
University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) is one of twenty-two Type 1 Diabetes TrialNet International Clinical Centers at the forefront of type 1 diabetes research. Led by Stephen Gitelman, MD, the TrialNet team at UCSF is dedicated to preventing type 1 diabetes and stopping disease progression by preserving insulin production before and after diagnosis.
Our Team
Stephen Gitelman, MD

Srinath Sanda, MD
Co-Investigator
Christine Torok
Study Coordinator
Glenna Auerback
Study Coordinator
Rebecca Wesch
Study CoordinatorKaren Ko
Clinical Research CoordinatorNatalie Aceves
Clinical Research CoordinatorLorraine Stiehl
Clinical Research Coordinator"Our study participants are, by far, my favorite part of my job. I love working with them and am in awe of everything that they handle every single day. All participants manage their diabetes 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. On top of that, they give of their time and energy to partake in one of our research studies. Without them, there would be no TrialNet." – Christine Torok
Regional Affiliates
Affiliates provide opportunities for people who do not live near a TrialNet Clinical Center. The affiliate sites listed below work with UCSF to offer convenient participation in our research programs
Research Studies
If you have a relative with T1D, you may be eligible for risk screening that can detect the early stages of T1D years before symptoms appear. More
Depending on your risk screening results, you may be eligible for monitoring. We’ll monitor you for disease progression and let you know if you become eligible for a study. More
We are testing the drug hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) to see if it can delay or prevent early stage T1D (stage 1) from progressing to abnormal glucose tolerance (stage 2) and ultimately prevent clinical diagnosis (stage 3). HCQ is already used to reduce symptoms and progression of other autoimmune diseases, such as rheumatoid arthritis and lupus. This is the first study to see if it can prevent or delay T1D. Details
TrialNet tested the drug abatacept to see if it could delay or prevent stage 1 T1D (two or more diabetes-related autoantibodies, but normal blood sugar) from progressing to stage 2 (abnormal blood sugar) or to stage 3 (clinical diagnosis). In an earlier study in people newly diagnosed (stage 3), participants treated with abatacept had 59% better insulin production and a 9.6-month average delay in progression of insulin loss compared to those who received placebo. That difference extended out to 3 years. Details
If you are diagnosed with T1D while participating in one of our prevention studies, we’re still here for you. You can continue to receive personal monitoring while helping us learn more. More
"The ultimate goal is to be able to screen and predict who is at risk for diabetes, and then have an efficient way to turn off the disease process, before T1D ever happens!"-Stephen Gitelman, MD, UCSF Principal Investigator