Barnstable Brown Kentucky Diabetes and Obesity Center - Fact File

Media Contact: Amanda Nelson, (859) 323-6363, x224

Back to press release

Diabetes by the Numbers

• Kentucky ranks No. 7 in the United States for prevalence of both diabetes and obesity.
• An estimated 318,000 adults in Kentucky have been diagnosed with diabetes.
• Research by the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) has shown that about 29 percent of diabetes goes undiagosed. That adds an estimated 127,000 in Kentucky, for a total of 445,000, or one in every seven adults statewide.
• An estimated 611,000 (40.1 percent) Kentuckians aged 40-74 have pre-diabetes and are at high risk of developing diabetes.
• Diabetes is the No. 6 cause of death in Kentucky.
• About 28 percent of adult Kentuckians are obese.
• There were 116,091 diabetes-related hospitalizations in Kentucky in 2006, accounting for one of every six hospitalizations.

[Sources: CDC, American Diabetes Association, Kentucky Diabetes Network]

The Barnstable Brown Gift
The agreement for the Barnstable Brown Kentucky Diabetes and Obesity Center makes the center the sole beneficiary of the Barnstable Brown Gala. The family has given $1 million for the center to date, with an additional $1 million pledged in the coming months. The family has also committed proceeds from the Gala for the next three years.   Based on previous years, the family estimates the Gala will provide the center with $1.8 to $3 million over that three year period.

Structure of the Center
The center's purpose is to coordinate efforts across the many academically and scientifically diverse units engaged in diabetes and obesity research and clinical care at UK. Current research funding includes an estimated $50 million in grants from NIH and $4.6 million from the American Diabetes Association, among other sponsored projects.

The center will include the Barnstable Brown Pediatric Diabetes Laboratories.  The Barnstable Brown Foundation has contributred more than $1.2 million to help establish the laboratories. And it will include the Center for Biological Research Excellence in Obesity and Cardiovascular Disease, established in October 2008 with $10.5 million in institutional development funding from the National Institutes of Health.

The center will be headed by a scientific director, who will oversee grants administration, financial management, regulatory affairs and personnel. The main responsibility of the director will be to facilitate interaction among faculty members to encourage collaboration and to promote clinical and research excellence.

A clinical associate director will report to the scientific director and will be primarily responsible for daily operations of clinical care. The clinical director will play a key role in linking basic researchers with clinical practitioners to enhance opportunities for translational research.

An executive committee, composed of faculty members from units involved in diabetes research and clinical care, will represent the participating units and provide input to the directors.

Faculty conducting extramurally funded diabetes and obesity research

COLLEGE OF MDCINE

Dean Jay Perman, MD, funding from NIH

Department of Internal MDcine
Division of Cardiovascular MDcine
Andrew Morris, PhD
Funding from NIH
Susan Smyth, MD, PhD
Funding from NIH, and the American Heart Association
Victoria King, PhD
Funding from NIH

Division of Endocrinology and Molecular MDcine
Dennis Bruemmer, MD
Funding from American Diabetes Association, American Heart Association, and NIH
Zhenheng Guo, PhD
Funding from the American Heart Association, and NIH
Dennis Karounos, MD
Funding from the American Diabetes Association, and a VA Merit Review.
Lisa Tannock, MD
Funding from the American Heart Association, and NIH
Deneys van der Westhuyzen, PhD
Funding from NIH
Nancy Webb, PhD
Funding from NIH

Division of Pulmonary MDcine
Leigh Ann Callahan, MD
Funding from NIH
Gerald Supinski, MD
Funding from NIH

Graduate Center for Nutritional Sciences
Lisa Cassis, PhD
Funding from NIH, NIEHS Superfund Research Project, USDA Training Grant, NIH T32 Training Grant, and a Center of BioMDcal Research Excellence (COBRE) grant from NIH, (PI is Lisa Cassis, but numerous faculty from the Department of Internal MDcine are also involved in this large grant.)
Jianhua Shao, PhD
Funding from the American Heart Association, American Diabetes Association, and NIH
Shuxia Wang, PhD
Funding from the American Heart Association

Department of Physiology
Ming Gong, PhD
Funding from NIH
David Randall, PhD
Funding from NIH
Sean Stocker, PhD
Funding from NIH

Department of Molecular and Cellular Biochemistry
Sidney Whiteheart
Funding from NIH
Brian Finlin
Funding from the American Diabetes Association,
Sabire Ozcan, PhD
Funding from the American Heart Association, and NIH
Xiaqing Tang
Funding from NIH

Department of Molecular and BioMDcal Pharmacology
Olivier Thibault
Funding from NIH
Hollie Swanson, PhD
Funding from NIH

Department of Pediatrics
Eric Smart, PhD
Funding from NIH

COLLEGE OF DENTISTRY
Dr Jeffrey Ebersole, PhD
Funding from NIH (Center of BioMDcal Research Excellence)
Dr Karen Novak, DDS, PhD
Funding from NIH

COLLEGE OF HEALTH SCIENCES
Charlotte Peterson, PhD
Funding from NIH

Faculty conducting other research pertinent to diabetes and obesity

COLLEGE OF AGRICULTURE
Lisa Gaetke, PhD
Bernhard Hennig, Ph.D
Leigh Ann Simmons, PhD
Guilang Tang, PhD

COLLEGE OF ARTS AND SCIENCES
Charles Carlson, PhD
Sylvia Daunert, PhD
Dr Brea Perry, PhD
Suzanne Segerstrom, PhD
Arnold Stromberg, PhD

COLLEGE OF COMMUNICATIONS AND INFORMATION STUDIES
Nancy Harrington, PhD
Jeff Huber, PhD
Al Cross
Don Helme, PhD

COLLEGE OF EDUCATION
Mark Abel, PhD
Dr Aaron Beighle, PhD
Jody Clasey, PhD
Heather Erwin, PhD

COLLEGE OF HEALTH SCIENCES
Maria Boosalis, PhD
Geza Bruckner, PhD

COLLEGE OF MDCINE
Erik Eckhardt
Thomas Kelly, PhD
Kristine Lain, MD
David Mannino, MD
Stephanie Rose, MD

COLLEGE OF NURSING
Debra Moser, DNSc, MN, RN
Terry Lennie, PhD, RN

COLLEGE OF PHARMACY
Holly Divine, PharMD
Gregory Graf, PhD
Carrie Johnson, PharMD
Robert Lodder, PhD
Amy Nicholas, PharMD

COLLEGE OF PUBLIC HEALTH
Linda Alexander, PhD
Mark Swanson, PhD
Faika Zanjani, PhD

THE GRADUATE SCHOOL
Guoqiang Yu, PhD, Center for BioMDcal Engineering