Research
In addition to our commitment to offering the most up-to-date care available for children with diabetes, our providers are also continually conducting research in the field of diabetes. Our faculty study a wide range of topics, including health outcomes and quality of life for children with diabetes, and the link between childhood obesity and its long-term endocrine consequences such as pubertal maturation.
U-M faculty also explore ways to improve the tools available to families to support them in managing their child’s diabetes. We focus on providing patients information about the latest diabetes technology (such as insulin brands, pumps, continuous glucose monitors) to allow them to decide if it right for them. See below for additional information about some of our current studies.
If you would like to search for eligible research studies not listed below, click here.
Actively Recruiting Studies
Promoting Collaborative Health Management for Pediatric Patients with T1D (HUM00214908)
A research team in the School of Information at the University of Michigan is seeking participants for a diary study for Type 1 Diabetes (T1D) management. Our diary study is to explore how data related to type 1 diabetes are tracked within families and how children engage in data collection. We encourage children with T1D and parents who are interested in learning about their T1D, building their self-care skills, or tracking data to consider participating in the study. Please free free to contact us!
Participants may be eligible if they meet all of the following criteria:
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Children with type 1 diabetes (T1D) ages 6-12 years who use a Dexcom Continuous Glucose Monitor (CGM)
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One parent/legal guardian
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English speakers
What will happen to me in this study?
If you decide to participate, child and parent/guardian will take part in three sessions:
1. First-interview session (1 hour)
2. Three weeks diary study where the child and parent/guardian work together to track their health-related information and activitiy
3. Exit-interview session (1 hour). All the interviews will be remote and video-recorded.
We may ask you some questions about:
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Experience with tracking health-related information (e.g. meals, activities that can impact blood sugar)
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Challenges and lessons learned from collaborative-tracking
Will I be compensated?
A $75 gift card will be provided to a pair of child and parent depending on the participation level: $10 for completing the first-interview, $15 per week for data collection (3 weeks: $45), and $20 for completing the exit-interview.
How do I get more information about the study?
For more details, please visit: https://umhealthresearch.org/#studies/HUM00214908. If you are interested or have any questions, please contact the study coordinator for further instructions.
Study Coordinator:
Yoon Jeong Cha & Yasemin Gunal
PhD & undergraduate students at School of Information, University of Michigan
Email: yjcha@umich.edu
Phone: (734)604-1796
Faculty Investigators:
Sun Young Park, PhD
Associate Professor
Stamps School of Art and Design & School of Information, University of Michigan
Mark W. Newman, PhD
Professor,
School of Information & EECS Department, University of Michigan
Type 1 Diabetes TrialNet Pathway to Prevention Study
Did you know that relatives of people with type 1 diabetes have 15 times greater risk for developing the disease than people with no family history?
We are partnering with the University of Michigan TrialNet team to prevent type 1 diabetes and we encourage you to get involved. TrialNet is an international network of researchers seeking ways to delay or prevent type 1 diabetes. TrialNet offers risk screening to relatives of people with type 1 diabetes to see if they are at risk for developing the disease. The screening is a free blood test that can detect the risk for type 1 diabetes years before symptoms appear. Most of this process can be completed from home!
How can you get involved?
If someone in your family has type 1 diabetes, you can sign up at UMHSTrialNet@med.umich.edu to have a test kit mailed to you, free of charge, to obtain a screening sample. You can order an in-home test kit, or a lab test kit that you take to a lab for the blood draw. Test kits can be mailed to you anywhere in the US and all of the paperwork can be completed electronically. If testing shows that you are at increased risk for type 1 diabetes, you can be monitored by TrialNet and may be eligible to join a research study testing ways to prevent or delay the disease.
Who is eligible to be screened?
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Anyone ages 2.5 through 45 with a sibling, child, or parent with type 1 diabetes.
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Anyone ages of 2.5 through 20 with a sibling, child, parent, cousin, aunt, uncle, niece, nephew, grandparent or half-sibling with type 1 diabetes.
For more information, please call (734) 615-4079 or email Sheree Nicholson, Clinical Subject Coordinator at UMHS-TrialNet@med.umich.edu. We hope to hear from you soon!
Ongoing Research Studies
The Effects of Diet-Induced Obesity on Hematopoiesis
In order to understand the source of inflammation we have focused on understanding changes within the hematopoietic compartment. The prominent white blood cell increased and activated during obesity is the macrophage. We have focused our studies on looking at the generation of myeloid cells (macrophages and neutrophils) and how this is enhanced in the bone marrow of obese mice. These changes are sustained even after bone marrow transplantation and weight loss. By investigating the changes within these progenitors we will gain knowledge and understanding of the long-term persistent impact of diet-induced obesity on the immune system.
For more information, check the Singer Lab research website.