The research produced by Abbas E. Kitabchi, MD, has changed the way diabetes is treated today. Kitabchi's career as a professor of endocrinology and metabolism at University of Tennessee's Health Science Center, where he serves as the Maston K. Callison Professor of Medicine in Endocrinology, has spanned more than four decades. He received the endowed chair several years ago in recognition of his contributions in diabetic care. During his career, he has helped move forward the understanding of diabetes, thanks to the hundreds of research papers he's written or co-authored, as well as his work on several landmark studies.

 

When insulin was discovered in 1922, the death rate for diabetic ketoacidosis was 100 percent. With the discovery of insulin and antibiotics, that death rate was reduced by 50 percent. What Kitabchi’s studies helped determine was that low-dose insulin therapy was just as effective in treating diabetic ketoacidosis without the risk of hypoglycemia as high-dose insulin. Now, the death rate has dropped to less than 1 percent in America, thanks to the work of researchers like Kitabchi.

 

“The American Diabetes Association asked for the protocol, which is now followed nationally,” he said.

 

Kitabchi came to America as a 17-year-old Iranian student. He'd been sent to the U.S. with the blessings of his family, established educational book publishers in Iran. It was the early 1950s and since Kitabchi spoke only a smattering of English, he had to first study at the University of Michigan, “one of the few places that taught English to foreign students at that time,” he recalled. But what the young student lacked in language, he made up for in tenacity. Kitabchi was a hard worker with a keen intellect and a thirst for knowledge.

 

It was his father's fervent hope his son would become a heart surgeon. But as Kitabchi became immersed in his studies, he found himself enthralled not with the heart, but with disorders of the endocrine system. He would become a doctor, but focus instead on endocrinology and teaching.

 

While at UTHSC, Kitabchi has been a vigorous contributor to the scientific knowledge of diabetes. He was the co-investigator on a landmark study begun in 1982, that looked at Type 1 diabetes and the role controlling sugar has on the body. The national study explored cardio-vascular effects on both small vessel disease that would affect organs like the kidney, as well as large vessel disease, such as heart attack and stroke. Together with Samuel Dagogo-Jack, MD, their findings were eventually published in the New England Journal of Medicine. The ongoing study has followed patients for 27 years in hopes of unlocking more riddles around Type 1 diabetes.

 

“It is the most important study in the world, it is quoted more often than any other study,” noted Kitabchi. “These types of studies ultimately change the way patients are treated.”

 

He is also involved with the Looking AHEAD study, the first of its kind to examine how weight loss and lifestyle changes impacts the cardiovascular health of patients with Type 1 diabetes. Funded by the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), it is the largest study on the effects of weight-loss interventions ever funded by the NIH. UTHSC is one of 16 institutes around the country to take part in the study. Currently, he's examining oxidative stress and how the body metabolizes protein, fat, and carbohydrates on pre-diabetic people who are overweight. The aim is to find out which causes more weight loss and improves the body's metabolism. What the research indicated was simple: Controlling blood sugar improves cardiovascular health.

 

Though some of his work takes him out of the classroom, Kitabchi is still a teacher at heart. He lectures on all levels, even teaching biochemistry to incoming freshmen, many of whom don't yet realize they have a seasoned professional in their midst. But if they elect to learn more about diabetes, they soon find out.

 

Kitabchi has also reached out to his Iranian countrymen to further the education of their medical residents. Returning to visit his homeland in 2001 after a 40-year absence, he recognized how he could impact the education of Iran's up and coming doctors. So he set up a resident program through the University of Tehran, which now brings over students to study in the U.S. They then return to Iran to serve as doctors.

 

“I felt it was a good idea to start a dialogue between people. That's the best form of diplomacy because it brings people together to talk.”

 

When not busy with academic work, Kitabchi enjoys his grandchildren, children and life with his wife, Lynn Ellen.