Training

Our Diabetes Research Center is dedicated to education and training

Our resources focus support on faculty trainees and their cutting-edge research projects, but we are committed to creating an environment that encourages students and trainees, at all educational levels, to explore research and topics of relevance to Diabetes. Our rich and diverse local community here in Hawaiʻi affords us the opportunity to cultivate interest in biomedical sciences and health-related occupations, with an aim to help reduce national shortages of individuals from under-represented backgrounds successful in Science and Health professions. We want to encourage interest from our local community to collaboratively better understand and solve the pressing health conditions related to diabetes and metabolic syndrome, which disproportionately affect our community.

For educational resources on diabetes and diabetes prevention, we recommend you visit the hospitals, clinics, and the YMCA programs provided throughout the State of Hawaiʻi. These provide robust resources for individuals and families interested in diabetes intervention programs and educational prevention resources. The Prevent Diabetes Hawaiʻi initiative also lists federally recognized Diabetes Prevention Programs (DPPs) available in Hawaiʻi or provides links to online programs.

The Diabetes Virtual Camp is a virtual research internship program that invites college and high school students interested in learning about biomedical research and academic medicine with a focus on diabetes. The program, now partnered with the American Diabetes Association, consists of Zoom sessions that highlight current topics in diabetes research and treatment as well as career path in medicine and science. The sessions are led by the Experts, who are renowned diabetes researchers and clinicians from reputable universities across the country and will include a Q&A section at the end of each session. This virtual program is intended for college and high school students interested in pursuing science and medicine as a career path. This program is free to all registered attendees with suggested donation, and your generous contributions will be donated to the American Diabetes Association to support diabetes research, education, and care. All registered attendees must participate in the entire program and will receive a certificate upon completion of the virtual internship program.

The Stanford Center for Continuing Medical Education presents Diabetes in the Time of COVID-19 ECHO, a series of 16 free, CME (Continuing Medical Education) accredited webinars to empower primary care providers to address the needs of patients with type 1 and type 2 diabetes in their communities who do not have access to routine specialty care.

The Vanderbilt Virtual Diabetes Research Center Seminar Series is an effort go connect investigators and trainees during this time of great change, anxiety, and isolation. These seminars feature an outstanding speaker discussing the latest in diabetes, obesity, and metabolic research each Wednesday (2:00 PM EST | 1:00 PM CST | 11:00 AM PST).

Introduction to Laboratory Benchwork

These modules develop a familiarity for laboratory techniques utilized in conducting molecular biology research in authentic laboratory settings. Students or volunteers in many of our laboratories may find it useful to explore these modules on laboratory introduction, nucleic acid techniques, protein techniques, and cell culture techniques.

Nutrition in the Pacific
In partnership with the Children’s Health Living Program , we provide complimentary access to online education courses focused on Nutrition in the Pacific. Contact Dr. Rachel Rivers rrivers@hawaii.edu to gain access to modules to further your understanding focused around these course themes:

FSHN360: Applied Professional Skills in Nutrition
FSHN454: Foundations of Childhood Obesity Prevention in the Pacific
FSHN455: Childhood Anthropometric & Dietary Assessment Field Techniques
FSHN456: Childhood Health & Monitoring in the Pacific
FSHN457: Culture & Child Health in the Pacific
FSHN492: Field Experience in Childhood Obesity Prevention
FSHN185: The Science of Human Nutrition
FSHN370: Lifespan Nutrition

We are dedicated to strengthening the pipeline into health-related occupations that serve our community’s needs.