On Thursday, April 26, 2012, HudsonAlpha hosted a benefit to raise funds for HudsonAlpha’s current and planned research on diabetes, obesity and other metabolic conditions. These related disorders present severe health problems that affect many in our community along with thousands of people throughout the state and nation. According to the Centers for Disease Control, diabetes currently affects 25.8 million children and adults in the U.S. Alarmingly, Alabama ranks third in the U.S. in obesity rates (32 percent of the population) and adults who have diabetes (12 percent of the population).
The HudsonAlpha Institute is working to better understand the genomic factors contributing to diabetes and obesity. Our researchers are currently involved in multiple collaborations to identify genomic sequences for improving diagnosis, prognosis and treatments. In one initiative, HudsonAlpha investigators and colleagues at the University of Alabama at Birmingham are researching variants in body mass index and natural variation in insulin levels. Another project, with the University of Arizona, involves the study of the immune repertoire of people with type 1 diabetes.
At HudsonAlpha, investigators are pushing the limits of cutting-edge research and technology to discover the genetic cause of diseases like diabetes and obesity. Experiments that were impossible and impractical only a few years ago are now conducted every day.
Through the Spring Benefit for Research on Diabetes and Obesity, HudsonAlpha supporters from this community and around the state joined together to advance the work of HudsonAlpha investigators, who work to find the answers to the complex questions surrounding these diseases.
HudsonAlpha was pleased to have Dr. David Altshuler, from Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, as keynote speaker. See the following link for more on Dr. Altshuler – http://www.broadinstitute.org/about/bios/bio-altshuler.html.
Everyone at HudsonAlpha is truly grateful for the many individuals and companies that supported this event.