USF Health Professor Jeffrey Krischer believes that a $169 million study to understand the factors involved in the development of type 1 diabetes has the right combination of science and strategy to eliminate the disease for the next generation. He leads the university's Pediatric Epidemiology Center, which received the largest grant in USF history when it was tapped to coordinate and analyze the study's results.

A consortium comprised of Krischer's data coordinating center and six international clinical sites will allow for a multidisciplinary approach to the effort. In the past, no study had the statistical power to advance researchers' understanding. By following more than 7,800 newborns who are genetically at risk for the disease and tracking their diets, illnesses, allergies and other life experiences for 15 years, this study will yield sufficient data to make unprecedented progress in unlocking the causes of type 1 diabetes.

Krischer's team is the focal point for virtually every major study of type 1 diabetes prevention in the world. The university's Department of Pediatrics is number three in the nation.

Read the complete article in USF Magazine (page 24).

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