PNRI Principal Investigator Dr. Bill Hagopian (second from left) with Washington State Governor Christine Gregoire (center) and other awardees of the LSDF grant competition.

On September 18, 2007 the Life Sciences Discovery Fund (LSDF) announced Dr. William Hagopian, Principal Investigator at Pacific Northwest Research Institute, would receive the second largest award distributed in the Fund's inaugural grant competition. The award of $918,828 to Dr. Hagopian was allocated to support the second phase of the Diabetes Evaluation Washington (DEW-IT) research project. The original DEW-IT project had two aims: (1) to show that HLA DQ genetic risk screening for type 1 diabetes in Washington state newborns could be done using newborn bloodspots from the State Department of Health, and (2) to show that subsequent auto-antibody surveillance identifying the highest risk kids could be done using mail-based testing by parents. Findings from a preceding effort, the Washington State Diabetes Prediction Study (WSDPS), which Dr. Hagopian also directed, proved that presentation of multiple islet auto-antibodies was a highly accurate predictor of diabetes onset in childhood. The next phase of DEW-IT will involve further genetic screening of newborn bloodspots alongside follow-up testing for auto-antibody predictors. Support from the LSDF significantly advances predictive diabetes screening of newborns in Washington state. However, to reach 100 percent capacity and ensure that predictive screening is a standard of care in clinical settings statewide, additional funds are needed.

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(left to right) Dr. Wilfred Fujimoto, University of Washington; Dr. Julianna Chan, Hong Kong Institute of Diabetes and Obesity; Dr. William Knowler, National Institutes of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases; and, Dr. Paul Zimmet, International Diabetes Institute, discuss the rising 'tsunami' of diabetes worldwide.

The Warren G. Magnuson Congress for a Global Diabetes Alliance—convened by PNRI from October 21-23, 2007 at the Bell Harbor Conference Center in Seattle—was designed to fill a critical gap in the diabetes research landscape by mobilizing a cadre of international scientists and research experts representing more than 20 countries and six continents to (1) discuss the growing epidemic of diabetes worldwide, and (2) establish a Global Diabetes Alliance dedicated to securing funding for clinical research focused on improving diabetes detection, treatment, and care for underserved populations hardest hit by the disease. An additional outcome of the Congress was creation and unanimous approval by participants of the Seattle Diabetes Declaration (read the full Declaration). At the Congress' final session, the Congress Program Committee was tasked to assemble a steering committee to guide the formation and governance of the Global Diabetes Alliance. PNRI President and Scientific Director R. Paul Robertson, M.D., was selected as Chair.

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