Metabolic Research Alliance

The Role of Metabolism in Preventing Disease

October 23, 2018
Farmington, CT

The Metabolic Research Alliance (MRA) is a consortium consisting of the Jackson Laboratory, University of Connecticut, Weizmann Institute of Science, and Yale University. The primary goal of the Alliance is to take advantage of the inter-disciplinary strengths of the partner institutions for transformative research into metabolic diseases, especially pertaining to diabetes (T1D and T2D) and obesity, as well as the impact on cancers. Our consortium is distinctly positioned to provide synergistic research expertise in the areas of immunobiology, cell biology, genomics/genetics and microbiome, which could lead to prevention, treatment, and curative approaches to these devastating diseases.

On October 23, please join us for an evening of cocktails and discussion featuring Atan Gross, Ph.D., The Marketa & Frederick Alexander Professorial Chair, Department of Biological Regulation, Weizmann Institute of Science; Kevan Herold, MD, Professor, Department of Immunobiology & Department of Internal Medicine [Endocrinology], Director, Yale Diabetes Center, Yale School of Medicine; Anthony T. Vella, Ph.D., Professor and Boehringer Ingelheim Chair in Immunology, Senior Associate Dean of Research Planning and Coordination, University of Connecticut; and George Weinstock, Ph.D., Professor and Envin Family Chair, Director of Microbial Genomics, The Jackson Laboratory. The event will be held in the Edmund & Arlene Grossman Auditorium of the UConn Health, Cell & Genome Science Building, 400 Farmington Avenue, Farmington, CT, beginning at 5:30 P.M.

2016 Scientific Workshop

April 11 - 12, 2016
Farmington, CT
Workshop program booklet
Workshop White Paper

A research workshop dedicated to metabolic disease research, with a specific emphasis on diabetes (T1D and T2D) and obesity, was held at The University of Connecticut, Department for Cell and Genome Sciences in Farmington, Connecticut, on April 11-12, 2016. The event was co-sponsored by The Jackson Laboratory (JAX), Yale University, the University of Connecticut (UConn), and the Cohen Family UConn-Israel Start-up Fund (managed by UConn Global Affairs), and included scientists from the Weizmann Institute of Science. This was the third annual workshop held for the purpose of sharing research advances on the study of metabolic disease among speakers with a diverse range of expertise. Researchers from the Weizmann Institute contributed not only to the larger scientific discussion, but also provided insight into the formation of the Center for Metabolism and Metabolic Disorders within their own institution.

This workshop represents the continued dedication of researchers in Connecticut and in Israel to the goals of the Metabolic Research Alliance, which are to form a multi-institutional collaborative effort to foster innovation and research breakthroughs in the area of metabolic diseases with an emphasis on T1D, T2D and obesity research. This international alliance was borne of a previous collaborative effort between JAX, UConn and Yale researchers, known as the Connecticut Center for Metabolic Disease Research, the creation of which was spearheaded by Dr. Milton Wallack, Founder of the Connecticut Stem Cell Coalition and former President of the New Haven chapter of the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF). Joining his efforts are key biomedical leaders from Connecticut’s premier research institutions, including Dr. Kevan Herold and Dr. Robert Sherwin of Yale University, Dr. Marc Lalande from UConn and Dr. Charles Lee from JAX-GM. In addition to the research participants and administrative leaders from the aforementioned institutions, CT State Representative Lonnie Reed, co-chair of the bipartisan life sciences caucus, stressed that CT legislators are committed to supporting the life sciences.