Diabetes research lab named for Barnstable Brown Foundation
November 7th, 2006
Willie Barnstable, Patricia Barnstable Brown and researcher Tom Mitchell.
Derby tradition mingled with biomedical research Nov. 6 as the University of Louisville dedicated a new diabetes research lab on its downtown Health Sciences Campus.
The Barnstable Brown Research Laboratory, part of UofL’s Institute for Cellular Therapeutics, was named to honor the Barnstable Brown Foundation, which raises funds for diabetes research through its famed Kentucky Derby party.
“Years before healthcare professionals began talking about the diabetes epidemic and its effects in Kentucky, the Barnstables and Browns took up the cause of finding a cure for this devastating disease,” said UofL President James Ramsey.
“We are proud to have been among the organizations they have chosen to support.”
Researchers at the lab will focus on learning how to harness “T-cells,” cells that normally help the body fight infectious diseases, said Thomas Mitchell, associate professor of microbiology and immunology who is leading the work.
T-cells turn against the body in people with Type I diabetes and begin killing the cells in the pancreas that make insulin, said Mitchell, who also occupies UofL’s Barnstable Brown Gala Chair in Diabetes Research. Mitchell’s team is trying to learn how to manipulate T-cells to keep them focused on preventing infection.
“No single scientist or research team can cure diseases alone,” Mitchell said. “It takes support from the community, of which the Barnstable Brown Derby Eve Gala is a joyful and pioneering example.”
