Loretta Vileikyte

I have been active in clinical research of diabetic foot complications for over 25 years, focusing on the interplay between the biomedical and psychosocial/behavioral aspects of diabetic neuropathy and its late sequelae- foot ulceration. In collaboration with my psychology and diabetic neuropathy colleagues from UK and USA (Johns Hopkins, Rutgers and Penn State Universities, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, and the University of Miami, where I’ve been a visiting faculty member since 2002) I’ve designed and led several large scale multicenter/multidisciplinary transatlantic research projects. Specifically, we developed a neuropathy and foot ulcer-specific quality of life instrument (NeuroQoL), which is being used in several studies, such as the EDIC (the DCCT follow-up). I have previously held the first joint American and British Diabetes Association grant to develop an instrument for assessment of patient cognitive/emotional representations of neuropathy as a risk factor shaping foot self-care.Furthermore, I led a collaborative (Manchester/Miami) NIH study that investigated the effects of psychological stress on diabetic foot ulcer healing, which generated one of the largest foot ulcer tissue biomarker databases and provided preliminary data for yet another successful NIH grant application examining the cortisol synthesis enzyme, CYP11B1, as tissue biomarker for diabetic foot ulcer healing. In summary, my unique combination of skills and expertise allows me to study the biological and psychosocial/behavioral risk factors of neuropathy/foot ulceration in diabetes in an integrated fashion, thereby producing clinically meaningful results.