Professor receives grant for diabetes treatment research

Approximately 48% of the New Mexico adult population have diabetes or are pre-diabetic. Thanks to a recently received a grant from the New Mexico IDeA Network of Biomedical Research Excellence, assistant professor of kinesiology Peter Smoak will explore new and more effective treatments for this epidemic affecting many in our area. 

Smoak’s project focuses on how dimethyl fumarate, which is an FDA-approved drug used for multiple sclerosis, can be used to reduce inflammation in pancreatic beta cells, or insulin-producing cells. Inflammation in these cells is a major contributor to diabetes.

“It is my hope that dimethyl fumarate can reduce beta cell inflammation,” Smoak says, “thus reducing the development and/or progression of diabetes.”

Smoak, along with the help of some undergraduate kinesiology students, will conduct several experiments to understand the effects dimethyl fumarate can play on inflammatory mechanisms in insulin-producing cells in a controlled environment. The study will also provide molecular details and new insight for future studies examining the use of DMF for treatment and prevention of diabetes.