This is Maria Montez, Program Coordinator for DPP since the beginning of DPP until my retirement in May 2018. It was a wonderful experience meeting so many scientists, nurses, dietitians, and biostatisticians nationwide and the long-time friendships that are still on-going! We provided research-based care to our many study participants and community service to our states nationwide! Congratulations DPP for 30 years of science and service to our states nationwide! Enjoying my retirement cruising around the world!

Lehmer first began quilting after her retirement in 2017, taking classes with the local guild in Republic, a small town in the Okanagan highlands of Washington, near the Canadian border. She bought a longarm sewing machine, which she kept in the loft of her home.

There are two phases to quilting, a fusion of art and craft. There is the construction of the quilt top, where the intricately designed patterns are sewn, then there is the layering of the top with the batting and backing fabrics.

“I basically draw figures and patterns while sewing the three layers together,” she says. “Some people have computerized machines, but mine is completely hand-guided.”

Lehmer quickly established a small business, moving the longarm into a small quilting cottage on her property, a dedicated space to focus on her craft. She stands as she works, often listening to murder mystery audiobooks.

Standing is important. As a participant in the Diabetes Prevention Program since 1998, Lehmer has prediabetes. “As an adopted child, I had no idea what my genetics were, so to find out that I’m prediabetic was very fortuitous,” she says. In addition to walking her dog and riding her recumbent bicycle, standing by her longarm is a key part of her daily exercise. “I’m just pleased to be able to make a small contribution to this larger research effort.”

To read more of Jane's story and learn about how she created the cover of Diabetes Care Volume 48, visit the October Issue's website.

Photo and text source: https://diabetesjournals.org/care/article/48/10/1649/163433/About-the-Artist-Jane-Lehmer

I was once asked what stands out as one of my most meaningful projects and without hesitation, I answered the landmark DPP/DPPOS study. I have had the privilege of working on this study since 1998 and it has been meaningful to me for many reasons both on a professional and personal level. The science behind the DPP/DPPOS and the significant impact the results have had in Type 2 Diabetes, and the Diabetes community at large speaks for itself, and I feel very proud to have contributed to its success.

On a personal level, it has been my interactions with the DPP/DPPOS study participants that have been the most meaningful. We have together built unique relationships over the years, and I feel as though I have an extended family of about 100 members. It is said it is the simple moments of human interconnectedness that are the bedrock of our existence, and I am so thankful for the many years of interconnectedness shared with my study participants. The participants tell me they are thankful for all the study has done for them, but it is I that am thankful for all they have done for me.

I have learned so much from this exceptionally loyal and dedicated group, mostly on aging gracefully and the importance of faith and a positive attitude.

It has been quite a colorful journey these past 27 years for which I will be forever grateful to have been an active participant.Thank you DPP/DPPOS!!

I attended a Health Fair in 1998 and stopped by the University of Chicago's DPP table. It was of interest to me because I have a family history of diabetes. So, I took the brochure, read it, did my research, contacted the UofC the following week, and the rest is history. Being in the DPP for the last 27 years has taught me how to take care of my health and to be intentional about it. My husband even benefited because when I changed my life, it also changed his. I have learned to eat healthy, exercise, and pay attention to my body. Over the course of the study, I learned how to lose weight and maintain that loss in a healthy way, and to pay attention to other health indicators such as cholesterol, kidney function, eyes, heart and feet. I feel this study was a godsend for me because my mom and 3 of her siblings had diabetes, as well as my grandmother. My grandmother, my mom and one of her sisters died as a result of diabetes. With that family history, I knew it would be a miracle if I did not get it. There was no research being done during my mom's time and now that there is, so many people are benefiting, lives are being extended, and there is more awareness. I am glad that I am a part of the study/research and hope that this study/research continues so that more people can become more educated and learn to take more control of their health. I am an advocate for my own health, and I will do anything to improve it, so I would tell anybody who is considering joining a research group, to just do it. What do you have to lose? The benefits will always outweigh the cons, and it may help save your life or at least improve it.

