In response to the global epidemic in obesity and diabetes, the University of Glasgow has developed a new Masters programme in Diabetes.

The Overseas Development Institute – a UK think tank – said the previous month (January) that the number of overweight and obese adults in the developing world had almost quadrupled to around one billion since 1980. It predicts a “huge increase” in heart attacks and diabetes as a result.

The launch of the new Masters programme is therefore highly significant if cutting-edge technologies are to be harnessed to meet the immense challenge presented by diabetes.

This programme will offer access to world-leading experts in the field; students will be provided with state-of-the-art knowledge of pathological mechanisms and methodologies for studying diabetes as well as given a firm ground in generic research skills.

The course is tailor-made for graduates who aspire to build their future career in diabetes, whether in the fields of basic research, medical practice, pharmaceutical industry, public health or nutrition.

The University of Glasgow’s programme, MSc Diabetes, is one of only a handful focused entirely on diabetes research rather than diabetes health care management; it also provides a rigorous training in research skills. The university is renowned for its expertise in establishing disease-specific bio resources linked with routinely-acquired, anonymous data from the National Health Service in Scotland.

The course also demonstrates how basic molecular/nucleic acid manipulation has evolved into the field of molecular medicine and involves the study of genetic principles, population genetics, gene therapy and ethics.

Students will undertake their own personal research project in the area of diabetes and will be encouraged to foster collaborations with the Institute of Cardiovascular and Medical Sciences, within the University of Glasgow, nationally and internationally.

One of the aims of the university’s diabetes researchers is to better understand the mechanisms of cardiovascular and metabolic diseases and the implications for the wider population, including groups defined by ethnicity, gender and deprivation. It also seeks to develop better strategies to prevent and treat obesity, and alleviate the disease’s metabolic and vascular complications.