Colorado School of Public Health dean receives international award

Hamman

Richard Hamman, M.D., founding dean of the Colorado School of Public Health and a diabetes researcher, recently received the 2010 John Snow Award during the American Public Health Association's annual meeting in Denver.

Each year the international organizations co-grant the award to a researcher for his or her enduring contributions to the improvement of human health and disease prevention.

"I am honored that you believe my work and that of my colleagues has started to make a difference," Hamman said. "I have had a wonderful career studying the epidemiology of diabetes – both in youth and adults. As our knowledge of the risk factors for adult-onset Type 2 diabetes has expanded, we have been able to show that Type 2 diabetes could be prevented or delayed."

Diabetes has become a worldwide epidemic, occurring in developed and developing nations. According to Hamman, medical advances now extend and improve the lives of people living with the disease. Nevertheless, rates continue to increase and Hamman believes the solution requires research to inform individuals and policy makers of what can be done to limit the risks of the disease.