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 4 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, Novato, CA
• 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 Tests
• Meal Tolerance Tests 

You may be eligible if you…  

• 18 years of age or older
• An established diagnosis of Prediabetes or Type 2 diabetes (i.e. diagnosis by a physician as reported by participant, or two HbA1c measures meeting diagnostic thresholds within less than  a 3 mo period)
• Self-reported glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c) below 8% in the last 6 months
• Body Mass Index 18-40 kg/m2  based on self-reported height and weight 
• Fluent in written and spoken English
• Own a personal iPhone 6s or later (iOS 16.4+ or newer) or Android smartphone (version 12 or newer) and willing to use this phone to download and use the app for the study
• Own a personal computer or tablet, or have access to these devices at home
• Willing to use an Abbott FreeStyle Libre 3/3+ Continuous Glucose Monitor (CGM) supplied by the study and provide the study investigators access to the CGM data
• Willing to use the study wearable devices (e.g., Oura ring, Empatica wristband or smartwatch)
• Resides in the North San Francisco Bay area and willing to travel to Novato, CA in the morning on two occasions for the in person assessments at the Buck Institute.
• If using long-acting insulin (e.g. Basaglar, Lantus, Levemir, Toujeo, Tresiba), must be on a dosing schedule that involves administration of insulin only at bedtime and no other times of day.
• Minimum of 30 days stability on any current prescription medications and no new prescription medications started within 30 days of enrollment. 
• Weight stable (plus or minus 10 pounds) for the 2 months prior to enrollment.

You might not be eligible if you… 

• Pregnant or breastfeeding
• Current tobacco use
• Allergy to dairy or soy
• Currently using a prescribed Abbott CGM device
• Type 1 diabetes or MODY, or using an insulin pump
• Unwilling to avoid use of over-the-counter vitamins or supplements containing >1000 mg of Vitamin C or daily aspirin >325 mg/day during the study due to potential interference with the study-provided continuous glucose monitor.  Use of daily baby aspirin (~81 mg/day) during the study is acceptable and not an exclusion.
• History of pancreatic disease (other than diabetes) or pancreatic transplantation
• Active malignancy or chemotherapy for malignancy within the past year
• History of bariatric surgery or other gastrointestinal surgery anticipated to affect glucose metabolism, or any cause of gastroparesis
• Renal, hepatic, cardiovascular, or other systemic disease likely to interfere with glucose metabolism or study participation.
• Overnight hospitalization for any reason in the past 3 months.
• Current use of the following medications: Glucocorticoids, non-selective beta blockers (e.g., propranolol), thiazide diuretics. 

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. 

Dr. John Newman 

John Newman, MD, PhD, is an Associate 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 at UCSF who cares for hospitalized older adults, focusing on preserving mobility and preventing delirium.

Dr. Brianna Stubbs  

Dr. Brianna Stubbs is Co-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. Sarah Goodday

Dr. Goodday is a social, psychiatric and digital epidemiologist and is currently Lead Scientist at 4YouandMe – a non-profit that conducts open-source research into the prevention and early intervention applications of remote digital health technologies including smartphones and wearable devices. Dr. Goodday’s work centres on new digital measurement lenses of the human experience of symptoms, states, and external factors that modify experiences. She is particularly interested in building knowledge of bio-psychosocial mechanisms of breakdown during transitional periods in life such as emerging adulthood, the perinatal window, and peri/menopause and among individuals with mental health conditions.