News

The UAB Comprehensive Diabetes Center (UCDC) and Diabetes Research Center (DRC) members and trainees will share their latest scientific findings at the world’s largest diabetes conference, the American Diabetes Association (ADA) 86th Scientific Sessions, June 5-8, in New Orleans.

A digital app for clinicians developed by UAB researchers classifies diabetes into five subtypes, enabling more personalized treatment and better outcomes for patients.

  UAB Comprehensive Diabetes Center (UCDC) researchers joined experts from around the country to present diabetes-related research at the 17th Annual Boshell Research Day on April 17.

Priscila Sato, Ph.D., is associate professor in the Department of Medicine Division of Cardiovascular Diseases. Her lab focuses on molecular mechanisms of cardiovascular diseases, with particular emphasis on G-protein coupled receptor signaling and cardiac metabolism. She joined UAB in 2023.

UAB experts discuss the life cycle of the metabolism, ranging from before birth to older adulthood, and provide tips on metabolic health for a lifetime. 

UAB scientists discovered an oral drug stopped weight rebound after discontinuation or cessation of GLP‑1 treatment in preclinical studies, opening the door to a new approach for maintaining weight loss.

As UAB researchers continue to study how these drugs work and what comes next, their findings are helping move the conversation beyond hype, while working toward a clearer understanding of one of the most significant medical breakthroughs of the past decade.

The UAB Comprehensive Diabetes Center welcomes Madison Newberry Hamby, Ph.D., a postdoctoral fellow who joined the laboratory of Kirk Habegger, Ph.D., in January 2026.

A research manuscript by Fernando Bril, M.D., assistant professor in the UAB Department of Medicine Division of Endocrinology, Diabetes, and Metabolism, is featured in the Endocrine Society’s Article Highlights of 2025, a selective list celebrating the quality and excellence of articles published in the past year.

Research published in the journal Gut suggests that nutraceutical strategies restoring tryptophan metabolism and IPA levels may serve as both biomarkers and therapeutic approaches for diabetic retinopathy.

Members of the UAB Comprehensive Diabetes Center (UCDC) participated in the UAB Core and Shared Resources Day on January 27, 2026 at the Heersink Conference Center.

A new study led by Ananda Basu, M.D., professor in the UAB Department of Medicine Division of Endocrinology, Diabetes, and Metabolism, determines why early post-meal glucagon concentrations are higher in Type 1 diabetes (T1D) than in individuals without diabetes using a novel glucagon isotope tracer. His findings were recently published in the February 2026 issue of Diabetes. 

A new research study led by UAB Comprehensive Diabetes Center scientist Kirk Habegger, Ph.D., shows that cholesterol-lowering drugs enhance weight loss facilitated by glucagon receptor agonist obesity drugs.

Our Get to Know series highlights our dynamic researchers from across the UCDC, from faculty members to trainees and laboratory staff. This month, we’re spotlighting Huixian Hong, M.D., Ph.D., an experienced researcher who joined the lab of Kirk Habegger, Ph.D., as lab manager in 2025.

Explore key 2026 diabetes research conferences and grant deadlines compiled by the UAB Comprehensive Diabetes Center.

Sushant Bhatnagar, Ph.D., Associate Professor in the UAB Division of Endocrinology, Diabetes, and Metabolism, has published an extensive review in Comprehensive Physiology, a peer-reviewed journal of the American Physiological Society, offering new insights into the cell-specific roles of BAI receptors in health and metabolic disorders.

The UAB Department of Medicine (DOM) recognized UAB Comprehensive Diabetes Center (UCDC) members, Fernando Bril, M.D., Alexandra Dodd, M.D., and Kirk Habegger, Ph.D., at DOM Recognition Day 2025.

Thi Yen Ly Huynh, Ph.D., a postdoctoral fellow in the Ramanadham Lab at the UAB Comprehensive Diabetes Center (UCDC), was granted a travel award to present at the Southeastern Regional Lipid Conference (SERLC) in Asheville, North Carolina, Nov. 5-7, 2025.

UAB Medicine’s Leadership Development Office (LDO) honored 33 graduates of the Emerging Leaders Series (ELS) fall 2025 Cohort 4 during a ceremony held on Thursday, Nov. 12. The cohort completed a multi-session program designed to strengthen leadership capability for emerging leaders across the enterprise.

Meet Adam Wende, Ph.D., Professor in the Division of Molecular and Cellular Pathology in the Heersink School of Medicine Department of Pathology. His work has been funded by the American Heart Association, Breakthrough T1D (formerly JDRF), and most recently the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute of the NIH.

In honor of Diabetes Awareness Month, we caught up with Nicole Johnson, DrPH, the first Miss America with Type 1 diabetes (T1D), who now calls Birmingham home. Johnson shares her story of living with T1D since age 19 and how it has shaped her lifelong career of advocacy and education.

Haifa Alsharif, Ph.D., said working under the mentorship of Sushant Bhatnagar, Ph.D., in the UAB Comprehensive Diabetes Center (UCDC) shaped her scientific path and deepened her appreciation for metabolic and diabetes research.

Rithvikha Nair, a senior studying in the UAB Comprehensive Diabetes Center (UCDC), has received a 2025 undergraduate fellowship program funding award from Cayman Biomedical Research Institute (CABRI) to support her research in Type 1 diabetes (T1D).

Thi Yen Ly Huynh, Ph.D., a postdoctoral fellow in the Ramanadham Lab at the UAB Comprehensive Diabetes Center (UCDC), was selected as a finalist for the Outstanding Young Scientist Awards to be presented at the International Meeting on Lipid Mediators in Health and Disease.

UAB Comprehensive Diabetes Center Scientist Kirk Habegger, Ph.D., will speak at the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK) glucagon physiology workshop, Feb. 9-10, 2026.

Kirk Habegger, Ph.D., Professor of Medicine in the UAB Department of Medicine Division of Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolism, has received funding from Eli Lilly and Company to continue investigation of glucagon receptor activation in incretin-based obesity therapies.

UAB diabetes researchers presented their latest work on an international stage at the 61st Annual Meeting of the European Association for the Study of Diabetes (EASD) in Vienna, Austria, Sept. 15-19.

Ben Gran is the lab manager for both Dr. Rita Basu and Dr. Ananda Basu who are clinical diabetes researchers at the UCDC. Gran has been with the Basu Lab for a decade supporting cutting-edge diabetes research studies. 

Health care providers from across the state and region gathered to learn about diabetes, thyroid disorders, osteoporosis, and more at the 2025 UAB Endocrinology Update, Aug. 23, at Hilton Birmingham Downtown at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB).

Amy Warriner, M.D., professor in the Department of Medicine, has been named the 2025 recipient of the Brewer-Heslin Award for Professionalism in Medicine.