Diamedica Inc.

Scientific Advisory




Dr. Alan Cherrington, Ph.D. | Professor of Medicine, Vanderbilt University
Dr. Cherrington currently holds Professorships in both the Department of Molecular Physiology & Biophysics and in the Department of Medicine. He is also the Associate Director of the Diabetes Research and Training Center.  Dr. Cherrington served as Chairman of the Molecular Physiology and Biophysics Department from 1998-2007 and was president of the American Diabetes Association in 2004-05.  He currently holds the Jacquelyn A. Turner and Dr. Dorothy J. Turner Chair in Diabetes Research.



Dr. Cherrington has been the recipient of numerous awards, including two awards presented by the American Diabetes Association: the Lilly Award for Outstanding Scientific Achievement and the Frederick Banting Award for Career Scientific Achievement. He has also received the David Rumbough Award for scientific achievement from the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation.



Dr. Cherrington’s work over the years has defined the effects of various hormonal and neuronal factors on liver glucose metabolism in the normal and diabetic state.  Specifically, he has characterized the effects of insulin, glucagon, cortisol, epinephrine, and norepinephrine on the rates of hepatic glycogenolysis and gluconeogenesis in vivo.  He has also studied the response of the liver to glucose ingestion and has shown that postprandial glycogen deposition is dependent not only on the availability of glucose and insulin, but equally on an additional "portal glucose” signal.  Dr. Cherrington has significantly advanced our understanding of the way in which hormones and neural mediators regulate the ability of the liver to supply glucose in times of need and to store it in times of plenty.



Dr. Cherrington received his undergraduate degree in Biology from the University of New Brunswick in 1967 and his PhD in Physiology from the University of Toronto, where he worked with Dr. Mladen Vranic, in 1973.  He then undertook postgraduate training with Dr. Rollo Park at the Vanderbilt University School of Medicine.

 


 
  

  

    





Dr. Daniel Porte Jr., MD | Professor of Medicine, University of California San Diego
Dr. Porte is Professor of Medicine at the University of California San Diego, Emeritus Professor of Medicine at the University of Washington and past president of the American Diabetes Association. He has served as an advisor to the National Institute of Heath (NIH) including service on the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDKD) council and published extensively over his career.  Among his 350+ publications, Dr. Porte is best known for his contributions to our understanding of the regulation of the endocrine pancreas and its role in type 2 diabetes and obesity, as well as studies of the importance of hyperglycemia to the neuropathic complications of diabetes. 



Dr. Porte’s present interests include the mechanism for the regulation of the alpha cells secretion of glucagon by the central nervous system, in addition to pancreatic beta-cell related hormones and neuropeptides.  Further interests extend to the role of insulin in brain function, glucose homeostasis and body weight regulation and the physiology of the incretin hormones in plasma glucose control and diabetes therapy.

Dr. Porte received his M.D. from the University of Chicago Medical School (with Honors) and completed his residency at the VA Hospital and UC San Francisco Moffitt Hospital.