BETA Study

Number of visits: 

• Onboarding and eConsent completed at home  
• Complete brief surveys and tasks daily, weekly, every 2 weeks, that will take less than 5 minutes per day on average, as will be requested through the study app 
• Phone call with study coordinator every 2 weeks 
• Complete 6 at-home real-world challenges that will involve consuming specific test meals at specific times a day with or without a controlled stressors that will be provided for you (e.g., mental math tasks) 
• 2 in-person visits to the Buck Institute 
• Exit interview via phone 

List of study procedures: 

• Medical history 
• Vital signs 
• Continuous Glucose Monitor Placement 
• HbA1c measurement (finger stick) 
• Various questionnaires and surveys 
• Blood samples 
• Oral Glucose Tolerance Test 

You may be eligible if you…  

• 18 years of age or older 
• Non-smoker 
• Have an established diagnosis of Type 1 diabetes 
• Glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c) below 8% (64 mmol/mol) 
• Body Mass Index 18-40 kg/m2 
• Own a personal iPhone 6s (iOS 15+ or newer) or Android smartphone (version 12 or newer) and willing to use this phone to download and use the app for the study 
• Willing to use the study wearable devices (Smart ring, Smart wristband and CGM) 
• Resides in the North San Francisco Bay area and willing to travel to Novato, CA on at least two occasions for the clinical assessments at the Buck Institute. 

 You might not be eligible if you… 

• History of pancreatic disease (other than diabetes) or pancreatic transplantation 
• Active malignancy (other than skin cancer) or chemotherapy for malignancy within the past year 
• History of bariatric surgery or other surgery anticipated to affect glucose metabolism 
• Pregnant or breastfeeding 
• Renal, hepatic, cardiovascular, or other systemic disease 
• History of severe hypoglycemia or diabetes-related ketoacidosis in the prior 6 months or >2 episodes in the past 12 months. 
• Hospitalization for any reason in the past 3 months. 
• Current use of the following medications: Calcium channel blockers (e.g., verapamil), glucocorticoids, non-selective beta blockers (e.g., propranolol) 
• Current use of the following medications and unable or unwilling to temporarily withhold for OGTT, per protocol: GLP-1 receptor agonists, SGLT inhibitors, DPP-4 inhibitors, sulfonylureas, meglitinides, metformin, or thiazolidinediones. 

Dr. John Newman 

John Newman, MD, PhD, is an Assistant Professor at the Buck Institute for Research on Aging and an Associate Professor in the Division of Geriatrics at University of California San Francisco (UCSF). His career goal is to translate our expanding understanding of aging biology to improve the care and help maintain the independence of older adults. His research at the Buck Institute studies the molecular details of how diet and fasting regulate the genes and pathways that in turn control aging, focusing on the ketone body beta-hydroxybutyrate and how its molecular signaling activities involving epigenetics and inflammation regulate aging and memory in mice.  Dr. Newman is also a geriatrician who cares for hospitalized older adults at UCSF and the San Francisco VA Medical Center, focusing on preserving mobility and preventing delirium.

Dr. Brianna Stubbs  

Dr. Brianna Stubbs is Associate Director of the Clinical Research Core at the Buck Institute for Research on Aging and is a world expert in exogenous ketone metabolism and its implications for performance, resilience and health-span. She completed her PhD in Metabolic Physiology at the University of Oxford, studying the metabolism and the application of exogenous ketone salts and esters. Whilst completing her studies, she competed on the British International Rowing Team, and was a two-time World Champion lightweight athlete. Brianna is currently Lead Translational Scientist in the Business Development Team at The Buck Institute for Research on Aging where she is focused on the translation of ketone body research into consumer products and drugs that target healthy aging.

Dr. Jennifer Lovejoy, PhD

Dr. Lovejoy is a translational and behavioral scientist with deep experience in personalized medicine and behavior change.  She holds a B.S. degree from Duke University in Zoology, M.S. and Ph.D. degrees from Emory University in Physiological Psychology, and she completed postdoctoral training in Endocrinology and Metabolism at Emory University School of Medicine. During her academic career, Dr. Lovejoy held the Manship Endowed Professorship in Diabetes at the Pennington Biomedical Research Center, Louisiana State University. She is a Past-President of the Obesity Society and has published over 90 peer-reviewed papers on her research. She currently holds affiliate faculty appointments at the Institute for Systems Biology and Washington State University’s Elson S Floyd College of Medicine. 

More recently, Dr. Lovejoy has held senior executive roles in several health and wellness companies. She was Chief Translational Science Officer at Arivale, the scientific wellness startup uniting systems biology and behavioral science to help consumers optimize wellness, where she developed the behavioral coaching program, oversaw selection of genomic and other biomarkers returned to consumers, and helped guide the focus of the multi-omic research program. She was also Head of Science at Seven, a digital health startup developing a unique behavioral AI platform to improve lifespan and healthspan, as well as the VP of Innovation and Program Strategy at the Lifestyle Medicine Institute.  Currently, she provides consulting services via her company, integralscience.net.