Dr. Greenbaum was recognized for her career-spanning leadership in type 1 diabetes clinical research.
This week, the Puget Sound Business Journal tapped Carla Greenbaum, MD for this year’s Lifetime Achievement Award, recognizing her decades-long dedication to type 1 diabetes (T1D) research. Dr. Greenbaum’s name has become tantamount to diabetes expertise in the community, and her relentless pursuit of progress throughout her career has changed the landscape of T1D treatment – driving changes that have substantially enhanced the diagnosis, management, and overall quality of life for individuals living with T1D.
Dr. Greenbaum joined the Benaroya Research Institute (BRI) in 2000 and is now the Director of the Institute’s Center for Interventional Immunology. At BRI, Greenbaum’s forward-thinking and innovation have piloted multi-decade, longitudinal clinical studies to understand T1D disease development and progression. She envisioned and then built a team positioned to conduct high quality, high impact clinical research, and established a highly collaborative culture aiming to accelerate translating science to health.
Dr. Greenbaum’s excellence in leading T1D research brought collaborations with the NIH-funded international clinical trial network Diabetes TrialNet (which Dr. Greenbaum chaired until 2021), as well as collaboration with a myriad of other institutions and researchers across the T1D specialty. Under Greenbaum’s leadership, TrialNet drove the study of a drug that could prevent T1D from developing in people at risk for the disease. The FDA approval of this treatment, teplizumab, in 2022 was not only a watershed moment for treating T1D but also a paradigm shift for treating all autoimmune diseases. Never before has it been possible to predict and prevent an autoimmune disease—an enormous feat.
Throughout her career, Dr. Greenbaum has authored hundreds of publications, driven progress through numerous academic networks, repeatedly demonstrated success in partnering with industry to advances therapies to slow T1D, served as a leader in professional and community organizations such as the American Diabetes Association and JDRF, and has received numerous other awards that underline her esteemed position within the T1D field.
At this distinguished stage in her career, Dr. Greenbaum’s focus has shifted to mentoring the next generation of T1D researchers, ensuring a promising future of advancement to come in her wake. Her leadership and vision are an essential piece of the BRI Center for Interventional Immunology’s growth and continued success.
“It is immensely gratifying to have PSBJ recognize the work we do here at BRI to predict, prevent, and cure autoimmune diseases like type 1 diabetes,” Dr. Greenbaum reflects. The honorees will be recognized at a celebratory luncheon on December 7.
