Research & Innovation

The Pediatric Endocrinology Division is committed to improving the treatment of children with endocrine disease. To this end, we conduct basic, translational and clinical research focused on diabetes, obesity, growth, puberty, thyroid and adrenal diseases.

Pediatric Diabetes Research Center (PDRC)

The Pediatric Diabetes Research Center (PDRC) uniquely brings together top-ranked pediatricians, research scientists, world class laboratories, and innovative therapies all to accomplish one goal – to defeat type 1 Diabetes. Since its founding in 1965, UC San Diego’s School of Medicine has fostered Nobel Prize winning research in regenerative medicine, genetics, cellular and molecular medicine, and immunology. In order to provide the San Diego community with the best medical education and pediatric care, the UC San Diego School of Medicine and Rady Children’s Hospital joined in a special partnership to conduct clinical education and pediatric care from the Rady Children’s Hospital campus and clinics. Currently, physicians from UC San Diego and Rady Children’s Hospital treat more than 1,000 children with type 1 diabetes every year. Optimizing UC San Diego’s strengths in clinical care and research, the PDRC seeks to fuel its combined effort to prevent, cure, and treat diabetes.

Pancreatic islet-like clusters derived from human pluripotent stem cells. Insulin (green), glucagon (red) and somatostatin (pink). Cell nuclei are stained in blue.