North Carolina A&T State University News March 2018 N.C. A&T to Host Regional Diabetes Research Symposium March 16 North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University will host the inaugural North Carolina Regional Diabetes Research Symposium, at 9:15 a.m., Friday, March 16, at the Union Square Campus. The symposium is co-organized with members of the North Carolina Regional Diabetes Research Center (NCDRC), which includes Duke University, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and Wake Forest School of Medicine. The symposium will include talks from the founders of the NCDRC, Dr. John Buse (UNC-CH), who is the co-director of the North Carolina Translational and Clinical Sciences Institute (NC TraCS), Dr. Don McClain, director of the Wake Forest Clinical and Translational Science Institute (CTSI) and Dr. Dave D'Alessio, chief of endocrinology at Duke University. Additional presentations will be made by the directors of the Metobolomics Core at Duke University, the Specialized Animals Resources Core at Wake Forest and the Advanced Clinical Studies and Methods Core at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. Several faculty from the four institutions will give "Ignite presentations" on ideas for potential collaborative research projects focused on diabetes, obesity and metabolism. The project connects researchers across the translational spectrum interested in developing cross-institutional projects in diabetes, obesity and metabolism. The NCDRC symposium offers a great opportunity to network and build new inter-institutional partnerships to advance diabetes research in NC through a Pilot Project Program. NCDRC was established to create an interactive regional research community to foster new advances in basic and translational diabetes research and as a powerful approach for tackling the epidemic of diabetes and its complications. Since transitioning to a doctoral, research-intensive institution, N.C. A&T's biomedical research portfolio has experienced tremendous growth with diabetes research projects in the colleges of Science and Technology, Health and Human Sciences and Agriculture and Environmental Sciences. Faculty in biomedical engineering and nanoengineering are in a position to apply their expertise in innovative diabetes research as part of multidisciplinary teams. Minority ethnic groups such as African Americans, Native Americans, and Hispanics are disproportionately burdened by diabetes and its complications. In accordance with the university's history of advocacy for change, faculty and students are engaging minority communities and empowering them to reduce health disparities in diabetes. Ongoing projects include the Minority Men's Health Initiative (MMHI) - a consortium of historically black colleges and universities focused on health issues affecting men from minority ethnic groups - with A&T leading the diabetes and obesity research projects. The NIH funded MMHI supports basic, translational, and behavioral aspects of diabetes. SANDRA M. PHOENIX HBCU Library Alliance Executive Director Atlanta University Center Robert W. Woodruff Library 111 James P. Brawley Drive SW Atlanta, GA 30314 404-978-2118 (office) 404-702-5854 (cell) http://www.hbculibraries.org/ sphoenix@hbculibraries.org<mailto:sphoenix@hbculibraries.org<mailto:sphoenix@hbculibraries.org%3cmailto:sphoenix@hbculibraries.org>> Honor the ancestors, honor the children. Follow us on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/hbculibraryalliance1/ and Twitter https://twitter.com/HBCULibAlliance Check out "PULSE!" The HBCU Library Alliance's News Source! - https://hbculibraryalliance.wordpress.com/