Juvenile Diabetes Foundation Saving Lives Through Research

by State Senator Jon Erpenbach

On Friday, May 19th, the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation will hold its spring gala in Madison. Governor Doyle will be on-hand to address the gathering. The Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation International (JDRF) is the leading charitable funding organization and advocate of type 1 diabetes research worldwide. Their mission is simple: find a cure for diabetes.

The JDRF was founded in 1970 by parents of children with type 1 diabetes. Since its inception it has awarded more than $900 million to diabetes research. In 2005 alone, it awarded $98 million to directly support research and research-related education. It has dispersed money to 500 centers, grants, and fellowships in 19 different countries.

Type 1 diabetes can strike in childhood, adolescence or adulthood. When diagnosed at a young age, it happens quite suddenly, making children dependent on injected or pumped insulin for life, and in adults and children, carries the constant threat of devastating complications such as kidney failure, blindness, nerve damage, loss of limbs, heart attack or stroke. While insulin allows a person to stay alive, it is not a cure.

The statistics on diabetes in our country are staggering. As many as 3 million Americans have type 1 diabetes. Each year more than 13,000 children are diagnosed, that averages out to about 35 children per day. The causes of diabetes are not yet fully understood. That is why the JDRF is dependent upon, and has benefited from, scientific research happening right here in Wisconsin.

Governor Doyle has pledged his support for life-saving bio-medical research. He has vetoed legislation that would cripple Wisconsin’s ability to perform the kind of research that would directly benefit the JDRF and other organizations dedicated to finding a cure for chronic diseases.

On May 19th, the JDRF will celebrate its accomplishments, but there is much work to be done. According to the Governor and the University of Wisconsin System, plans to advance Wisconsin’s role in life saving research include:

A new $375 million public-private research institute, to be known as the Wisconsin Institutes for Discovery. The proposed institute would occupy the entire 1200 and 1300 blocks of University Avenue and would become a massive interdisciplinary research center that would combine biology, bioinformatics, computer science, engineering, nanotechnology and other fields in one setting. The first phase of the project would use $50 million, which already had been earmarked for the fourth phase of the BioStar initiative.
A new $134 million interdisciplinary research complex near University Hospital and Clinics. The new center would be translational in nature, helping bring basic research discoveries to clinical fruition at a more rapid pace.
$1.5 million annually to support research on Alzheimer's disease at UW-Madison.
A new $132 million research facility at the Medical College of Wisconsin and Children's Hospital that will focus on infectious disease control, cardiovascular illnesses and bio-engineering.

We need to support the research that began right here in Wisconsin, and give hope to the millions of Americans who are affected by these illnesses.

Special Thanks to the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation International for providing statistics and information for this column.