U of T and University Health Network renew partnership focused on diabetes research
Improving the lives of people with diabetes through cross-disciplinary research is the driving force behind a renewed partnership between the University of Toronto’s Banting & Best Diabetes Centre (BBDC) and the University Health Network (UHN).
The five-year renewed commitment will enable experts from diverse backgrounds from both organizations to continue to work together on cutting-edge prevention and treatment strategies for people with diabetes.
“This collaboration significantly enhances our ability to achieve global impact in the areas of diabetes research, education and clinical care,” says Gary Lewis, director of the BBDC and a professor of Medicine who holds the Drucker Family Chair in Diabetes Research.
“By bringing people together – across our health network and from a variety of backgrounds – we’re better able to develop new treatment paths to cure diabetes and prevent its complications, while figuring out new ways to improve the lives of people already living with diabetes.”
The BBDC-UHN partnership continues a long-standing legacy of diabetes research and care that dates back to the 1921 discovery of insulin by Drs. Frederick Banting and Charles Best – Nobel prize winners who conducted their research at U of T and treated patients at Toronto General Hospital. The BBDC-UHN partnership was initially struck in 2007 with a focus on searching for a cure for diabetes through islet cell biology and stem cell research.
Today, more than 9 million Canadians have diabetes or pre-diabetes. Worldwide, 285 million people worldwide are affected by diabetes.
