To create an outstanding climate of support for grant writing and dissemination of results on research activities conducted by the institute in the area of diabetes and its complications to the scientific society and the community.

• To liaison with the different departments at the MDRF to  facilitate proposal writing
• To disseminate results on research activities in the field of diabetes and its associated complications through publications in journals and medical textbooks and conducting workshops and seminars
• To enhance knowledge regarding diabetes among the community through the quarterly magazine–the Diabetes Monitor and lay press articles in the Newspaper

Portfolio of Current Activities of the Department

1. GRANTS/ RECOGNITIONS

(i) MDRF/WDF  Rural Diabetes Project
Funded by World Diabetes Foundation (WDF)
(Dr. V. Mohan & Dr. M. Rema)

Thus the Rural Diabetes Project was designed to take diabetes prevention and health care activities currently focused in urban areas to rural India. It aims to improve the lives of millions of people affected with diabetes to which diabetes care is presently not available, accessible or affordable. The four year project is conducted in a cluster of villages at Chunampet in Kancheepuram District, Tamilnadu about 100 Kms from Chennai. The project focuses on a community based approach and to empower the local people, especially women and youth to become educators and catalyst in teaching people to adopt a healthy lifestyle.  Screening for diabetes and its complications in the rural areas with particular respect to eye and foot complications using telemedicine are other aspects of the project. The other partners include Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) Bangalore   which provides satellite connection for the telemedicine facility and National Agro Foundation (NAF), which provides space for diabetes awareness & education programmes and help Identify the self-help groups and youth for the project. This project would help evolve effective strategies, which could serve as a model in community based diabetes prevention programmes for rural areas in India and other developing countries.

Status: Ongoing

(ii) Obesity Reduction through Awareness of NCDs and Group Education –
The ORANGE School Children Project – funded by Johnson & Johnson, Life Scan Inc
(Dr. V. Mohan and Mr. Manish Malu)

The ORANGE School children project has been planned with the objectives i) to screen for obesity and metabolic syndrome among urban adolescent school children in the age group of 12-16 years in Chennai city in southern India and to empower children regarding prevention of obesity and non communicable diseases (NCDs) through focussed awareness programmes

Status: Ongoing

(iii) Advanced Centre for Genomics for Type 2 diabetes – designated and supported by Indian Council of Medical Research, New Delhi, India.
(Dr. V. Mohan, Dr.Radha Venkatesan, Dr.M.Rema, Dr. M. Balasubramanyam)
                             
To carry out research on par with International Standards and to strengthen the facilities available at the Molecular genetics department of MDRF, the ‘ICMR Advanced Centre for genomics in Diabetes Mellitus’ was proposed. Under the auspices of the ‘ICMR Advanced Centre for genomics’, training will be given to scientific personnel leading to capacity building and basic infrastructure will be developed for carrying out genomic research related to diabetes and associated complications.

Status: Ongoing

(iV) World Health organization (WHO) Collaborating centre for Non-communicable diseases- Prevention & Control – designated by WHO, Geneva
Non Communicable Diseases (NCDs) have emerged as the leading cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide. MDRF carries out research on diabetes and other NCDs like hypertension, obesity, dyslipidemia   and cardiovascular diseases. The institution has contributed to national programmes in NCDs with particular reference to diabetes, thus plays a leading role in health care, research, education and capacity building in diabetes and other NCDs.  The objectives of the WHO Collaborating Centre is to provide continuous surveillance of NCDs, and also their prevention and control. Collaboration with WHO has been established at both regional and national levels for many years. Thus MDRF and Dr.Mohan’s Diabetes Specialities Centre, with its track record of work on NCDs has been designated as a WHO Collaborating Centre for Prevention and control of NCDs recently.

Status: Ongoing 

2. COORDINATING INTERNATIONAL PROJECTS

(i) Establishment of a Centre for Prevention and Control of Diabetes and Cardio-metabolic Diseases in South Asia

Supported by The National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute (NHLBI) of the National Institutes of Health(NIH) and Ovations Chronic Disease Initiative of the UnitedHealth Group
Co-Principal Investigators: Dr.K.M. Venkat Narayan, Emory University and Dr.D. Prabhakaran, Public Health Foundation of India, New Delhi
Network Co-Investigators: Dr.V. Mohan,  MDRF, Chennai
Dr.NikhilTandon, AIIMS, New Delhi. Dr.Tazeen H Jafar, Aga Khan University, Pakistan
Coordinator at  MDRF: Dr.R.Guha Pradeepa

The main objective of this grant is to establish a multi-disciplinary, Centre of Excellence to address Cardio-metabolic diseases (CMD) in South Asia. This Centre will build world-class investigator and research capacity, and produce and disseminate innovative, science-driven, and low-cost solutions. The Centre will study the burden and risk factors for cardiovascular disease and diabetes in India and Pakistan and investigate ways to prevent the diseases. In addition will also help train young scientists in these countries to conduct important diabetes and heart disease research, and promote active collaboration of Emory faculty and students in global health research.

