Mentoring Aspiring Researchers in Diabetes and Pregnancy Investigation

Hyperglycemia is a common metabolic problem that has a profound impact on pregnancy outcomes. Even modest elevations in blood glucose during gestation are associated with a multitude of pregnancy complications, including fetal growth abnormalities, hypertensive disorders of pregnancy, preterm birth, and neonatal morbidity. Manifestation of metabolic disease in pregnancy foreshadows future cardiometabolic risk in both affected mothers and their children. Over the past two decades, there have been remarkable advances in the understanding of diabetes pathophysiology, diabetes technology, and diabetes therapeutics. These include a deeper knowledge of the genetic architecture underlying hyperglycemia, an incredible technological revolution which has brought with it both continuous glucose monitoring and automated insulin delivery systems, as well as a large number of new non-insulin therapeutics which have beneficial effects on weight and cardiovascular risk. Yet, many of these innovations in diabetes care have not reached the obstetric population, in part because of the by-default exclusion of pregnant and lactating women from clinical research studies. To avoid leaving pregnant and lactating women behind, we need to train a new generation of diabetes researchers with the expertise to rigorously conduct studies in this population. The Principal Investigator (PI) has a longstanding commitment to mentoring future physicians and scientists. The goal of this K26 program is to support the PI’s high-quality mentorship of graduate students and postdoctoral fellows in diabetes and pregnancy investigation. This K26 mentoring program is open to all qualified trainees with an interest in pregnancy research in NIDDK focus areas. The PI’s interdisciplinary NIH-funded research program applies advances in physiologic and genetic profiling, as well as diabetes technologies, to improve the understanding of glycemia in pregnancy and inform new approaches to the care of pregnant women with diabetes. The PI has had continuous NIDDK funding since starting her faculty position. Her funded research projects and other available datasets provide a rich training-ground for mentee projects in the investigation of diabetes, metabolic disease, and other related disorders in pregnancy. During the grant period the PI will RECRUIT (Aim 1), TRAIN (Aim 2), SUPPORT (Aim 3), and SPONSOR (Aim 4) at least 10 trainees at the graduate student or postdoctoral fellow level. With access to exceptional institutional resources and the PI’s scientific program, mentees will succeed in building independent research careers and deliver biomedical advances in diabetes to pregnancy and lactation.