He noted that significant support will also continue at the graduate student and postdoctoral levels. “These programs will help ensure that there will be a cadre of well-trained PhD scientists and physician-scientists specializing in endocrinology and diabetes research,” Dr. Rodgers said.
▸ Ensure knowledge dissemination. Efforts such as the 10-year-old National Diabetes Education Program (cosponsored with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention), the National Kidney Disease Education Program, and the Weight-Control Information Network are essential to the institute's mission. “People talk about bench-to-bedside research, but there are data that currently exist that, if they were implemented in practice, would really provide striking benefits to patients on a large scale. A lot of this is a knowledge gap, and that's what we're trying to work with in these education dissemination efforts,” said Dr. Rodgers.
A hematologist by training, Dr. Rodgers has worked at the National Institutes of Health since 1982. He is widely recognized for the development of the first effective therapy for sickle cell anemia, and has performed basic research focused on the understanding of the molecular bases of how drugs induce gamma-globin gene expression. “My own personal work in the area of hematology has provided me with a level of comfort, both in the basic and translational and clinical arenas, that sort of guide the way I think about areas of research that the institute is more generally involved in,” he said in the interview.
Resources for NIDDK Initiatives
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www.nih.gov/news/pr/aug2006/niddk-28.htm
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