NEW: Brown Biochemist Receives $1.625M Award for Diabetes Research

NEW: Brown Biochemist Receives $1.625M Award for Diabetes Research

Brown biochemistry researcher, Wolfgang Peti has won a $1.625 million, 5-year “Accelerator Award” from the American Diabetes Association as part of its Pathway to Stop Diabetes initiative. Peti is one of only five researchers around the country to win an ADA Accelerator Award this year.

“Today, nearly one in eight American adults is living with diabetes, and diagnosed diabetes costs our nation $245 billion each year. The problem of diabetes is unprecedented, so our solution must match it,” said C. Ronald Kahn, MD, Chairman of the Pathway Mentor Advisory Group, American Diabetes Association. “Through identifying and supporting innovative researchers, Pathway to Stop Diabetes is designed to radically transform diabetes research, setting us on the road to breakthrough discoveries, and ultimately a cure to this deadly disease.”

Peti studies the structure, motions, and interactions of proteins at the atomic scale, using tools such as nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy. He’ll apply his expertise to type 2 diabetes, an epidemic that has touched his family. His ambitious goal is to help develop drugs to improve the body’s insulin signaling so that insulin injections become unnecessary.

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Pathway scientists were selected by the Association’s Pathway Mentor Advisory Group—a group of eminent scientists who selected the awardees using the core elements for exceptional science: rigorous thought processes, keen intellect, and the capacity for innovation and creativity. In addition to participating in the selection process, the Mentor Advisors will provide ongoing scientific and career advice to the selected scientists throughout the duration of the awards, creating a challenging environment for transformative science to thrive.