The Barbara Davis Center for Diabetes at the University of Colorado School of Medicine and the Children’s Diabetes Foundation announce the creation of the Richard Abrams and Marian Rewers Endowed Chair for Clinical Research to Eradicate Childhood Diabetes. Funding includes a $1.5 million lead gift from an Anonymous Donor and $500,000 from The Battin Trust.nnThe inaugural holder of the Endowed Chair will be Marian Rewers, MD, PhD, who will continue his groundbreaking research toward prevention of the disease. The chair is named in honor of Dr. Rewers and his longtime colleague, Richard Abrams, MD.nnStated Barbara Davis, “We are incredibly thrilled to acknowledge this generous endowment, which validates and assists the tremendous work being done to eradicate Type 1 diabetes. Drs. Rewers and Abrams are leaders in the field of diabetes research and treatment, and we look forward to major progress in fighting this disease under their guidance.”nnDiabetes will strike one out of every three children born today. It occurs when the body’s immune system attacks and kills the cells of the pancreas that produce insulin, and is the leading cause of stroke and heart disease. Type 1 diabetes, often called “childhood diabetes,” is the most common chronic disease of children and young adults, with more than 1.5 million people in the United States currently diagnosed — and prevalence has doubled in the past 20 years.nnType 1 diabetes dramatically changes the life of the child, along with their family. The Barbara Davis Center for Diabetes addresses the full spectrum of issues, from medical treatment, to teaching families how to recognize and respond to danger signs in a diabetic child, to providing information on support groups.nnMedical costs for diabetic patients are ten times the national average. Children with Type 1 diabetes and their families benefit from technological progress: improved insulin, insulin pumps, and, in the near future, small “artificial pancreas” devices; however there is no known cure or prevention. The cause of childhood diabetes is not precisely known, but scientists are zeroing in on a few environmental factors that trigger pancreatic inflammation starting in early childhood that, over time, leads to diabetes.nn“Eradication of Type 1 diabetes is a lofty goal, but we want to set the bar high,” said Dr. Rewers, who is a professor of pediatrics and medicine and Barbara Davis Center clinical director. “The endowed chair will help us take the next step from knowing the cause to taking action that can help kids avoid diabetes.”nnAbout the PhysiciansnDr. Marian Rewers is a pediatric endocrinologist and the clinical director of the Barbara Davis Center for Childhood Diabetes at the University of Colorado School of Medicine. He began his quest to eradicate childhood diabetes in 1993, by receiving major funding from the National Institutes of Health for the Diabetes Autoimmunity Study in the Young (DAISY). This study screened over 30,000 newborns in Denver and has followed 2,500 those with the highest genetic risk for childhood diabetes. By comparing infections, diets, genes and immunological markers in children who have developed pancreatic inflammation and diabetes with those who remained healthy, DAISY was able to develop immunological and genetic tests that can identify children who will develop diabetes in the next 5-10 years. The study showed that routine immunizations and baby milk formulas do not increase the risk for diabetes, but certain viral infections do increase the risk. In 2002, on the foundations of DAISY, the National Health Institutes funded an international consortium – The Environmental Determinants of Diabetes in the Young (TEDDY). Dr. Rewers serves as the co-chairman of this project that has screened more than 424,000 children in Europe and America and follows 8,677 which are at the highest risk. State-of-the-art laboratory techniques are used to pinpoint the cause of diabetes.nnDr. Richard Abrams has practiced internal medicine in Denver, Colorado for more than 30 years. Throughout his career, Dr. Abrams focused much of his work on the management of diabetes during pregnancy. As a former leader of the pregnancy council of the American Diabetes Association, Dr. Abrams wrote and edited several books on the management of diabetes during pregnancy. In 2003, Dr. Abrams founded Colorado Preventive Medicine at Rose Medical Center. Endowment of the Chair for Clinical Research to Eradicate Childhood Diabetes honors Dr. Abrams as a physician dedicated to the care of people with diabetes and the prevention of diabetes complications.