Origins

Physician Ralph Alexander and nurse Peggy Huang began the Diabetes Teaching Center at UCSF in 1977. The goal today – as it was then – is to educate individuals with Diabetes on all aspects of self-care.

We place special emphasis on helping newly diagnosed patients understand Diabetes, and facilitate the necessary lifestyle changes to manage their care. For those living with Diabetes, this program provides training in the latest advances in self-care and problem-solving skills. One of the first to provide a program of its kind, the UCSF Diabetes Teaching Center brings together the skills of physicians, nurses, counselors, pharmacists and nutritionists to provide individuals with therapies, Diabetes education and continuing resources.

This group setting provides tremendous support and interaction to people living with Diabetes. Thousands of people from around the world have completed workshops at the UCSF Diabetes Teaching Center. Our programs emphasize individualized care. Participants learn to recognize their own patterns of blood glucose response. This self-knowledge permits each individual to make specific, personalized adjustments to their daily diet, exercise and medication for optimal health and quality of life. Care providers and educators at the UCSF Diabetes Teaching Center have long advocated for, and taught tight blood glucose control as the principal treatment goal. At the UCSF Diabetes Teaching Center, intensive blood glucose control is standard therapy – and has been for decades.

More recently, clinical trials have confirmed that intensive glucose control is the key to reducing the incidence of diabetes complications. The Diabetes Teaching Center is part of the UCSF Diabetes Center. The UCSF Diabetes Center, under the directorship of Mark Anderson, unifies Diabetes related research, education and clinical care at all the UCSF campuses. The Center has a singular goal – to bring lasting improvement to the quality of life to patients with Type 1 and Type 2 Diabetes.

Credits

The original website was developed (2007) in collaboration and subsequently updated (2024) by: