Principal Investigators

TrailNet at UF investigators devote time and expertise to studies aiming to deliver upon the core mission of the UF Diabetes Institute: to improve the lives of people with diabetes through innovative clinical care, education, advocacy and research.

Haller-wide1Michael Haller, M.D.; Principle Investigator, UF TrialNet Clinical Center

Dr. Haller began working with Type 1 diabetes (T1D) during his first year of medical school and has committed his academic career to developing safe and effective therapies for the prevention and reversal of T1D. Dr. Haller works with clinicians and researchers to develop a T1D cure. He has published over 75 manuscripts and book chapters about T1D and is the principal investigator of numerous intervention studies for T1D patients. He has received awards and research grants, including the prestigious Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF) Mary Tyler Moore and S. Robert Levine Excellence in Clinical Research Award, the ADA Cure Award, the Lawson Wilkins Clinical Scholar Award, and the ISPAD Young Investigator Award. Dr. Haller is currently funded by the NIH, JDRF, and the Helmsley Trust to support his work in developing combination therapies for T1D. Dr. Haller serves as Principal Investigator of the Low Dose ATG Prevention Trial.

BBBrittany Bruggeman, M.D.

Dr. Bruggeman is an early stage investigator and has been involved in type 1 diabetes research pursuits for the past 10 years. She earned Honors in Research upon medical school graduation and was the inaugural 2018 McJunkin Family Type 1 Diabetes Fellow. She recently received the Douglas K. Barrett, MD Academic Fellowship Award for displaying excellence in research, teaching, and clinical care. She has been a member of TrialNet for several years and is co-investigator on several clinical trials at UF. She is also focused on translational research investigating changes in the exocrine pancreas in patients with type 1 diabetes.

 

 

LJLaura Jacobsen, M.D.; Co-Investigator, UF TrialNet Clinical Center

Dr. Jacobsen is an early stage investigator working with the world-renowned type 1 diabetes (T1D) research team at the University of Florida Diabetes Institute. During her fellowship, Dr. Jacobsen was recognized for her excellence in medical student teaching, and she received the Henry A. Kokomoor Outstanding Fellowship Award. She has been a member of TrialNet for several years. Dr. Jacobsen continues to work not only on clinical trials but also benchtop research to better understand the mechanisms through which effective immunotherapies act. Dr. Jacobsen was also chosen for the TrialNet Emerging Leaders program which aims to train the next generation of clinical trialists and T1D researchers.

 

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Desmond Schatz, M.D.; Interim Chair of Pediatrics and Director of the UF Clinical Research Center

Dr. Schatz has been involved in Type 1 diabetes (T1D) research since the mid 1980s and has published over 200 manuscripts, mainly relating to the prediction, natural history, genetics, immunopathogenesis and prevention of T1D.  He is the principal investigator of multiple ongoing T1D clinical trials at the UF Diabetes Institute. Recently he was awarded the Mary Tyler Moore and S. Robert Levine JDRF Excellence in Clinical Research Award with his colleagues Dr. Mark Atkinson and Dr. Mike Haller. In January 2016, Dr. Schatz served as President of the American Diabetes Association and in June 2019 Dr. Schatz accepted UF’s invitation to serve as the Interim Chairman of Pediatrics.

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Mark Atkinson, Ph.D.

Dr. Atkinson is currently Eminent Scholar for Diabetes Research at The University of Florida. He also serves as Director of the UF Diabetes Institute. The author of over 375 publications, Dr. Atkinson is beginning his 30th year of investigation into the field of type 1 (insulin dependent) diabetes. Dr. Atkinson has been the recipient of multiple scientific and humanitarian based awards for these efforts. Those include three from the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF). Recently, he was awarded the Mary Tyler Moore & S. Robert Levine M.D. award for translational research on type 1 diabetes (2004). He is also the recipient of the JDRF’s Rumbough award for contributions to diabetes research (2005), and a recent recipient of the prestigious Eli Lilly Award for Outstanding Scientific Achievement from the American Diabetes Association (2004), a rare honor in type 1 diabetes from that organization. Dr. Atkinson has also been active in a leadership service to the type 1 diabetes community, with active administrative or advisory service to The Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation, The American Diabetes Association, The National Institutes of Health, Diapedia, and the Immunology of Diabetes Society.

William-WinterWilliam Winter, M.D.

Since 1982, William E. Winter, M.D., has been involved in a variety of research studies on diabetes and related endocrine disorders. In 1997, he was appointed medical director of the UF Health Pathology Laboratories’ Endocrine Autoantibody Laboratory. Dr. Winter is a diplomate of the American Board of Clinical Chemistry and American Board of Pathology-certified in pediatrics, pediatric endocrinology and chemical pathology. He is also is the principal investigator for the islet cell autoantibody core laboratory for the NIH-funded study, “Type 1 Diabetes TrialNet.”  His current research interests include studying the more unusual manifestations of diabetes in children and adolescents, autoantibody testing in type 1 diabetes, and type 2 diabetes in pediatric patients.