Wednesday, December 9, 2015

Visiting Professors Featured in Post-Gazette Cover Story

Recently appointed visiting professors Nick Giannoukakis and Massimo Trucco are making a splash in the Pittsburgh health care community. Yesterday, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette ran a feature highlighting a new clinical trial for improvements in diabetes treatment being run by Allegheny Health Network's Institute of Cellular Therapeutics, of which Giannoukakis is part and Trucco is director.

The trial involves both Allegheny Health Network and its rival, UPMC. This unlikely collaboration caught the attention of the media, while the clinical trial and its researchers should hold the spotlight as the results of this trial may yield a new way to treat diabetes, which affects over 29 million people in the United States alone.

A compound, AZD9668, developed by AstraZeneca as part of an anti-inflammatory agent to treat respiratory problems, is the focus of the research. Giannoukakis and the Institute for Cellular Therapeutics team will be looking at the use of the AZD9668 compound as a way to stall the cellular inflammation that dulls the body's sensitivity to insulin.

To read more about the clinical trial and how the Institute of Cellular Therapeutics is innovating the treatment of diabetes, click here for the full PPG article.

Picture above (from left): Nick Giannoukakis, visiting associate professor, and Massimo Trucco, visiting professor