# Integrated Training in Engineering and Diabetes

> **NIH NIH T32** · VANDERBILT UNIVERSITY · 2022 · $347,651

## Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY/ABSTRACT
Diabetes is a complex disease with multiple risk factors/causes, and a broad spectrum of complications. The
rational development of novel clinical treatments for diabetes will require interdisciplinary approaches to integrate
multiple data sources, build predictive models, and develop new technologies that will together reveal the
multifactorial underpinnings of the disease. Such approaches are well-developed in engineering, but they have
not been widely applied to diabetes, in part because of a lack of people skilled in both engineering and biomedical
research. To develop such an interdisciplinary workforce, we propose to continue a novel Integrated Training in
Engineering and Diabetes (ITED) program to attract both predoctoral students and postdoctoral fellows with
engineering and quantitative physical science backgrounds to work on research problems at the interface of
engineering and diabetes. Vanderbilt University is an ideal location for this program because of the close
integration and proximity of the Schools of Engineering and Medicine, the outstanding environment for diabetes
research, and the long-standing tradition of collegiality and collaboration across the Vanderbilt campus. The
overall goal of the program is to provide talented individuals from engineering backgrounds with state-of-the-art
training in diabetes research, which will give them a broad perspective of both basic biomedical research and
associated clinical challenges. Forty-one faculty preceptors, equally distributed between those with an
engineering background and a diabetes research focus, will work together to offer a wide variety of research
opportunities in engineering and diabetes research. Our program includes: a) a novel dual mentor plan where
each trainee performs interdisciplinary research in two labs, b) an efficient didactic program that provides
trainees with the necessary knowledge base in a compact time-frame that promotes timely completion of their
degree, and c) interactions with other trainees, faculty, and visiting scientists. Two experienced mentors, one
from engineering and one from a diabetes research background, will supervise each trainee. This
interdisciplinary approach requires the trainees to spend significant time in each of the mentors’ labs. A broad
educational program for predoctoral trainees will leverage existing courses in the Schools of Engineering and
Medicine, supplemented by research seminars, a monthly Data Club, and an annual ITED Retreat. Postdoctoral
trainees with engineering degrees will be specifically recruited to this program, and will participate in all ITED
activities. We do not expect the postdoctoral trainees to have a background in diabetes research, so they will
achieve competency through didactic instruction. Support for 4 predoctoral trainees and 2 postdoctoral trainees
is requested based on the research resources of the faculty preceptors. A Steering Committee that represents
the breadth of ...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10457263
- **Project number:** 5T32DK101003-09
- **Recipient organization:** VANDERBILT UNIVERSITY
- **Principal Investigator:** Jamey D. Young
- **Activity code:** T32 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2022
- **Award amount:** $347,651
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2014-08-01 → 2024-07-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10457263

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10457263, Integrated Training in Engineering and Diabetes (5T32DK101003-09). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-24 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10457263. Licensed CC0.

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