Vanderbilt Diabetes Research Center

Facilitating the discovery, application, and translation of scientific knowledge to improve the lives of people with diabetes

News

About Us

The Vanderbilt Diabetes Research Center (VDRC) is a NIH-sponsored Diabetes Research Center that promotes new discoveries and enhances scientific progress through cutting-edge basic and clinical research related to the etiology and complications of diabetes and obesity. 

For over 50 years, the VDRC has worked to rapidly translate research findings into novel strategies for the prevention, treatment and cure of diabetes and related conditions.

The VDRC supports core facilities that enhance diabetes-related research and organizes an enrichment program of seminars and small groups that create a dynamic environment for the training of the next generation of scientists. We invite you to collaborate with us as we work to reduce the burden of diabetes.

The Vanderbilt Diabetes Research Center is supported by NIH grant DK020593. 

Please acknowledge this in your publications.

Recent Publications

Regional and systemic adipose mass and peripheral conduit artery function

Wakeham DJ, Beckman BE, Mashayekhi M, et al.

Diabetes Res Clin Pract. 2025

PMID: 40774652

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Improved Afternoon Hepatic Glucose Disposal and Storage Requires Morning Engagement

Waterman HL, Moore MC, Smith MS, et al.

Diabetes. 2025

PMID: 39602425PMC11842597

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Type 1 Diabetes Depends on CD4-Driven Expression of the Transcriptional Repressor Bcl6

McNitt DH, Williams JM, Santitoro JG, et al.

Diabetes. 2025

PMID: 39556799PMC12097460

View Publication

Events, Seminars, & Presentations

Friday Seminar Series

The Vanderbilt Diabetes Research Center hosts a weekly seminar series featuring VDRC faculty and guest speakers, every Friday at 12 p.m. central time in 512 Light Hall on the VUMC campus.

See the 2026 seminar schedule here.

Interest Group Seminars

The Metabolism Interest Group (MIG) and the Beta-Cell Interest Group (BIG) each host regular seminars on relevant topics.

Virtual Seminar Series

Join us virtually each second Wednesday of the month for the national DRC Virtual Seminar series and hear from researchers representing diabetes center across the country. 

Learn more and register to attend the monthly webinar here.

Our Values

At the Vanderbilt Diabetes Research Center, we subscribe to the following principles:

  • Science is real. Discovery and application of new knowledge is the path to improve the lives of people with diabetes.
  • Training the next generation of scientists is fundamental to what we do. The VDRC enhances training programs for graduate students, medical students, and postdoctoral fellows.
  • Science needs collaboration across disciplines and institutions. More than half of the scientific publications by VDRC investigators have two or more Vanderbilt scientists as authors. The VDRC is working with other institutions and centers to advance discovery and to communicate scientific information to other researchers and to society.