Diabetes Care & Quality of Life
Established in 2023, the Frank Calandra Jr. Research and Innovations in Diabetes Fund at the University of Pittsburgh is dedicated to promoting health and combatting disease in the field of endocrinology, diabetes, and metabolism. Our goal is to support clinical, educational, and multidisciplinary research programs that give people access to innovative treatments and improve their quality of life. With every innovation in diabetes care, our funding priority remains implementing the research in real-world practice to enhance the delivery of comprehensive care.
Our goal is to support clinical, educational, and multidisciplinary research programs that give people access to innovative treatments and improve their quality of life.
Our Partners in Medicine
The Frank Calandra Jr. Foundation is proud to invest in the University of Pittsburgh’s Department of Medicine, which is uniquely positioned to develop and deliver new and innovative treatments because of their faculty, staff, and clinicians at UPMC. This integrated global health enterprise ensures clinical care is fueled by research, led by clinicians who are also teachers.
We are grateful to work closely with Dr. Erin Kershaw, Associate Professor of Medicine at the University of Pittsburgh and the Endowed Chair for Obesity and Diabetes Research. An accomplished researcher and clinician whose expertise and leadership have propelled advancements in the field, Kershaw is part of a multidisciplinary team dedicated to unraveling the complexities of diabetes and developing innovative treatments.
"My colleagues and I have committed our lives to treating people with diabetes, and we want to follow Frank’s lead in focusing on safety, innovation and most of all, people — putting people first.”
-Dr. Erin Kershaw
Research & Innovation
The Calandra Scholars
Established in 2023, the Calandra Scholars program supports the next generation of doctors and scientists who are working diligently to prevent, delay, or treat diabetes. The program focuses on building a pipeline of early-career researchers who bring new approaches, fresh perspectives, and innovative ideas to the field of endocrinology, diabetes, and metabolism.
Calandra Scholars have tackled ambitious research and clinical projects, presented at regional thinktanks and national symposiums, and championed a variety of bench-to-bedside initiatives. Read more about our current scholars:​
Zana Ross​
Ross presented her work on the "Role of a novel human obesity/diabetes-risk variant on cardiomyocyte function and stress response" at the International Meeting for the Society for Heart and Vascular Medicine (SHVM) in St. Louis, Missouri.
Olayemi Akinyele​
Akinyele is Chief Professional Development Officer at Fourth River Solutions, a non-profit delivering market research, competitive intelligence, and product launch solutions to biomed startups in the Pittsburgh region.
Margaret Zupa, MD​
Zupa works in the clinical space to develop better ways to reach and deliver the most effective care to people with diabetes, including assessing telehealth, app-based, F2F, and other strategies for diabetes care, as well as improving diabetes self-management and education. In addition to advancing clinical research, Zupa was one of only 6 UPMC physicians to receive the prestigious 2023-2024 Excellence in Patient Experience Award, putting her in the 99th percentile nationwide for outstanding patient care.