Diabetes pioneer receives award

George Eisenbarth, now the executive director of the Barbara Davis Centre for Childhood Diabetes at the University of Colorado, has been given an international research award for his pioneering studies .
Eisenbarth is only the second person to be given the prestigious Pasteur-Weizmann/Servier International Prize in Biomedical Research for his work that could lead to en eventual vaccine that prevents the development of type 1 diabetes.
The chairman of the Servier Institute’s Scientific Committee, Pierre Godeau, said: “Professor Eisenbarth is one of the greats of diabetes research. His meticulous research over the past 25 years has shown us that, in genetically predisposed individuals, Type 1 diabetes is an autoimmune disease.”
The prize includes almost $200,000. Eisenbarth pledged that the money would go into the research fund at the Barbara Davis Centre. His study indicates a way to diagnose children who will develop type 1 very early. Eisenbarth said: “We can now design trials very early before children really start their autoimmunity.”