Michigan Diabetes Research and Training Center Records, 1976-1998

In 1974, the U.S. Congress passed the Diabetes Mellitus Research and Education Act, thereby establishing the National Diabetes Commission. As part of its mandate to develop a long-term plan for combating diabetes, the Commission recommended establishing a nationwide system of diabetes research and training centers with three prime functions: 1) to support research in diabetes and its management, 2) to train diabetes researchers and care-givers, 3) to establish model patient-care units.

A group of interested faculty members formed a policy committee in May 1976 to examine establishing a center at the University of Michigan. Led by Dr. Stefan S. Fajans, director of the Division of Endocrinology and Metabolism, the group developed a general plan for the proposed Michigan Diabetes Research and Training Center (MDRTC). In October 1976, the National Institute of Arthritis, Metabolism, and Digestive Diseases (NIAMDD, a unit of the National Institutes of Health) officially announced the diabetes research and training centers program and issued grant application guidelines. In September 1977, NIAMDD awarded the University of Michigan a five-year $4.3 million grant from NIAMDD to establish its diabetes research and training center.

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