New Edmonton diabetes institute houses world's top researchers

Canada's largest diabetes research centre opened in Edmonton Wednesday, bringing the world's leading researchers under one roof to find new ways of preventing, treating and ultimately curing the disease.

The Alberta Diabetes Institute recruited Dr. Ronald Gill from a top post at the University of Colorado to be the new facility's scientific director.

"This group has a large number of Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes researchers, which is very, very rare anywhere in the world," Gill said.

Diabetes leaves the body unable to produce its own insulin, a hormone that regulates sugar in the blood.

More than 1,000 cases of diabetes are diagnosed every month in Alberta. It's estimated treating diabetes and its complications in Canada costs about $10 billion ever year.

The $300-million institute at the University of Alberta was built with both public and private funding.

Don Hamilton, an investor in the Edmonton Oilers, donated $1 million to support the construction because he wants to see his granddaughter continue playing competitive soccer.

'Now scientists have an actual building where they can actually do the work and help people like me lead a normal life.' Margaret Hamilton-Lane, 12, Type 1 diabetic

Margaret Hamilton-Lane, 12, is one of 250,000 Albertans suffering from Type 1 or Type 2 diabetes. She's excited about the prospect of a cure being found in Edmonton.

"I really want to see what they can do because now scientists have an actual building where they can actually do the work and help people like me lead a normal life," she said.

Hamilton-Lane already benefits from advances in diabetes treatment. She wears a high-tech insulin pump the size of a pager clipped onto her belt and connected to her stomach with a tiny tube. The pump constantly measures her blood sugar, which means she doesn't need to prick her finger with a needle for a test every few hours.

Edmonton Protocol was major diabetes breakthrough

Edmonton proved to be a pioneer in diabetes research when a team from the University of Alberta isolated islets, clusters of insulin-producing cells from the pancreas, and transplanted them into the livers of patients with Type 1 diabetes in 1999.

The procedure, known as the Edmonton Protocol, frees most patients from the need for daily injections and is hailed as the biggest advance in research since the discovery of insulin.

The institute at the corner of 112 Street and 87 Avenue will house researchers as well as support staff, doctors and nutritionists.

"There's just no substitute for having people in a micro-environment where the things are happening, where they can actually see each other, give seminars, do collaborative projects, sometimes sit down, have coffee and just talk about ideas, so the location is really important," said Gill.