David J. Pettitt, MD, Senior Scientist at Sansum Diabetes Research Institute, has been appointed Visiting Professor by the Royal Hospitals of Belfast to work with physicians at the Regional Center for Endocrinology and Diabetes. For one year he will assist with the study called Hyperglycemia and Adverse Pregnancy Outcomes (HAPO). This research study will begin to examine the children of women tested during pregnancy for gestational diabetes. Dr. Pettitt is an internationally-known expert on the effects of diabetic pregnancy on children and will be advising the HAPO researchers in Belfast and helping to analyze their findings.

Previous studies of women with diabetes have found higher rates of obesity and diabetes in their offspring. Researchers from the HAPO study have studied nearly 25,000 women in nine countries over the past seven years. Pettitt has worked as a Senior Scientist at Sansum Diabetes Research Institute since 1998, specializing in risk factors for obesity and type 2 diabetes in children and adolescents.