Boston Area

The Boston Area Diabetes Endocrinology Research Center (BADERC) is a consortium of laboratory-based and clinical investigators whose efforts are directed toward addressing many of the major research questions bearing on the etiology, pathogenesis, treatment and cure of type 1 and type 2 diabetes, and their associated microvascular and atherosclerotic complications.

The BADERC Center Director (Alexander Soukas) and Associate Directors (Barbara Kahn and Deborah Wexler) are highly productive senior investigators of international stature in human genetics and pharmacogenomics, metabolic physiology, nutrient homeostasis, molecular genetics and functional genomics, topics central to advances in diabetes research.

The BADERC Executive Committee oversees and advises on major directions of the BADERC including Cores, Pilot and Feasibility Program, and Enrichment Program, all aimed at having the greatest impact on diabetes and its complications by nucleating and cultivating collaborative expertise of a broad group of Boston area diabetes investigators across institutions, career stages, methodologies, perspectives, and experiences, and includes Dr. Alex Banks (Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center), Co-Director of the Metabolic Physiology and Energy Balance Core; Dr. Caroline Apovian (Brigham and Women’s Hospital), Dr. Sudha Biddinger (Boston Children’s Hospital); Dr. Valentina Perissi (Boston University Medical Center); our Director of Engagement Dr. Camille Powe (Massachusetts General Hospital); as well as Drs. Soukas, Kahn and Wexler.

The BADERC Research Core Subcommittee is chaired by Dr. Alex Banks, and consists of the Center Director (Dr. Alexander Soukas), Center Administrators (Nancy Kingori and Pam Ricevuto), the Biomedical Research Core Directors (Dr. Dennis Brown, Cell Biology/Morphology; Dr. Barbara Kahn, Metabolic Physiology; and Dr. Evan Rosen, Bioinformatics. This Subcommittee makes general, administrative and scientific decisions concerning the operation and overall direction of the BADERC Biomedical Research Cores.

The BADERC Member Scientists host robust research groups based at a large number of Boston-area research institutions, primarily the major Harvard Medical School-affiliated teaching hospitals (the Massachusetts General Hospital, the Brigham and Women’s Hospital, the Beth Israel-Deaconess Medical Center) and the Boston University Medical Center, as well as several at the Harvard School of Arts and Sciences and other Harvard-affiliated research institutions (School of Public Health, the Dana-Farber Cancer center, the Scheppens Eye Research Institute), the New England Medical Center and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

These investigators are working at the cutting edge of fields most relevant to defining the pathogenesis and optimal treatment of type 1 and type 2 diabetes: The molecular and genetic basis of insulin action and insulin resistance; the genetic underpinnings for glucose and nutrient homeostasis; the biology of the vascular system and beta cell; the immunologic basis and optimal therapies for autoimmunity and transplant rejection; the development of new methods for glycemic monitoring and control.

The BADERC offers these scientists an array of core support services:

• Cell Biology & Morphology
• Molecular Physiology and Energy Balance
• Functional Genomics and Bioinformatics

These 3 cores incorporate the latest technical advances in the full spectrum of diabetes-related research from fundamental preclinical to translational to clinical studies. State-of-the-art services are provided by acknowledged experts in each BADERC Core.

Most cores are heavily oriented towards simultaneous provision of i) high quality services and ii) hands-on training. Considerable expansion and upgrading of existing, heavily used Cores have occurred over the prior award period, including adding new capability based upon emerging technologies and addition of methodologies to ensure rigor and reproducibility in diabetes research. One new core has been added: the Functional Genomics and Bioinformatics Core. The new core is poised to service both laboratory-based and clinical investigators.