My career as a health care administrator began 50 years ago, and at first it centered around treatment for people with substance abuse issues. Our primary drug treatment program involved methadone maintenance, a proven effective medication for heroin addiction. But our patients and our treatment program were often criticized by individuals who said we were just substituting one drug for another. We countered with the example of insulin for the treatment of diabetes. No one imposed value judgments on diabetic patients who couldn't manage their condition solely by diet and willpower, so why were patients being treated for substance abuse disparaged for taking medication that reduced cravings and withdrawal symptoms?

The political climate at the time forced our program to have extensive waiting lists of people who wanted treatment but could not be admitted. Finally, when the HIV/AIDS epidemic hit New York, the public health leadership started to realize that getting injection drug users into treatment was a very effective way to reduce many of the risky behaviors that led to the spread of HIV. We extended the clinical program to embrace research projects, especially focused on the prevention of HIV/AIDS and the respectful treatment of people who had been exposed to the HIV/AIDS virus while they were actively using drugs.

This began my exposure to the clinical and epidemiological research field, and I created a department for research administration. Part of educating myself and my staff about human subjects research included learning about protections, regulations, informed consent, Institutional Review Boards, and ethical issues, and we decided that we would each enroll in some sort of research study to see how it felt to be a participant.

Several people in my extended family had been greatly affected by diabetes, including my grandmother (who lost a leg), my uncle (who played the piano professionally until diabetes-related neuropathy made that impossible), and my brother-in-law (who was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes while in his 20s). So when I saw an announcement about participating in a research study to prevent diabetes, I jumped at the chance. I was so lucky that the Diabetes Prevention Study was at a nearby hospital, and that I was eligible based on my personal risk factors and my family history. I was able to see both sides of clinical research: the professional administrative processes (and, to be fair, some of the associated bureaucracy and hurdles) as well as the vantage point of a research subject (including what seemed like a lot of blood draws and questionnaires). I could tell that the research staff cared very much about the well-being of the participants.

We all were reminded that a research subject is not guaranteed any direct benefit from the study--but we clearly felt that we were informing the field and our involvement would benefit the future. We were treated with dignity and support, and even now, more than 25 years later, it is overwhelmingly clear that the research staff and investigators prioritize us.

The personal satisfaction that I get from knowing that my contributions have already resulted in improved knowledge and opportunities for preventing diabetes in other families would be reward enough. In my case, I have also been very fortunate in that I have not developed diabetes, and I am very sure that it was my early involvement in this study that happened to randomize me to the study medication arm that in fact prevented my progression to diabetes.

Way back in 1993, I was working at UCSD in San Diego. My boss – Dr. Elizabeth Barrett-Connor – was submitting a grant in response to an RFA about diabetes prevention and asked me to help her write the statistical section. Nearly a year later when my family was about to move to the Washington DC area, I started applying for jobs. I interviewed at the George Washington University Biostatistics Center for a biostatistician job on a brand new study… the Diabetes Prevention Program! That grant I had helped write a year earlier! It was meant to be.

I was blessed to work on DPP for more than 30 years – helping design the original protocol, determining the primary outcome, tracking recruitment, retention, and study adherence, monitoring early results, and ultimately working on many many papers emanating from DPP and DPPOS. And what a blessing it's been – the science and practice changing study, the many hundreds of investigators and staff across the country who became not only my colleagues but my friends, and the direct impact DPP has had on me and my family.

When my kids were little we would go on DPP walks together and we all talked about healthy grocery shopping and meal preparation. When my husband and my father were each diagnosed with prediabetes, I sent them to their doctors with the original DPP primary outcome paper, and each of them insisted that they start taking metformin! Since then, my husband has embraced the lifestyle intervention and has lost about 40 pounds, maintaining a very active and healthy lifestyle. My now grown family is still all about DPP – all of them committed to a healthy lifestyle including daily exercise.

As for me, I spent over 30 years working on DPP and DPPOS, mostly focusing on everything related to data. When I retired in March 2025, I became a certified DPP lifestyle instructor and I'm now leading my first cohort of patients – continuing my DPP story from a whole new direction!! I've totally come full circle and for that I am forever grateful. Lastly, I am most appreciative to the nearly 4000 participants from across the country who literally have given their lives to be a part of this study. You are the true blessing.

~ Sharon Edelstein, DPPer 1994-2025