Almost 30 years ago, Stephen E. Gitelman, MD, was sitting in a medical school lecture learning about diabetes. A classmate leaned over to him and said, "You'd be crazy to go work in diabetes. We're going to have the answer to this and be long done with this disease."

Three decades later, diabetes continues to affect millions - with its reach growing every day - and Gitelman, director of the UCSF Pediatric Diabetes Program and professor of clinical pediatrics, finds himself deep in research and patient care, trying to make that prophecy a reality.

In November 2007, Gitelman was named holder of the Mary B. Olney, MD/KAK Chair in Pediatric Diabetes and Clinical Research. The chair, established with a $500,000 anonymous gift, honors Gitelman's work and will help fund research for the treatment and prevention of diabetes.

The chair also recognizes Olney, a UCSF pediatric physician and founder of Bearskin Meadow, the first camp for diabetic children west of the Mississippi. Olney is remembered for her commitment to the treatment of the "whole child," a quiet humbleness and love for research - qualities that Diabetic Youth Foundation (DYF) Executive Director Mats Wallin finds perfectly fit Gitelman.

"When parents come in a little anxious, he just has a way of calming them down," Wallin says.

And the kids? They love him. "Especially with the teens, Steve provides a sort of safe harbor to talk about the challenging issues of living with diabetes," says Wallin.

Stephen Gitelman at Bearskin Meadow

Between research, clinical work and family, Gitelman visits DYF's Bearskin Meadow every summer. At camp, Gitelman helps patients and their families navigate the increasingly complex world of diabetes management, continuing the legacy of the woman he met early on in his career.

Like Olney, Gitelman underscores the importance of research. His first goal is to help those living with diabetes, a difficult and lifelong struggle that requires daily attention to blood-glucose levels, diet and exercise. His next is to prevent the disease entirely.

Gitelman is investigating the use of anti-CD3 (an antibody) in the early onset of diabetes to abate the loss of healthy beta cells and retain their ability to produce insulin. The success Gitelman and his colleagues have seen is driving other studies aimed at improving the effectiveness of anti-CD3 and a similar drug, thymoglobulin, and simplifying treatments.

Even with promising results, research takes time - and with diabetes appearing in larger numbers and in younger patients, time is a resource Gitelman can't get enough of.

"The hardest question to answer for people is when," Gitelman says. "When are all these hopeful therapies going to translate into a real difference clinically? We can't get there fast enough."

But with his team's progress and support behind his research, Gitelman adds, "We're getting there, though."

Mary Olney, founder of Bearskin Meadow (1943)

To support diabetes research at UCSF, contact Kevin McAteer at 415/476-3627 or kmcateer@support.ucsf.edu.