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A century of promise.
A future of hope.

Sansum Diabetes Research Institute

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Our research

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Participants engaged in clinical research at SDRI from 2020-2022

Number of Clinical Trials Conducted at SDRI from 2020-2022

Women were provided care at SDRI while living with diabetes during pregnancy from 2020-2022

We Have the Power to Impact The Future of Diabetes, and We’re Doing Something About It

SDRI is dedicated to improving the lives of people impacted by diabetes through research, education, and care.

Sansum Diabetes Research Institute (SDRI) was founded in 1944 by Dr. William Sansum, the first person in the U.S. to produce and administer insulin to people with diabetes. The Institute has made seminal contributions to improving the health and medical management of people with diabetes ever since. Dr. Lois Jovanovic, the former director of SDRI, pioneered research and treatment guidelines that completely changed how we treat diabetes in pregnancy worldwide.

SDRI has developed a vision for future research centered around conducting multi-organ system research in people and taking advantage of recent advances in research technology. This type of research is complex and laborious but essential for making advances relevant to people with metabolic diseases.

An important component of SDRI’s future research direction is focused on determining the specific dietary components that each person needs to prevent, treat, and even reverse cardiometabolic diseases, including diabetes, coronary heart disease, heart failure, dyslipidemia, high blood pressure, nonalcoholic fatty liver disease, chronic kidney disease, and Alzheimer’s disease. The food we eat has profound effects on health because it directly affects body composition, multi-organ function, cellular metabolism, and the gut microbiome. Precision Metabolism/Nutrition research will optimize the management of people with cardiometabolic dysfunction and diseases.

We are committed to pursuing an integrated and sophisticated research program that will integrate the elements of Precision Metabolism/Nutrition into all types of diabetes and diabetes-related diseases.

TYPE 1 DIABETES

SDRI is on the cutting edge of research for those living with type 1 diabetes. 

TYPE 2 DIABETES

SDRI has been a leading center for developing novel therapeutics for type 2 diabetes.

DIABETES IN PREGNANCY

SDRI developed the protocols now considered standard care for pregnant women with diabetes.

PRECISION METABOLISM & Nutrition

SDRI’s new research initiative will optimize the management of people with cardiometabolic dysfunction and diseases.

SDRI News

2022 Recap

2022 Recap

Enjoy reading about our 2022 recap below!

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The incredible, life-changing work that Dr. Sansum did right here in Santa Barbara continues with brilliant and passionate people at SDRI. It inspires me every day that I contribute as a board member. I am proud to serve on the board, and I am grateful that SDRI has a profoundly positive impact on people worldwide. The Paskin Family Foundation is proud to support an organization that aims to provide resources, regardless of age, race, gender, or socioeconomic class.

- Michael Paskin, Co-Founder of The Paskin Family Foundation; Founder, President, and CEO of The Paskin Group

Our Partners

Our Partners

Abbott Laboratories logo
Barbara Davis Center logo
Bigfoot Biomedical logo
CenCal Health logo
Cal Poly logo
Dexcom logo
Drawbridge Health logo
Easy Lift logo
Harvard logo
Housing Authority of Santa Barbara logo
Insulet Corporation logo
JDRF logo
Johnson & Johnson logo
Joslin Diabetes Center logo
Lilly logo
Mayo Clinic logo
Mount Sinai logo
Novo Nordisk logo
Samsung logo
Sanofi logo
Santa Barbara Actuaries logo
Santa barbara County Public Health logo
Santa Barbara City College logo
Santa Barbara Neighborhood Clinic logo
T1D Exchange logo
Tandem Diabetes Care logo
UC Santa Barbara logo
University of Virginia logo
United Way logo
USDA logo
Ventura County Health Care Agency logo
ViCentra logo
Westmont College logo
YMCA logo
Zyomed logo