JDRF, the leading global type 1 diabetes (T1D) research and advocacy organization, recognized Andrew Stewart, MD, Director of the Mount Sinai Diabetes, Obesity, and Metabolism Institute, at its 49th Annual Promise Ball last night for its contributions to type 1 diabetes research and patient care. This is the first time a health system has been recognized at the JDRF's Promise Ball.
The historic JDRF Greater New York City Chapter Promise Ball has raised almost $80 million in support of JDRF's mission since its inception. The Promise Ball brings leaders in the philanthropic and business communities together for one night to celebrate their shared vision of a world without type 1 diabetes. The theme of this year's Promise Ball is resilience, persistence, innovation, renewal, and regeneration, with respect to the COVID-19 pandemic but also the chronic struggles that people with type 1 diabetes face daily.
At the center of Mount Sinai's commitment to the diabetes community is Dr. Stewart, a renowned leader devoted to patient care and basic and clinical research in endocrinology and diabetes research for over 40 years. Dr. Stewart, Irene and Dr. Arthur M. Fishberg Professor of Medicine at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, is a leading authority on the biology of human insulin-producing pancreatic beta cells. His research group has discovered the first drugs that are able to induce human beta cells to regenerate for people with type 1 and type 2 diabetes, a method that could be scaled to millions of people with diabetes. This research has been funded continuously by the National Institutes of Health and JDRF since 1978.
Carol Levy, MD, Director of the Mount Sinai Diabetes Center and Type 1 Diabetes Clinical Research, was also recognized by the JDRF for her extraordinary research work and clinical excellence. As Director of the Artificial Pancreas Research Program, Dr. Levy works with her team to significantly improve the lives of people with diabetes by applying the most recent advances in the field through groundbreaking research and world-leading clinical care. In collaboration with multiple national and international researchers, the artificial pancreas research program has revolutionized the management of patients with type 1 diabetes.
"Of course we at the Mount Sinai's Diabetes Obesity Metabolism Institute (DOMI) are proud and grateful to have received this recognition from JDRF," said Dr. Stewart. "Our earliest efforts in human beta cell regenerative drug discovery research were funded by JDRF and would not have happened without them. Similarly, Dr. Levy's work with the artificial pancreas has received enthusiastic encouragement and fiscal support from JDRF over the years, and could not have happened without JDRF's vision."
"It's an honor and a privilege to be recognized by the JDRF for the support we provide people living with diabetes," said Dr. Levy. "We have worked alongside the JDRF for many years with the shared goal of improving the lives of those living diabetes and we look forward to continuing to work towards a world without this disease."
Additional critical contributors to Mount Sinai's efforts to treat and cure type 1 diabetes include Joan Han, MD, Chief of Pediatric Endocrinology and Diabetes at Mount Sinai Kravis Children's Hospital, and her team of type 1 diabetes clinicians, including Robert DeVita, PhD, Professor of Pharmacological Sciences and Director of the Medicinal Chemistry Core of the Drug Discovery Institute; Kunal Kumar, PhD, senior scientist in the Drug Discovery Institute; and Peng Wang, PhD, Professor of Medicine (Endocrinology, Diabetes, and Blood Disease), and Adolfo Garcia-Ocana, PhD, Professor of Medicine (Endocrinology, Diabetes, and Blood Disease) at Icahn Mount Sinai, both members of the Diabetes Obesity Metabolism Institute.
"It is a great honor to have Dr. Stewart and Dr. Levy's work recognized by the JDRF," said Andrea Dunaif, MD, Chief of Endocrinology, Diabetes and Bone Disease for the Mount Sinai Health System and the Lillian and Henry M. Stratton Professor of Molecular Medicine at Icahn Mount Sinai. "This recognition is exceptionally well-deserved, as both have been pioneers in diabetes research and patient care for decades and have devoted their careers to the fight against type 1 diabetes."
"Dr. Stewart and Dr. Levy are true change-makers when it comes to moving the needle in diabetes research and care," said Dennis S. Charney, MD, Anne and Joel Ehrenkranz Dean of Icahn Mount Sinai and President for Academic Affairs of the Mount Sinai Health System. "Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, their commitment to the diabetes community pushed forward even through the most challenging times. We congratulate Dr. Stewart, Dr. Levy and the Icahn School of Medicine on this respected and well-deserved recognition."
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