RESEARCH ACTIVITIES IN DIABETES

Introduction
Involved Researchers
Ongoing Research
Recently Published Books or Book Chapters
Recently Published Articles

Research in the field of diabetes epidemiology spans the life course, as ongoing projects include children, adolescents and adults. Current studies include the SEARCH for Diabetes in Youth study, a multi-center, observational, federally funded study which includes both surveillance and follow-up components. One of the study main aims is to estimate trends in incidence of diabetes in youth, including type 1 and type 2 diabetes. Furthermore, this effort aims to advance the understanding of the evolution of diabetes, including markers of complications and quality of care. Ancillary studies are focusing on the link between depression and diabetes and risk factors for type 2 diabetes in youth. Ongoing studies of adult diabetes include translational research research on diabetes self-management and scientific participation in the follow-up of clinical trial populations.

Involved Researchers:
Angela Liese Ph.D.
Jihong Liu Sc.D.
Robert McKeown Ph.D.
Robert Moran Ph.D.

Ongoing Research:
Spatial epidemiology of diabetes in the SEARCH for Diabetes in Youth Study
Angela Liese (PI)
NIH/NIDDK
January 15, 2007 - December 31, 2009
Purpose: This ancillary study to the SEARCH for Diabetes in Youth Study and the SEARCH Case Control study aims to (1) describe and map the spatial distribution of incident pediatric diabetes; (2) evaluate the association of diabetes incidence with geographic and neighborhood characteristics; (3) to explore the extent to which geographical and neighborhood characteristics and established individual-level risk factors are similar or different with respect to their influence of Type 1 or Type 2 diabetes.

Dietary patterns, atherosclerosis and risk of diabetes in the Insulin Resistance Atherosclerosis Study
Angela Liese (PI)
American Heart Association Grant-in-Aid
July 1, 2006 - June 30, 2008
The purpose of this project is to (1) identify distinct dietary patterns that explain a maximal amount of variation in established biologic risk factors for atherosclerosis and for diabetes and (2) evaluate the relation of the respective dietary patterns to the progression of atherosclerosis and the risk of diabetes using existing data from the Insulin Resistance Atherosclerosis Study cohort.

SEARCH for Diabetes in Youth 2: USC Site
Angela Liese (PI)
CDC / Division of Diabetes Translation (DDT) and NIH/NIDDK
September 30, 2005 - September 29, 2010
The purpose of this project is to assess the incidence and natural history of diabetes in youth, the impact of quality of diabetes care in youth on short- and long-term diabetes outcomes, and the development of a validate simple and low-cost case definition and classification of diabetes in youth that can be used for public health surveillance. This project is based on the continuation of the SEARCH for Diabetes in Youth study. South Carolina is one of six US sites of this multi-center study.

Diabetes Prevention Program Outcomes Study (DPPOS)
Robert Moran Ph.D. (PI)
Subcontract to George Washington University
NIH/NIDDK
May 01, 2002 – January 31, 2009
Evaluate approaches to the primary prevention of non-insulin dependent diabetes mellitus. USC holds a subcontract for the study wide dietary assessment and is responsible for the collection, quality control, and analysis of dietary data from the 27 clinical centers nationwide.

LOOK AHEAD - Diet Assessment Center: Action for Health in Diabetes
Robert Moran Ph.D. (PI)
NIH/NIDDK, Subcontract to Wake Forest University
July 1, 2001 - August 31, 2008
This study will address questions of macronutrient intake in relation to cardiovascular risk factors and clinical events in persons with type-2 diabetes under conditions of either usual care or intensive weight loss intervention. USC holds a subcontract for the study wide dietary assessment and is responsible for the collection, quality control, and analysis of dietary data from the 20 clinical centers nationwide.

Recently Published Articles:
Liese AD, Gilliard T, Schulz M, D’Agostino RB, Wolever TMS. Carbohydrate nutrition, glycemic load and plasma lipids: the Insulin Resistance Atherosclerosis Study. Eur Heart J 2007; 28: 80-87.

Liese AD (Chair of Writing Group) The Burden of Diabetes Among Youth in the United States: Prevalence Estimates from the SEARCH for Diabetes in Youth Study. Pediatrics 2006; 118:1510-8.

Ma B, Lawson AB, Liese AD, Bell RA, Mayer-Davis EJ. Dairy, magnesium and calcium in relation to insulin sensitivity: approaches to modeling the dose-dependent association. Am J Epidemiol. 2006 Sep 1;164(5):449-58. Epub 2006 Jul 21. PMID: 16861328