At the Diabetes Research Connection, our passion is working together with the scientific community to find a way to treat, cure and prevent type 1 diabetes, and our board is dedicated to helping achieve our vision.

2016 has been a monumental year for us, as we’ve raised more money than ever before for early-career scientists’ T1D research. One of our core values is to build a strong connection between the board and our supporters. Thus, we’ve interviewed members of our board to find out more about the impact T1D has had on their lives, why they choose to work with DRC and much more.

First up, get to know one of DRC’s founders, Dr. Alberto Hayek.

Alberto Hayek, M.D., President of DRC

Dr. Hayek is the Scientific Director at San Diego’s Scripps Whittier Institute for Diabetes and Professor Emeritus of Pediatrics at UCSD. He is a world-renowned diabetes expert in pancreatic islet research and experimental cell replacement therapies for T1D.

We asked Dr. Hayek a few questions to help our donors get to know him better.

How have you been affected by T1D?

Taking care of children with T1D gave me a first-hand glimpse of the struggles this disease causes for patients and their families.

What is the most rewarding part of serving on the DRC board for you personally?

The opportunity to provide funding for junior investigators in T1D as they take their first steps for independent thinking in research and care has been tremendously rewarding.

What is your favorite holiday tradition, related to T1D or not?

I spend a day during Christmas with my grandchildren, ages 3 and 6, making sandwiches for homeless people in San Diego.

Once again, we want to extend a heartfelt thank you to all our donors for helping to make 2016 such a successful year for DRC, and helping to fund innovative T1D research. We’re looking forward to all that 2017 will bring, and we’re hopeful that a year from now we’ll be even closer to eradicating T1D.