensory loss in limbs and extremities.
Generally, the prize is granted to a single recipient, however this year the council decided upon both a “senior” and a “junior” recipient. Lucienne Chatenoud, MD, PhD, of the Necker Children's Hospital in Paris was named as the junior recipient of this grant. She was recognized for her contributions to the understanding of autoimmune mechanisms involved in type 1 diabetes.
Relatives of patients with type 1 diabetes can be screened for risk of diabetes free of charge through an NIH Trialnet study by calling 1 (800) Halt-Dm1 or 1 (800) 425-8361.
The University of Colorado at Denver and Health Sciences Center is one of three universities in the University of Colorado system. Located in Denver and Aurora, Colo., the center includes schools of medicine, nursing, pharmacy, and dentistry, a graduate school and a teaching hospital. For more information, visit the Web site at www.uchsc.edu or the UCDHSC Newsroom at http://www.uchsc.edu/news.