Studying Diabetes at UM

Our research focuses on exploring the genetic determinants in diabetes and obesity. Our research group ( Dr N Pace , Prof J Vassallo) uses novel sequencing approaches to unravel the role of rare genetic variants that exert a strong effect on disease risk. We are presently investigating selected cases with early onset diabetes, diabetes in pregnancy as well as morbid obesity. Often, these extreme phenotypes are driven by rare genetic variants that are difficult to ascertain. This research is innovative in the local scenario and is made possible by strong collaboration between researchers and clinicians in the field of endocrinology, genetics and bariatric surgery. Our work has lead to the recruitment and analysis of a collection of monogenic diabetes cases , where the results of analysis are communicated to clinicians to guide further management. The same approach is presently being applied to gestational diabetes and extreme obesity cases.