The Leona M. and Harry B. Helmsley Charitable Trust has announced a $3.3 million grant to the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine and the University of Florida in support of research by the Network for the Pancreatic Organ Donor with Diabetes (nPOD).

Established by JDRF in 2007, nPOD supports the collection and characterization of pancreata and related tissues from organ donors with type 1 diabetes (T1D). The tissue samples are then made available to researchers studying fundamental questions related to how the disease develops and progresses. The $3.3 million George S. Eisenbarth nPOD Award for Team Science will fund multidisciplinary working groups focused on critical areas of T1D research; the creation of pilot research projects that leverage nPOD's human tissue samples; and the expansion of infrastructure and staffing resources to enhance the availability of biosamples and foster collaboration among nPOD investigators.

"Rather than competing against one another for academic prominence, nPOD is bringing together a community of researchers to conduct the best possible science," said Alberto Pugliese, professor at the Diabetes Research Institute at the Miller School and executive co-director of nPOD, which encompasses a hundred and forty collaborative research projects. "We're connecting the dots in real time with a remarkably high level of collaboration. We are speeding up science."

"nPOD takes an invaluable tissue procurement network and engrains deep values of team science," said Eliot Brenner, program director of the Helmsley Trust's Type 1 Diabetes Program. "The trust is excited to fund its progressive way of conducting medical research. The Eisenbarth nPOD Award for Team Science is an outstanding opportunity to further our understanding of the origin and development of the disease and potentially impact the health outcomes of people with T1D."