Scripps-San Diego Diabetes Genebank

This image is part of a slide program in educational presentations to inform and educate individuals of Mexican ancestry about genomics. People with Mexican and other Hispanic ancestry have not yet been adequately represented in genomic studies.

The Scripps San Diego Diabetes Genebank will be a much-needed resource for expediting investigations about the physiopathology of diabetes and disorders of glucose metabolism, diabetes risk classification, pharmacogenomics, personal risk for diabetes complications, and variations in genetic risk by ancestry.

Such a resource will help scientists identify the genetic signatures of patients who are pre-diabetic but at high risk for developing the disease; unravel gene-environmental interactions in diabetes; and design prevention strategies in the community. The outcomes may provide new ways to detect, treat and perhaps even prevent and control type 2 diabetes and associated complications.

The Scripps-San Diego Diabetes Genebank will use the Project Dulce® patient population to recruit participants. Project Dulce is a collaborative San Diego County-wide effort that provides a blueprint for how a community can come together to use a diabetes registry to improve and coordinate patient care, evaluate outcomes and conduct effectiveness research.

Project Dulce’s direct patient care and education services are provided to community health centers, while project management, quality assurance, health provider training, clinical leadership and monitoring and reporting health outcomes are provided through a management contract with the County of San Diego. Since its inception, Project Dulce has been implemented in 17 local community health centers in San Diego, and health organizations throughout the country have been trained to use the model.

Project Dulce is administered by the Scripps Whittier Diabetes Institute of Scripps Health.