Research

At the Emory Global Diabetes Research Center (EGDRC), we harness our global network to empower researchers at Emory and beyond, advancing cutting-edge research in diabetes and related non-communicable diseases. Our work explores causes, treatments, prevention, and policy, focusing on risk factors like sociodemographics, nutrition, obesity, and physical activity.

Research Pillars

Public Health & Policy

We’re focused on improving health outcomes through science, equitable practices, & structured policy-making.

Digital Health & Technologies

Encompasses the integration of advanced digital technologies with personalized medicine approaches to enhance patient care, optimize treatment outcomes, & improve overall health management.

Applied Health Research

Both fields aim to bridge the gap between research and practice, ensuring that scientific advancements lead to tangible health benefits.

Biomedical Sciences & Precision Medicine

Focused scientific investigation of the underlying mechanisms, causes, and functional changes associated with diseases.

Ongoing Research Projects

Atlanta Food Access Explorer

The Atlanta Food Map is an interactive tool that shows food access across metro Atlanta’s five largest counties. It helps communities and leaders identify gaps and improve access to healthy food.

Pancreas Functional MRI

The failure of pancreatic beta-cells to regulate energy homeostasis through insulin secretion is a central feature of diabetes.

Testing Safety of LLMs in Patient-Facing QA

This project evaluates the safety and consistency of large language models in patient-facing medical question answering by testing how variations in question phrasing impact the reliability of their responses.

Harnessing Gastric Endocrine Cell Identity to Treat Diabetes

This study shows that calorie restriction activates a Notch-FOXO1 pathway in the stomach, expanding ghrelin-producing cells by altering stem and progenitor cell activity.

Pancreatic Biobank: Asian Centre for Endocrine Pancreas Research (AC-EPR)

This project aims to understand the unique features of the Indian pancreas, the rise of diabetes in younger people, and develop precision therapies through research, biobanking, and targeted treatment approaches.

Diabetes Translator Accelerator

The DTA drives research and technology to address major challenges in diabetes through start-ups and commercialization.

Global Physical Activity

Exercise is Medicine, in collaboration with Emory University’s Rollins School of Public Health has established the EIMGRCC, an academic hub to lead and collaborate on EIM implementation research projects and coordinate its evaluation.