Mayer-Davis featured in The Lancet as leader in diabetes research
June 2, 2017
Dr. Beth Mayer-Davis
Elizabeth Mayer-Davis, PhD, Cary C. Boshamer Distinguished Professor and chair of the UNC Gillings School of Public Health’s nutrition department, was profiled in the June 1 issue of The Lancet.
Calling her a “leader in adolescent diabetes,” Lancet web editor Richard Lane describes Mayer-Davis’ leadership in the national SEARCH for Diabetes in Youth study and her current research in glycemic control and weight management in Type 1 diabetes.
Mayer-Davis, who joined the Gillings School faculty in 2008, has served as president of the American Diabetes Association and was invited by former President Barack Obama to join an advisory group to the United States National Prevention Council.
“[The advisory group] was a great opportunity to input my knowledge and experience in diabetes prevention, weight management and nutrition into a cross-sectoral committee to help move forward policy to promote health and disease prevention,” she said.
Mayer-Davis reported being proud of the impact made by the SEARCH program.
“Only through the accumulation of data over many years have we been able to identify more nuanced characteristics relating to Type 1 diabetes, especially in the illumination of key high-risk groups such as African-American and ethnic minority adolescent populations who bear a tremendous burden of disease,” she said. “The power of the SEARCH program is driving a lot of diabetes research today and will continue to do so in the future.”
The profile appears in an issue of The Lancet that includes several articles about diabetes, including an editorial and studies about diabetic retinopathy and diabetes in pregnancy.
Gillings School of Global Public Health contact: David Pesci, director of communications, (919) 962-2600 or dpesci@unc.edu
