Significant progress has been made to define the underlying processes causing increased risk of cardiovascular disease in type 2 diabetes. While a similar connection has been observed in patients with type 1 diabetes, the pathophysiology appears to be distinct from type 2 diabetes. Despite this, current treatment recommendations for cardiovascular risk factors are predominantly derived from studies on type 2 diabetes or on populations that did not discriminate between diabetes type. Understanding the factors that determine cardiovascular disease risk specifically in type 1 diabetes will help enable development of therapies to prevent and manage the disease.

To address the research need, the American Diabetes Association created the Cardiovascular Complication in Type 1 Diabetes Fellowship awards, and launched a request for applications in 2018 to support postdoctoral fellows pursuing research in this topic. The goal of these awards is to support clinical and translational research focused on understanding the mechanisms triggering the development of cardiovascular complications specifically in people with type 1 diabetes. And all awards were made possible by the generous gift of an anonymous donor.

Meet the fellowship awardees

Vishal Kothari, PhD

Project: HDL associated apolipoprotein C4 in cardiovascular complication of type 1 diabetes

Institution: University of Washington, Seattle, WA

Ivana Semova, PhD

Project: A novel approach towards restoring cholesterol homeostasis in type 1 diabetes

Institution: Boston Children’s Hospital, Boston, MA

Marc Gregory Y. Yu, PhD

Project: Risk and protective factors for cardiovascular complications in type 1 diabetes of extreme duration-the Joslin Medalist Study

Institution: Joslin Diabetes Center, Boston, MA