Status: Ongoing

(ii) MDRF-EMORY Population based Global Diabetes Research Centre

Supported by Global Health Initiative(GHI),USA
(Dr.K.M.Venkat Narayan, Dr. V. Mohan, Dr.M.Rema, Dr.R.Guha Pradeepa, Ms.H.Ranjani)

There is an urgent need to intensify the studies on diabetes in Asian Indians with international collaboration, as this can help to reduce the burden of diabetes in India. With this view, the Emory University at Atlanta, USA has come forward and is collaborating with MDRF and established the ‘MDRF-Emory Global Diabetes Research Centre’ as part of its Global Health Initiative. This collaboration will help establish MDRF as a Global Centre of Excellence in diabetes research.  In addition, this project also promotes bilateral exchange of students to work on major population based studies in India.
   
Status: Ongoing

3. ORGANIZING SEMINARS/ /WORKSHOPS/ SYMPOSIUMS

(i) Seminar on “Prevention of non-communicable diseases”

As a WHO Collaborating Centre for diabetes one of our Institutes mandates is to promote NCD Prevention and control in India. Seminars on NCDs focusing on NCD epidemiology and specialized topics related to various NCDs are being organized annually at MDRF in collaboration with University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) supported by the world-renowned National Institutes of Health (NIH) U.S.A since 2003. The main rationale of this training programme is to train researchers at MDRF in clinical and basic research and epidemiologists and community medicine specialists all over India in the Prevention and Control of NCD’s. During the past seven years we have trained over 700 epidemiologists and community health specialists from leading institutions and medical colleges across India in epidemiology of NCD’s”.  It also includes in-depth workshops on National Prevention and Control programs on NCDs.

(ii). Intensive training programme
Intensive training programme on clinical research methods is also conducted annually since 2005 in collaboration with University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB). This course includes in-depth training on designing studies and risk factor analysis. The main objective is to improve the capability of the student/researcher, to identify methodological issues in study designs, ways to overcome potential problems, interpretation of the research findings, understanding the significance of the study results and improving the presentation and communication skills of researchers. Over 125 young researchers have benefited from this training programme.

(iii). Symposium on “Eye disorders in Diabetes”
Two day symposium on “Eye disorders in diabetes” designed for Ophthalmologists and Postgraduates/ Fellows to assess the burden of eye diseases in diabetes mellitus in our country was organized by MDRF in 2006. The focus of the symposium was to increase the awareness of impact of diabetes on eye complications and share the knowledge regarding new and emerging treatments, technologies and strategies to prevent/reduce visual impairment due to diabetic eye diseases.

4. EDUCATING THE PUBLIC

(i) Diabetes Monitor

This quarterly magazine is being published for diabetic individuals for more than a decade to educate the general and the diabetic community on prevention and management of diabetes and associated complications. This diabetes magazine has been designed as an additional resource for diabetic individuals to educate themselves about their role as active participants in the care of this disorder. The mission of the Diabetes Monitor is to:

a. Provide information about diabetes and its complications for individuals with diabetes and their families, and offer useful advice about the prevention and management of diabetic complications.

b. Support people with diabetes in their pursuit of quality of life

Diabetes monitor is published so as to reach even the Lay people.

(ii) Lay Press articles:
Research Grants division is committed to increasing the level of awareness of diabetes among public. This department has a critically important role in informing the public about the disease. This division forms communication channel to the lay audience by reporting about diabetes and its complications and also about the advanced treatments available to cure diabetes and its related disorders through lay press. Many articles have been published by this department in the leading magazines and news papers to educate the public about diabetes.

Two major project proposals the Chennai Urban Rural Epidemiology Study (CURES) to determine the prevalence of the diabetes and its complications in south Indians and PACE (Prevention, Awareness, Counseling and Evaluation) Diabetes Project to create massive awareness about diabetes and its complications among the public in Chennai city were drafted by the Research Grants Division, and supported by Chennai Willingdon Corporate Foundation, Chennai. The CURES is an ongoing project carried out by the Epidemiology Dept and has resulted in over 75 publications and the PACE diabetes project was completed successfully by the Translational Research Dept. and the results were amazing. Such projects can help prevent and control diabetes and its associated complications on a large scale.  

• To intensify collaboration with institutes of similar interests in the field of diabetes to facilitate optimum fund utilization and seamless research.     

Dr. Guha Pradeepa
Ms. K.S. Chella
Ms. A. Sunitha

Head
Research Officer
Secretary