Diabetes Research
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The 2009 Ladies Committee Sr Mary Bernice Research Grant ($100 000) has been awarded to Professor Richard Day for his work on factors affecting the blood concentrations of metformin
(a drug widely prescribed for the treatment of type 2 diabetes).
Prof Day said “Type 2 diabetes is a chronic disease that affects more that one million Australians and is the leading cause of blindness and kidney disease. The current therapeutic strategy, with metformin can be problematic. We are aiming to investigate new strategies to maximise the benefits of metformin, particularly for those people with kidney impairment”.
As well as aiming to develop a better understanding of how to select the optimal daily dose of metformin so as to maximise its benefits and minimise its risks, the team is also aiming to apply the findings to improve the care of indigenous populations, investigate how genetics affect absorption and elimination of metformin and use pharmacogenetic screening to individualise treatment.
Prof Day and his team are based in the Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology at St Vincent’s Hospital.
“The St Vincent’s Clinic Foundation grant enables me, as a clinician, to engage in research that is at the very coalface of clinical practice, the sort of research that marries science with clinical medicine. Funding of this sort for research is becoming harder to obtain and I am very grateful to the Foundation for its support of clinical scientific endeavour.”
A/Prof Katherine Samaras
2007 Recipient of the Ladies’
Committee Sr Mary Bernice Grant
