Ananda Basu. MD MBBS and Rita Basu, MD

The Integrated Carbohydrate Physiology and Translation Laboratory of Ananda Basu, M.B.B.S., M.D., and Rita Basu, M.D., focuses on understanding the integrative physiology of glucose metabolism in people with diabetes and people without diabetes.

The Integrated Carbohydrate Physiology and Translation Lab, which is based at the University of Virginia, has several diabetes-related research interests, including:

• The pathophysiology of prediabetes, type 1 diabetes, type 2 diabetes, and hypoglycemia
• The role of excess cortisol and carotid bodies in regulating blood glucose in people with and without diabetes
• The biology of metabolic syndrome
• Understanding subcutaneous glucose transport and continuous subcutaneous glucose sensing in type 1 diabetes
• Accelerating closed-loop control for the development of an artificial pancreas for type 1 diabetes that will deliver insulin automatically and with an individualized precision never before possible

The long-term goal of the research team of Drs. Ananda Basu and Rita Basu is to develop rational and effective therapies for treating and preventing diabetes mellitus and its associated complications.

The Integrated Carbohydrate Physiology and Translation Lab research team uses stable and radioactive isotopes, organ catheterization (hepatic, leg, and forearm), and mathematical models to answer research questions.

The team assesses the impact of physiological changes in glucose, insulin, glucagon, cortisol, incretins, and various substrates (such as free fatty acids) on carbohydrate, fat, and protein metabolism in people with diabetes and people without diabetes.

This line of investigation was pioneered by Robert A. Rizza, M.D., of Mayo Clinic. In the late 1970s and early 1980s, Dr. Rizza conducted experiments with an inpatient clinical research-based IV insulin Biostator — the first artificial pancreas.

The Integrated Carbohydrate Physiology and Translation Lab also study novel aspects of type 2 diabetes and prediabetes.

Research is directed at developing physiological models to inform, fine-tune and eventually personalize an effective closed-loop control artificial pancreas system for patients with type 1 diabetes using cutting-edge insulin pump and glucose sensor technologies.

Other programs are related to defining the role of carotid bodies in regulating blood glucose in humans with and without diabetes and obstructive sleep apnea and the role of cortisol in modulating liver glucose metabolism in obesity and diabetes.

• NIH/NIDDK R01 DK08551609 (9/15/2017 – 4/30/2022): Integrated approaches to close the loop in type 1 diabetes
• NIH/NIDDK DP3 DK10678502 (12/20/2017 – 8/31/2020): Relative efficacy of single-, bi-, and tri-hormonal closed-loop control systems
• NIH/NIDDK R01 DK02995337 (8/1/2019 – 7/31/2024): Mechanisms of insulin resistance in man
• AstraZeneca: Does inhibiting liver-specific 11B-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase type 1 enzyme lower liver fat in NASH?