Jerry P. Palmer, M.D., the former University of Washington (UW) Diabetes Research Center Director, passed away on Wednesday 28 February 2024. Jerry played major roles at the UW and VA Puget Sound Health Care System (VAPSHCS). He came to Seattle in 1975 to do his endocrine fellowship at the urging of R.H. Williams and never left. During his time in the Pacific Northwest, Jerry gave tirelessly in the true sense of the word. He was quiet and humble, loved by his patients, fellow faculty members, and colleagues alike.
Jerry distinguished himself scientifically in numerous ways. He first to describe the presence of insulin autoantibodies in people with type 1 diabetes who were insulin naïve. That discovery led to the use of this biomarker for diagnosing type 1 diabetes which continues to be a mainstay today both clinically and in research. He also demonstrated the importance of T-cell reactivity and using this approach has helped us learn that many people who look more typically like they have type 2 diabetes do also have an immune basis for their disease. Jerry was a leader in the Diabetes Control and Complications Trial (DCCT) and its follow on the Epidemiology of Diabetes Complications (EDIC) Study that continues to this day. The results of this major clinical trial showed definitively that improved glucose control reduces complications in diabetes, which was then considered a breakthrough and today is considered fundamental for all people with diabetes globally. He and his colleagues demonstrated the presence of subclinical beta-cell function in relatives of people with type 1 diabetes and its progressive loss was the basis for their development of diabetes. He was also part of the group that demonstrated that the loss of the small amount of residual beta-cell function in those with recent-onset type 1 diabetes could be slowed with intensive insulin treatment. After the DCCT/EDIC, Jerry played a leadership role in TrialNet that paved the way for the development of immune modulator therapy, an approach that was recently introduced into the clinical arena. Across the variety of his research pursuits, Jerry mentored numerous postdoctoral fellows and always ensured that their interests were represented before his own.
Jerry motivated strongly for the establishment of the Diabetes Care Center at UW, which opened its doors in 1991. While this clinical center opened in modest surroundings and set the benchmark for diabetes treatment in Seattle, today it hosts over 18,000 patient visits annually. The success of this clinical endeavor and the strength of the research environment at the University laid the foundation for the formation of the UW Medicine Diabetes Institute.
Administratively, Jerry was highly successful doing so quietly while at the same time giving credit to those around him. He directed the UW Diabetes Research Center from 1996-2011, having previously served for many years as its Deputy Director. The success of the Center and its strength today is in no small measure the result of his devotion to its mission. He was the Chief of the Endocrine Division at VAPSHCS lobbying vigorously that its faculty not only provide the highest standard of clinical care for their patients but also that they be given sufficient time to pursue their research interests. Nationally, he served in numerous capacities, including as a member of the national Board of Directors of the American Diabetes Association (ADA) and for a decade on the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK) Advisory Council.
Jerry Palmer set a standard for all in Seattle, nationally and internationally. While achieving all of this, at all times his family was his pride, joy, priority, and devotion. All of us will miss him dearly.