The University of Nebraska Board of Regents on Thursday approved the creation of the Diabetes Center of Excellence in Diabetes Care, Research and Education (C-DIACARE) at the UNMC Omaha campus, pending approval by the Coordinating Commission for Postsecondary Education. The designation of this Board of Regents center unifies research and education efforts across the university system, bolstering statewide diabetes prevention and care, said UNMC Interim Chancellor H. Dele Davies, MD.
Nearly 12% of the U.S. population had diabetes as of 2021, according to the American Diabetes Association, and their health care expenses are more than double those without diabetes. Diabetes is annually among the top 10 leading causes of death in the U.S.
See here for more on how diagnosed diabetes affects Nebraska and Nebraskans.
Now, this center brings together new groups of researchers and educators, coordinating efforts for greater impact across Nebraska, including in research funding and donor support.
“This focus addresses rising diabetes care costs for patients and works to reduce health disparities, especially in our state’s rural communities,” Dr. Davies said. “By attracting specialized personnel and securing additional research funding, we will foster innovation in diabetes management and build stronger health care partnerships throughout Nebraska. We’re especially grateful for the teams whose work made this possible.”
Andjela Drincic, MD, professor of diabetes, endocrinology and metabolism at UNMC, has been named Wahl Presidential Endowed Chair and inaugural director of the C-DIACARE center.
The Wahl Presidential Endowed Chair is funded by the Diabetes Care Foundation of Nebraska.
Dr. Drincic said she is thrilled to leverage the hard work and expertise of scores of faculty throughout the university system, including but not limited to exciting work being done at UNMC, the University of Nebraska at Omaha, University of Nebraska at Kearney and University of Nebraska-Lincoln in the areas of nutrition, obesity, psychology, diabetes prevention and outcomes research. Moreover, C-DIACARE is a multi-college initiative at UNMC, with faculty from colleges of medicine, public health, nursing, allied health, pharmacy and the Eppley Institute all making meaningful strides in research, education and clinical care, and bringing these advances to the Nebraska community through outreach efforts.
C-DIACARE builds upon UNMC’s clinical partnership with Nebraska Medicine for diabetes care, which has been nationally recognized through major honors, certification and accreditation for decades. UNMC and Nebraska Medicine now lead the nation in hospital glycemic outcomes, and Nebraska innovations are being adapted nationally.
“We have put Nebraska on the map,” Dr. Drincic said.
But as researchers find out more and more – that diabetes is not just a disease about glucose metabolism – diabetes care becomes “equal parts exciting and complicated,” Dr. Drincic said. One of the challenges is “translating” new knowledge into actions useful to physicians and other health professionals for their patients to better detect, manage and prevent diabetes.
“The center has been strategically developed to address the remaining metropolitan-rural health disparities, which are in part related to resource limitations in some of our smaller communities,” said Jennifer Larsen, MD, former UNMC vice chancellor for research and professor emerita of diabetes, endocrinology and metabolism. Dr. Larsen cited examples such as access to dieticians, exercise programs and pharmacists with specialized disease-management expertise.
“Hence, we need a very comprehensive approach,” Dr. Drincic said.
C-DIACARE will build upon the success demonstrated by “Diabetes On Track,” a UNMC-led, innovative, community-based research and clinical care pilot program, supported by the Diabetes Foundation of Nebraska, focused on making changes in diabetes care in Hastings and Wayne, Nebraska. “The project shows the needle can be moved,” Dr. Drincic said. The program was recently featured as a cover story for Diabetes Spectrum journal.
The new center aims to take this success statewide while connecting and coordinating the university system’s various diabetes research, education and outreach efforts into a focused, impactful force that reaches all Nebraskans.
“Because diabetes is a multidisciplinary disease, multidisciplinary teams are required to develop, identify and implement novel strategies to prevent and improve the care of diabetes,” Dr. Davies said. “That is our key objective with the center and further establishes our commitment to support the patients and families living with diabetes every day.”
C-DIACARE programs will be funded through a combination of private philanthropic dollars, existing institutional funds and external research grants, without the use of any additional state funds.