T32 Training Program in Diabetes & Metabolism
Training Opportunities for Pre- and Postdoctoral Researchers
The Joslin Diabetes Center T32 Training Program in Diabetes and Metabolism has been instrumental in cultivating the next generation of leaders in diabetes, obesity and metabolism research.
Through comprehensive research training, interdisciplinary mentorship and a collaborative scientific environment, this NIH-funded program has supported the development of outstanding scientists and physician-scientists who are advancing discovery and improving human health.
A Legacy of Research Excellence
Over the years, T32 trainees have contributed to impactful scientific publications, secured competitive research funding, and gone on to successful careers in academia, healthcare, industry and government. Their achievements reflect the strength of the training experience at Joslin and the program's enduring contribution to the advancement of diabetes research.
The outcomes highlighted below showcase the accomplishments of our trainees and demonstrate the lasting impact of the T32 program on both the scientific community and the future of diabetes research.
Our Outcomes and Impact
Joslin Diabetes Center is committed to training the next generation of diabetes researchers. Our NIH-funded T32 training program boasts a decades-long record of launching successful careers in academic medicine, basic and translational research, as well as the biotechnology and pharmaceutical industries.
The outcomes of our trainees reflect the quality of mentorship, the breadth of research opportunities and the collaborative scientific environment that define training at Joslin.
Of our most recent 15-year T32 program alumni, over 95% remain in research, academic, clinical or teaching-related careers. Former trainees have reported receiving more than 70 grants, including multiple NIH awards, other major federal research funding and foundation grants, reflecting our program’s strong track record of launching successful independent research careers.
Over the past 15 years, the T32 program has supported 60 postdoctoral fellows across 22 research groups, including 54 program alumni and six current trainees.
Their work has spanned a wide range of topics and approaches in type 1 diabetes, type 2 diabetes and diabetic complications, encompassing basic, translational, clinical, psychological and outcomes of research. Trainees have come from leading universities and medical schools across the country.
Of postdoctoral alumni, 56% have advanced to faculty positions at the instructor, assistant professor, associate professor or full professor level, and 18% have assumed leadership roles in the pharmaceutical and biotechnology sectors.
Most trainees who have entered research careers have published high-impact papers and secured independent funding. Alumni have successfully secured a wide range of competitive research funding, including NIH R01 and U01 awards, Veterans Affairs I01 grants, and career development awards such as K99/R00, K01, K08, K23, F32 and K12.
In addition, trainees have obtained support from foundations, professional societies and industry partners, reflecting the program's success in preparing investigators for independent research careers.
Professional roles and academic ranks of 60 postdoctoral trainees from the past 16 years shown. Left, distribution of current professional roles. Right, distributions of faculty positions of those obtaining faculty rank.
Over the past 15 years, 17 predoctoral trainees have been supported by this program, including three who are currently in training. We are proud to report that 100% of predoctoral trainees who entered graduate school 10 years ago have completed the PhD. Students have worked with multiple Joslin and adjunct predoctoral trainers across a range of graduate programs and typically received three years of support.
Predoctoral alumni have gone on to faculty positions, postdoctoral fellowships at outstanding universities, and leadership roles in the biotechnology and pharmaceutical industries. Alumni have been awarded individual postdoctoral training grants from non-profit foundations as well as NIH R01 grants, reflecting the strong foundation for independent careers that training at Joslin provides.
The publication records of our trainees are a testament to the caliber of science conducted in our program. Over the past 10 years, trainees supported by this award have produced 200 peer-reviewed publications, many in prestigious, high-impact journals.
Postdoctoral trainees produced an average of 4.0 publications per completed trainee, including numerous first-author papers in journals such as Nature Medicine, Cell, Science, Cell Metabolism, Nature Metabolism, the Journal of Clinical Investigation and Diabetes Care.
Of 40 postdoctoral trainees who have published in the last 10 years, 28 were first authors on at least one paper. In total, postdoctoral trainees contributed 158 peer-reviewed publications across a broad range of high-impact clinical and translational journals, including the New England Journal of Medicine and Nature.
Predoctoral trainees averaged 3.2 publications each, also in exceptionally high-impact journals. Among predoctoral trainees who have published in the last 10 years, 8 of 12 have had a first-author paper, including those still in training.
In total, predoctoral trainees have published 38 papers in some of the most prestigious journals in biomedical research, and 22% of those publications appeared in journals with an impact factor of 30 or higher. The average journal impact factor of papers published by trainees while in our program is 15.3 for predoctoral trainees and 9.8 for postdoctoral trainees.
Among 200 publications by Joslin T32 trainees over the past 10 years, the graph shows numbers of papers in important journals in the field (gray, 5 < 2024 impact factor [Journal Citation Reports] <10), high impact journals (orange, 10 ≤ impact factor <20), and most highly cited journals (red, impact factor ≥20).
Summer Research Internship
Joslin’s Summer Research Student Internship Program offers medical and graduate students 8 to 12 weeks of hands-on exposure to diabetes-related biomedical research. Each cycle, the T32 has supported eight non-undergraduate, short-term students, including participants in the NIDDK Medical Student Research Program as well as additional medical and graduate students.
Students are selected from approximately 50 to 75 applicants on the basis of CVs, short essays, letters of recommendation and interviews. Summer interns work on a wide range of basic, translational and clinical projects. In addition to direct laboratory experience, they participate in didactic sessions on diabetes pathophysiology, social events and end-of-summer research presentations.
Research
Learn how we’ve been at the forefront of discovery, and committed to preventing and curing diabetes worldwide.
