About the research topic:
Diabetes has truly reached worldwide epidemic proportions with 422 million sufferers identified in 2014 (WHO fact sheet). While diabetes can be managed, for many people the onset of life-threatening complications including blindness, kidney failure, heart attacks, stroke, and lower limb amputation further exacerbates the impact on mortality and morbidity. Today, identifying the mechanisms governing the onset and progression of complex conditions like diabetes still is exceedingly challenging, due to their multifactorial environmental component and the intricate genetic-susceptibility interaction.