Rockville, Md. (November 1, 2021)—This year marks 100 years since physiologists discovered insulin. The lifesaving drug has given millions of people with diabetes worldwide a second chance at life.
The discovery of insulin is intertwined with the history of the American Physiological Society (APS). John MacLeod, a co-recipient of the 1923 Nobel Prize for the discovery of the drug, was an APS president in 1921. And Frederick Banting, also a 1923 Nobel Prize co-recipient, presented research about the discovery of insulin along with his collaborator Charles Best at a 1921 APS scientific meeting. For a more in-depth look back at the discovery of insulin and the role APS played in it, read “Insulin Turns 100” in the November issue of The Physiologist Magazine.
The anniversary of insulin also coincides with national Diabetes Awareness Month in November. The timely theme for this year’s World Diabetes Day on November 14 is “access to diabetes care.” Nearly half a billion people are living with diabetes globally, yet many people are being priced out of attaining the treatment they need. While the benefits of insulin are evident, lack of access due to the drug’s skyrocketing cost could lead to health complications such as blindness, kidney failure, limb amputations and death.
APS is making available several of the leading experts in the field of endocrinology to discuss insulin and its 100-year milestone, as well as:
- the next 100 years of insulin,
- reasons for rising costs,
- alternatives to traditional insulin therapy, and
- ways to make it more accessible.
The experts available for interviews are:
- Dawn Davis, MD, PhD, professor, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Medicine and Public Health. Davis is also the endocrinology section chief at the William S. Middleton Memorial VA Hospital. Her areas of expertise include diabetes, obesity and insulin production preservation in people with diabetes.
- André Marette, PhD, Laval University Heart and Lung Institute, Canada. Marette is Pfizer Research Chair in the pathogenesis of insulin resistance and cardiovascular complications. He is also editor-in-chief of the American Journal of Physiology-Endocrinology and Metabolism.
- Gina Yosten, PhD, Saint Louis University School of Medicine. Yosten is an associate professor of pharmacology and physiology and editor-in-chief of the American Journal of Physiology-Regulatory, Integrative and Comparative Physiology. Her expertise is in the role of orphan GPCRs in obesity and diabetes and their associated complications.
- Jeffery S. Tessem, PhD, associate professor, Brigham Young University in Utah. Tessem’s expertise areas include mitochondrial respiration, insulin secretion and beta cell biology.
NOTE TO JOURNALISTS: To schedule an interview with any of the experts listed above, please contact APS Media Relations or call 301.634.7314. Find more research highlights in our Newsroom.
Physiology is a broad area of scientific inquiry that focuses on how molecules, cells, tissues and organs function in health and disease. The American Physiological Society connects a global, multidisciplinary community of more than 10,000 biomedical scientists and educators as part of its mission to advance scientific discovery, understand life and improve health. The Society drives collaboration and spotlights scientific discoveries through its 16 scholarly journals and programming that support researchers and educators in their work.
