Type 1 diabetes is ‘a nasty disease’, and too many don’t realize it

Since becoming the CEO of the Diabetes Research Institute Foundation, Michael Burton has been impressed by the dedication of the staff and researchers.

Michael Burton, the CEO of the Diabetes Research Institute Foundation, sees potential for breakthroughs in the understanding of diabetes.

“These are people who are deeply committed to ending this disease as we know it,” Burton said in a recent interview with Chief Healthcare Executive®.

“And that is my first impression that the Institute is led by and is comprised of people who are deeply passionate and will make a difference in, and have made a difference,” he says.

Burton took the post a little over a year ago. He previously served as CEO of the Gateway for Cancer Research and has held leadership posts at the Pew Charitable Trusts and the American Association for Cancer Research.

He says the institute is focused on gaining greater understanding of diabetes and the immune system. The institute, which focuses on discoveries to treat Type 1 diabetes, is based at the University of Miami.

“I think it's fair to say that the institute has its fingerprints, so to speak, over some of the most important discoveries in diabetes research and care over the last five decades since its founding over 50 years ago,” Burton says. “So that's a proud history. There's no question about that.”

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In addition to the work the research is doing, Burton says he’s consumed with the importance of raising awareness about the dangers of diabetes and improving public education.

“That is what I wake up every day thinking about, and that's really all about making our case to the public,” Burton says.

Burton is focused on getting more people to understand how damaging Type 1 diabetes can be to patients.

“This is a nasty disease,” Burton says. “I don't think the public truly understands the extent to which Type 1 diabetes is lethal. And short of lethality, it is really diminishing in a very, very significant way, the quality of human life. And you know, it strikes like a thief in the night.”

Burton points to the experience of a board member at the institute whose 17-year-old daughter was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes and died of complications of the disease. “She went to bed one night, and she did not wake up the next morning,” Burton says. “And that happens.”

“This is a very, very difficult and as I said, nasty disease,” Burton says. “The public I think needs to understand that some more.”

As people gain a greater understanding of the disease, they’ll likely be galvanized to support the research institute.

“Once people understand the severity of this disease, and then they understand the unique impact that the Institute has had historically, and will continue to have on the trajectory of this disease, our understanding of it and how we treat it, I think when the public understands those two things, the support will follow,” Burton says.

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After spending 15 years supporting cancer research, Burton sees intriguing parallels with studies of Type 1 diabetes.

“I think, similar to the world of oncology and cancer research, I think the field of diabetes research is going to see great strides as it relates to our understanding of the immune system,” Burton says. “I think this is where the action is … how can we interact with the immune system in ways that allow us to defeat this disease?”

“In many ways, one of the great limiters right now is the immune response,” he says. “So we have these amazing approaches to stem cell transplantation, we have these amazing approaches to beta cell regeneration. But if we can't figure out how to modulate the immune system, suppress the immune system, it's going to be very difficult to make progress.

"So I think that that's really where so much of the action is, just like it was in oncology, 10 or 15 years ago," Burton adds. "Yeah, I do think it's a very exciting time.”