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Leading national efforts on childhood diabetes

If you have diabetes, or are a family member of someone with diabetes, you may be eligible to take part in one of the many studies offered at Seattle Children's.

Current Research Studies

Please visit our Current Research Studies page for detailed information on:

Reasearch Bio

Cate Pihoker, MD
Cate Pihoker, MD Program Director, Endocrinology Education; Clinic Chief, Diabetes/Endocrine (interim); Division Chief, Endocrinology As Seattle Children's principal investigator for SEARCH for Diabetes in Youth and other diabetes research studies, Dr. Cate Pihoker is leading national efforts to gain a better understanding of the differences in the development, clinical presentation, and health outcomes in youth with diabetes. Diabetes mellitus is a major health concern affecting about 16 million Americans. It is a leading cause of nephropathy, retinopathy, neuropathy, and coronary and peripheral vascular disease. It is the third-most-prevalent severe chronic disease of childhood in the United States.

Researcher Team

Tiffany Hawkins, RN Tiffany Hawkins, RN

Research Nurse

Beth Loots, MPH, MSW Beth Loots, MPH, MSW

Research Manager

Barbara Maslaney, RN, BSN, CDE Barbara Maslaney, RN, BSN, CDE

Research Coordinator III

Stephanie Purdy, BS, BA Stephanie Purdy, BS, BA

Research Coordinator II

Kathleen Santarelli, BA Kathleen Santarelli, BA

Research Coordinator I

Current Research

Please visit our Current Research Studies page for detailed information on our work.

Participate in Research

Our researchers offer patients and families access to the latest medical studies, known as clinical trials, aimed at finding better ways to diagnose and treat childhood diseases. Family participation in our efforts helps this process.

Support Our Research

More than half of the kids who come to Seattle Children’s live with serious conditions that they will have for the rest of their lives. Research can give them a different future. Under designation, select “Other” and enter Clinical and Translational Research.

Seattle Children’s complies with applicable federal and other civil rights laws and does not discriminate, exclude people or treat them differently based on race, color, religion (creed), sex, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, national origin (ancestry), age, disability, or any other status protected by applicable federal, state or local law. Financial assistance for medically necessary services is based on family income and hospital resources and is provided to children under age 21 whose primary residence is in Washington, Alaska, Montana or Idaho.