Striving to cure Type 1 diabetes

Adebola Giwa ’09

Pediatric Endocrinologist, Johns Hopkins Children’s Center

MAJORS: SCIENCE PREPROFESSIONAL STUDIES AND SPANISH

 

Dr. Giwa, a pediatric endocrinologist at Johns Hopkins Children’s Center, works as part of a team that is researching a potential cure for type 1 diabetes.

Currently, Giwa and the team are working to identify targets in the immune system that are involved in the development of type 1 diabetes, a chronic condition in which the pancreas produces little or no insulin. The team has discovered a new immune cell that is significantly elevated in people with type 1 diabetes, and is studying such cells to determine whether targeting them will interrupt the progression of the disease, protect high-risk individuals, and potentially stop the disease at its outset.

Through collaborative medical research with his colleagues at Johns Hopkins and beyond, he is working to deliver a substantial medical advance that would yield a lasting impact on public health. The research is a natural fit for Giwa, a longtime volunteer who has worked on behalf of his local Notre Dame club, earning a club service award and helping the club to better serve the less fortunate in Baltimore. He has volunteered in an Adopt A Class program where he mentors inner city 4th and 6th graders, and is a member of the Board of Trustees for Loyola Early Learning Center, which provides free Early Start education to the children of single parents. He currently serves as diversity chair of the ND Club of Maryland and previously served as club president.