6 May 2011
Diabetes research boosted by local fundraising
Photo opportunity: 7.30pm at Level 10, Ninewells Hospital on Tuesday, 10th May. Volunteers from Dundee and District Diabetes UK will present a cheque for £4000 to Dr Kei Sakamoto.
Representatives of the Dundee and District Diabetes UK Volunteers Group will next week present a cheque for £4000 to a University of Dundee researcher.
Dr Kei Sakamoto’s research into the devastating disease will be boosted by the donation from the local group. The money was raised through a number of fundraising activities and events over the past year, and Dr Sakamoto will receive the donation during Dundee Diabetes UK’s monthly meeting at Level 10, Ninewells Hospital on Tuesday, 10th May.
Dr Sakamoto, from the University’s Medical Research Council Protein Phosphorylation Unit, expressed his gratitude to the group, saying, 'Once again the local community has rallied round to raise a significant sum of money for diabetes research. It is a huge help for my group to receive such consistently strong support from the people of Dundee and the surrounding area.
'Diabetes is a devastating disease and, unfortunately, it is also a growing problem. That makes the work of the Dundee Diabetes UK group even more valuable and they can be sure that we will use these funds to carry out important research projects aimed at one day diagnosing the disease much earlier and curing diabetes.
'I would like to thank all the Dundee Diabetes UK support team members and their family and friends who have raised such a tremendous amount of funds to support my research team in the MRC Protein Phosphorylation Unit at the University of Dundee.
The money was raised through hosting a bingo night, organising raffles and as a result of donations. Alison McIntosh, secretary of Dundee and District Diabetes UK Volunteer Group, said, 'A big thank you is due to the group members who worked hard to raise this money and to everyone who contributed. I would also like to thank Fairfield Bowling Club, who allowed us to use their premises for the bingo night.'
'We know that the number of those with diabetes rises daily and our group is a great source of information about both clinical and research developments. We have seen an increase in those attending this year but are always needing new members as we are a small group who work hard to achieve the results we do.'
The MRC Protein Phosphorylation Unit at Dundee is one of the world’s leading centres studying the role of protein phosphorylation in cell regulation and human diseases such as diabetes, cancer and neurological diseases.
Dr Sakamoto previously hosted a fitness programme on Japanese TV, and became interested in finding out how exercise and nutrients could help people fight obesity and diabetes at the molecular levels.
After studying the molecular physiology of exercise and muscle metabolism in the course of his PhD research in Boston, he moved to Dundee in 2003 and set up his own independent research group in the MRC Unit three years later. His team currently studies the molecular processes by which nutrients, hormones, and exercise co-ordinately regulate blood sugar levels and, ultimately, to identify novel drug targets aimed at treating metabolic disorders such as type 2 diabetes
Anyone interested in finding out more about the Dundee Diabetes UK group should call 01382 679257.
For media enquiries contact:
Grant Hill
Press Officer
University of Dundee
Nethergate, Dundee, DD1 4HN
TEL: 01382 384768
E-MAIL: g.hill@dundee.ac.uk
MOBILE: 07854 953277 |
