Lisa A. Stehno-Bittel, PhD, PT, had no idea that running pigs on a treadmill would eventually lead to co-founding the new Diabetes Institute at the University of Kansas Medical Center.

In the 1980s, Stehno-Bittel, who is scientific director for the Institute and chair of the Department of Physical Therapy, was studying how exercise affects coronary health for her PhD in physical therapy. When her mentor’s two-year-old son was diagnosed with diabetes, she began to look at how exercise affects this chronic condition. Today, research suggests exercise plays an even more critical role than diet in managing diabetes.

Making sure that diabetics get the benefit of current research along with the highest standard of care fueled the launch in 2006 of the Diabetes Institute, housed in the Kansas Life Sciences Innovation Center.

The Institute focuses on three components: education, research and direct care through the KUMC Cray Diabetic Management Clinic. Beyond co-locating research and clinical facilities, the faculty and staff of the Diabetes Institute are collaborating with other area researchers and clinicians, like those at Children’s Mercy and Saint Luke’s Hospitals, to translate diabetes research from the laboratory to the patient’s bedside.

“We want to build a network of practitioners, patients and researchers to coordinate care throughout the area,” Stehno-Bittel says. “We hope to improve treatment, promote prevention and make care more efficient and less costly.”

Diabetics spend five times more on health care and consume a significant portion of the nations health resources. Plus, endocrinologists are in short supply – there’s a nine-month wait for new patients at Cray, for example. The Institute will train both doctors and allied health professionals in educating patients on how to best manage their condition.

Stehno-Bittel says, “By working together, we can enhance resources, improve patient care and gain knowledge that may lead to curing or preventing diabetes in the future.” +