Dr. Robert Sherwin is lauded for diabetes research

June 23, 2011

Internationally renowned diabetes researcher and clinician Dr. Robert Sherwin is the recipient of the American Diabetes Association's (ADA) 2011 Albert Renold Award.

Sherwin, who has been in the forefront of diabetes research for his entire career, is the C.N.H. Long Professor of Medicine and chief of the Section of Endocrinology at Yale School of Medicine, and director of the Yale Center for Clinical Investigation and the Diabetes Endocrinology Research Center at Yale.

Albert Renold was a pioneer in diabetes research and a scholar who influenced generations of scientists. The award in his honor is presented, according to the ADA, "to an individual whose career is distinguished by outstanding achievements in the training of diabetes research scientists and the facilitation of diabetes research."

Sherwin said, "I am honored to receive this award recognizing the achievements of a physician who has served the diabetes community as a model scientist."

Sherwin and colleagues played a key role in the development of insulin pump therapy, which was a major advance and improvement in the care of diabetes patients. He demonstrated how continuous infusion via a small pump could provide a safe, effective method of insulin delivery in diabetics. In later research, Sherwin also defined how the brain senses glucose and activates defenses against hypoglycemia, the major complication of insulin therapy in diabetes.

For 26 years, Sherwin served as director of the training program in diabetes and metabolism at Yale, funded by the National Institutes of Health. Sherwin has taught many scientists how to design laboratory and clinical studies in diabetes and how to collect and analyze data. His protégés are now in the vanguard of diabetes research around the world, working in academia at the interface of basic science and human biology.

*The original article can be found here.