When people are first diagnosed with diabetes, they may get depressed.  Or anxious.  Or angry.      New USF faculty member Laura Williams, PhD, knows this better than most.      Dr. Laura Williams, USF clinical psychologist and assistant professor of pediatrics, hands out beads at the Gasparilla Children’s Parade.      As a clinical psychologist who specializes in treating people with diabetes, Dr. Williams works to help people understand those problems – and realize just how normal they are.      Her empathy goes beyond her training. Dr. Williams was diagnosed with […]

Nearly 1,500 people of all ages gathered at the University of South Florida this Saturday, Nov. 14, to stride forward together in the American Diabetes Association’s StepOut to Fight Diabetes Walk. The ADA’s signature fundraising walk, coinciding with National Diabetes Day, was held at more than 150 sites across the country. Hosting the walk was a chance for USF to showcase its bold initiative to fight diabetes on every front – from education and research to family-centered care. The University is planning a new center for people with diabetes – […]

             Kaitlin Spears, a 9-year-old Pinellas County resident, doesn’t let her insulin pump stop her from coloring on the floor during a USF focus group at the Children With Diabetes conference.       If you imagined the perfect place for children with diabetes, what would it have?       For families of these children, the list is long and varied: Health professionals who really understand diabetes. Less time waiting to be seen. Someone available to answer questions at all hours of the day, who can tell parents what to do when […]

[audio:http://health.usf.edu/nocms/publicaffairs/now/mp3/Interview_Grace_Emery_n_Diabetes.mp3] Who says exercise can’t be fun? Grace Emery jumps on her mini-trampoline when her blood sugar gets too high. Grace Emery loves jumping on her mini-trampoline but already dreams of law school. She makes plans for a high-school trip but wears a sweatshirt from George Washington University. She still gets squeamish just looking at her own veins but knows too much about grown-up fears. Grace is 17, and she has Type I diabetes. So she fits a chronic disease, one that demands attention and energy every day, into her […]

Miss America 1999 Nicole Johnson, who was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes while a USF student, has joined the USF diabetes team. USF Targets Diabetes When Nicole Johnson first heard she had diabetes, she was a USF student. Alone and scared, she reacted to the news with a gesture of defiance: downing an entire 2-liter bottle of sugary Coke herself. Now Johnson is back at USF. But she’s not the frightened student she once was. Johnson became Miss America in 1999, and she has transformed herself into one of the […]

USF is launching on a bold new plan to fight diabetes on every front with its Center of Excellence for Diabetes and Autoimmune Disorders. Already a national leader in epidemiological research to understand and prevent diabetes, USF is working to dramatically increase its clinical research, expand its diabetes education program, and establish a comprehensive center that will offer patients a new level of care in Florida. USF hopes to build facilities to conduct research on possible cures for diabetes, in both outpatient and inpatient settings.  More… • USF’s Dr. Jeffrey […]

Tampa, FL (Dec. 1, 2008) — Jeffrey Krischer, PhD, has been appointed to fill a new $1.4 million Endowed Chair in Diabetes Research at USF Health – another step in the university’s ambitious initiative to create a nationally prominent program in diabetes and autoimmune disorders. The university-bestowed endowment will build upon the success of the Diabetes and Pediatrics Epidemiology Centers directed by Dr. Krischer, professor and chief of epidemiology in the Department of Pediatrics. Under his leadership, USF has become a preeminent force in international studies of the epidemiology of […]

The latest major NIH contract to USF’s Jeffrey Krischer and his team – $128 million – will coordinate worldwide studies looking for ways to prevent and treat childhood diabetes