At the forefront of advancing research toward a cure for diabetes, OU Health Harold Hamm Diabetes Center addresses key issues and seeks solutions that help you and your loved ones live well with this challenging condition.
Hamm Diabetes Center research programs span diverse disciplines and focus primarily on examining the causes and complications of diabetes to help identify better or new prevention strategies, treatments and, ultimately, a cure for diabetes.
Over the last decade, researchers and clinicians from multiple healthcare disciplines at OU Health Harold Hamm Diabetes Center have brought more than $100 million in outside grant funding to the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center (OUHSC) from agencies such as the National Institutes of Health (NIH), Oklahoma Center for the Advancement of Science and Technology, American Diabetes Association, Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF), American Heart Association and others.
Fetal and childhood origins of obesity and diabetes: The first 1,000 days – Development of many adult diseases, including adult-onset Type 2 diabetes, can be influenced by factors present before birth, while a child is still in their mother’s womb, as well as throughout early childhood years. Infants triple their fat mass from birth through the first year of life. Half of childhood obesity occurs by age 5, strongly supporting the premise that early intrauterine/postnatal exposure contributes to metabolic risk in offspring. This may be rooted, in part, by a mother’s metabolism, especially when she is overweight or obese, has gestational diabetes or has poor intake of certain fats and sugars. Researchers at Harold Hamm Diabetes Center work to identify how these changes are triggered in utero or in young children and how they can be reversed or prevented. Determining how nutritional exposures beginning in mothers affects these factors in the first 1,000 days, if harnessed for clinical application, could revolutionize the prevention of obesity and diabetes in Oklahomans by interrupting a vicious cycle across generations.
Gestational diabetes and obesity: Impact on health of mother and infant – Researchers are studying how gestational diabetes (affecting 1 in 5) and maternal obesity (affecting 1 in 2) impact development of fetal growth, obesity and diabetes in the next generation. The goal of these studies is to define the pathways leading to these conditions and the knowledge that will help develop preventive measures, including new dietary factors and key targets for prevention beyond glucose.
Maternal obesity and the infant microbiome: The undiscovered community within – Throughout the western world, a poor diet, particularly in obese mothers or those with gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM), leads to changes in the mother’s bacteria and in the infant microbiome that can persist even after switching to a healthy diet after weaning. Strong links exist between the gut microbiota and development and/or exacerbation of childhood non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), a chronic disease affecting over one-third of obese children and 80% of obese adults. How maternal diet and microbes alter development of inflammation is not well understood but underlies many metabolic diseases including obesity, diabetes, fatty liver disease and cardiovascular disease. Our current studies focus on nutrition and pregnancy, gastrointestinal (GI) microbiology and/or role of the human microbiome and its metabolites in prevention/progression of both Type I and Type 2 diabetes in youth. On the horizon are new therapies aimed at correcting a disordered infant microbiome that hold the promise of preventing diabetes and protecting from NAFLD.
OU Health Harold Hamm Diabetes Center and the Children’s Hospital Foundation partner with the Pediatric Metabolic Research Program at the University of Oklahoma to be Oklahoma's leader in diabetes and metabolic research for children. The program seeks to understand the causes, prevention and cures of childhood diabetes and related metabolic problems. Visit the program’s website to learn more.
New knowledge emanating from our research programs is being translated into improved patient care by the clinical team at OU Health Harold Hamm Diabetes Center.
Hamm Diabetes Center supports the largest group of adult and pediatric endocrinologists in Oklahoma and the region focused on diabetes specialty care, as well as a comprehensive team of certified diabetes educators, dieticians, nutritionists, behavioral health specialists, exercise physiologists and more.
In collaboration with OU Health Physicians, the state’s largest physician group encompassing almost every adult and child specialty, individuals living with diabetes and their families who work with Harold Hamm Diabetes Center gain access to the variety of other specialty care often needed to prevent and treat diabetes-related complications.
Find out more about research at OU Health Harold Hamm Diabetes Center:
Research for Healthcare Professionals, including our annual Research Symposium and the Harold Hamm International Prize
You may qualify to join a clinical trial at OU Health Harold Hamm Diabetes Center in Oklahoma City, whether or not you live with diabetes. Enroll in our Volunteer Registry to receive up-to-date information on clinical trials of potential interest to you, with no obligation to participate.
Spring 2024 Newsletter (pdf) The Spring issue highlights: The U54 CIRCLE center grant of $10.5 Million, awarded by NIH Dr. Busik – feature of the ...
A new treatment targeting the root cause of Type 1 diabetes is now available at OU Health, and for pediatric patients at high risk, this new ...
Fall 2023 Newsletter (pdf) Topics in this issue: Letter From the Director 2023 Hamm Prize Laureate Announced Diabetes Care Summit Research Spotlight ...