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Methodist Launches Diabetes Research Program with Internationally Known Physician-Scientists
Two of the nation’s most accomplished academic physicians in the fields of diabetes and related metabolic disorders joined the Methodist Hospital Research Institute (TMHRI) in early 2008, vastly expanding the existing research efforts for this field of medicine at the Institute. Willa Hsueh, M.D. from the University of California at Los Angeles, and John D. Baxter, M.D., from the University of California at San Francisco, have relocated to Houston with their research teams to establish the new Diabetes Research Center (DRC). The DRC will have its main laboratory and investigator offices on Fondren 8, with outpatient clinical facilities in the Smith Tower.
“Both the hospital and the research institute are elated that John, Willa, and their teams will join us,” said TMHRI Director, Dr. Michael Lieberman. “An innovative and comprehensive research program in diabetes, endocrinology, and metabolism has always been part of the strategic plan for the institute, and the new Diabetes Research Center marks a major step forward in that effort.”
Dr. Baxter’s laboratory was the first to clone the growth hormone family of genes, including the first human gene. More recently, Dr. Baxter and his key collaborator Dr. Paul Webb have worked in the area of nuclear hormone receptor action with a particular focus on thyroid hormone. They have made key advances in the understanding of receptor structure and have applied observations made with human patients with thyroid hormone receptor defects towards development of novel selective thyroid hormone receptor modulators and antagonists. Recently, Dr. Baxter published results of the first successful clinical trial with one of these selective thyromimetics KB2115, developed at KaroBio AB, a company that he founded in Sweden. KB2115 mimics the metabolic effects of the thyroid hormone without the negative cardiac side effects. With a demonstrated ability to lower LDL cholesterol by as much as 40% and decrease body weight, KB2115 could provide a potential alternative to patients who cannot tolerate statin therapy.
Dr. Hsueh and her team were the first to identify a potentially protective role for the activation of nuclear receptors of the peroxisome proliferator activated receptor family (PPAR) in vascular injury, and more recently, in diabetes complications, particularly in regulation of genes that may mediate vascular and renal complications. She was also one of the earliest investigators to suggest that diabetes is a major contributor to cardiovascular injury, and has lead studies in identification of biomarkers of cardiovascular and metabolic disease, including genetic alterations. Dr. Hsueh will continue her important basic and translational work at Methodist, as well as build a substantial clinical practice with the Academic Medicine Associates in the Department of Medicine.
Drs. Baxter and Hsueh will work closely with Drs. Richard Robbins and Dale Hamilton, who are already conducting clinical diabetes studies of their own here at Methodist and in such surrounding communities as Denver Harbor.
“The incidence of diabetes and obesity are increasing disproportionately in several minority populations, with some of the highest incidence rates in adolescent Hispanics and African Americans,” said Dr. Hsueh. “Dr. Robbins’ study at the Denver Harbor Clinic represents an ideal opportunity to develop a new, higher standard of care, both for a medically underserved community that desperately needs it and for the millions of children and adults in the United States currently afflicted with type 2 diabetes. I look forward to working on this important study with him, and initiating additional studies throughout the community-based clinical research network that Methodist has established.”
Fondren 8 Laboratory
Over 9,000 square feet of wet and dry laboratory space was renovated for the new DRC. The new laboratory boasts four standard fume hoods, 10 wall-mounted individual fume hoods, three dedicated tissue culture rooms, four support rooms for bench top equipment, two large equipment rooms, and ceiling-mounted utility panels for easy access and workstation flexibility. The $4 million project resulted in an open laboratory space that has become the model for all future laboratories at the Institute. With fewer walls separating investigators from their research teams and other investigators, the new design will allow for the sharing of large equipment and encourage communication and collaboration.
Contact Information
Willa Hsueh, MD
WAHsueh@tmhs.org
713-441-2520
John D. Baxter, MD
JDBaxter@tmhs.org
713-441-3274
Paul Webb, PhD
PWebb@tmhs.org
713-441-2516
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