William Hagopian MD, PhD

Director of Diabetes Programs

Lab Focus

Human Immunogenetics

Prediction and Prevention of Type 1 Diabetes

Prevention of Celiac Disease

Overview

The Hagopian Lab focuses their research on strategies in immunology and molecular biology to predict and prevent type 1 diabetes before clinical disease onset. Their studies include screening more than 140,000 newborns in Washington State to determine environmental factors that trigger diabetes in those with genetic risk. With these data as a foundation, the Hagopian Lab develops and implements cost-effective strategies for population-based pediatric screening to predict preclinical diabetes. William Hagopian, MD, PhD, has developed low-cost/high-accuracy islet antibody tests, as well as scoring system for genetic risk. Together, these innovations have great potential to decrease costs to patients when translated to public health settings and mainstream medical care. 

Also, the Hagopian Lab joins six other laboratories worldwide in the TEDDY Study, “The Environmental Determinants of Diabetes in the Young.” This groundbreaking collaboration follows 8,000 children with high genetic risk for type 1 diabetes until the age of 15. It has identified many factors, from vitamins, to probiotics, to triggering viruses such as enterovirus B, which significantly affect the autoimmunity leading to clinical type 1 diabetes. TEDDY and others have also demonstrated the great success of advance prediction to prevent ketoacidosis, a potentially fatal complication affecting most children at type 1 diabetes onset. 

Dr. Hagopian’s team also pursues collaborative clinical trials of low-toxicity immune therapies to interrupt the autoimmune response that kills insulin-producing pancreatic islet cells. He was instrumental in helping develop the anti-CD3 drug teplizumab, now FDA approved for prediabetes. In addition to their potential to prevent diabetes before blood sugar becomes elevated, these therapies may help newly diagnosed patients better tolerate transplant of islet cells made in the laboratory and being commercially developed by several companies.

“We’ve made great strides in applying our lab’s findings to the clinic to understand mechanisms, prediction and prevention of type 1 diabetes and celiac disease in kids. But there is more work to be done to make it a standard part of public health so that complications are lessened, and prevention therapy can be broadly applied.”

William Hagopian MD, PhD

Director of Diabetes Programs

Lab Members

Claire Cowen Crouch

Senior Clinical Coordinator

Michael Killian

Clinical Research Manager

Margaret Marquiss

Laboratory Technician

Cody McCall

Clinical Coordinator

Arlene Meyer

Research Interviewer II

Jared Radtke

Senior Research Technician

Shreya Roy

Clinical Coordinator

Jennifer Skidmore

Senior Clinical Coordinator

Biography

William A. Hagopian, MD, PhD

William A. Hagopian, MD, PhD, was the Director of Diabetes Programs at PNRI. He earned his PhD in biochemistry as well as his MD from the University of Chicago, then did a Residency in Internal Medicine at the University of Washington (UW), where he later completed a Senior Fellowship in endocrinology and immunology. A leader in diabetes research for over 30 years, Dr. Hagopian has held numerous prestigious positions in the medical community. He has served on the Executive Council of the Immunology of Diabetes Society, Chair of the Scientific Advisory Committee of UW’s General Clinical Research Center, and current longstanding appointments as Chair of the Genetics Committee and Co-Chair of Laboratory Committee for the TEDDY Consortium. In addition to his research work at PNRI, Dr. Hagopian is a practicing physician who maintains a role as a Clinical Professor of Medicine at the University of Washington.

Learn More About the Hagopian Lab

Research Projects

HAGOPIAN

The CASCADE study to predict T1D and CD in young children to prepare for newborn screening adoption.

Link Coming Soon

HAGOPIAN

The TEDDY study to follow thousands of kids from age 3 mo to age 15 yrs, to find environmental triggers of T1D, CD and thyroid disease.

Link Coming Soon

HAGOPIAN

The T1DI study to understand how to use islet autoantibodies to better predict T1D.

Link Coming Soon

William A. Hagopian, MD, PhD
Awards & Honors

1980

Co-Valedictorian

Univ. Southern California School of Engineering

1980-1987

Medical Scientist Training Program Scholar

University of Chicago

1987

Dr. Harold Lamport Biomedical Research Award, Best PhD Thesis

University of Chicago

1987

M.D. with Honors, Pritzker School of Medicine

University of Chicago

1990-1991

McAbee Fellow in Diabetes Research

University of Washington

1990, 1993, 2009

American Board of Internal Medicine, Certified in Int Med and in Diabetes Endocrinology

1991-1994

Howard Hughes Physician Fellow

University of Washington

1992-1999

Director, Islet Cell Satellite Core, Diabetes Endocrinology Research Cntr

Univ. of Washington

1994-1997

Career Development Award

American Diabetes Association

1995-1998

Acting Assistant Professor of Medicine

Univ.Washington, Metabolism Endocrinology Nutrition

1995-1998

Clinical Associate Physician, General Clinical Research Center

University of Washington

1995-2004

Member, Scientific Advisory Committee, Clinical Research Center

University of Washington

1998-2001

Clinical Assistant Professor of Medicine, Division of Metabolism

University of Washington

1998-2009

Principal Scientist

Pacific Northwest Research Institute

2001-2007

Executive Council

Immunology of Diabetes Society

2001-2013

Clinical Associate Professor of Medicine (Metabolism, Endocrinology)

Univ. of Washington

2005-2008

Chair, Scientific Advisory Committee, General Clinical Research Center

Univ. of Washington

2003-present

Chair, Genetics Committee and Co-Chair, Laboratory Committee

TEDDY Consortium, NIDDK

2003-present

Principal Investigator, Washington State Clinicial Center

TEDDY Consortium, NIDDK

2009-2012

Scientific Director

Pacific Northwest Diabetes Research Institute

2012-present

Director of Diabetes Programs

Pacific Northwest Research Institute, Seattle WA USA

2013-present

Clinical Professor of Medicine (Metabolism, Endocrinology, Nutrition)

University of Washington