Specimen and Data Collection in South Carolina Medicaid-Enrolled Patients With Type 2 Diabetes (T2D) and Metabolically Healthy Controls (BRISK 2)

August 17, 2026 updated by: Guardian Research Network, Inc.

An Observational Clinical Research Study Assembling and Analyzing Highly Complex, Multi-dimensional Molecular and Clinical Data With a Focus on High-risk Diabetes Patients in South Carolina, in Support of the Biomedical Research Initiative for Scientific Knowledge (BRISK)

The primary purpose of this study is to use multiomic data in combination with clinical assessments, electronic health records, cognitive and mood assessments, wearable technologies and lifestyle/behavioral data to identify data elements or combinations of data elements with strong positive or negative correlation to CKD diagnosis and/or progression in Type 2 Diabetes (T2D) patients. Achieving this aim will allow researchers and physicians to significantly improve the prediction of health trajectories of and formulate novel strategies to potentially prevent, treat or reverse T2D. South Carolina Medicaid-enrolled patients diagnosed with T2D and a smaller subset of non-T2D SC Medicaid patients may participate in this study. Participants who complete required procedures will be compensated for their time and transportation, may keep their study-provided Fitbit device to help maintain their healthcare improvement journey, and will have a personal Certified Diabetes Educator to consult and assist with managing their diabetes diagnosis.

Study Overview

Status

Recruiting

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

Detailed Description

Diabetes, and in particular Type 2 Diabetes which accounts for roughly 90-95% of Diabetes patients, affects tens of millions of Americans. The state of South Carolina has one of the highest rates of diabetes patients affecting every 1 in 7 adults. In addition, diabetes patients have a very high risk of developing further complications like chronic kidney disease or cardiovascular disease, which besides further threatening the lives of these patients, is very expensive to manage and treat. South Carolina also has one of the highest population growth percentage rate across the US, but the growth of the healthcare workforce particularly in the rural areas of the state is not able to keep up.

To help mitigate this, the SC Department of Health and Human Services has developed a "Rural Health Initiative" to better meet underserved communities' medical needs. Spartanburg Regional Healthcare System and Guardian Research Network have been funded by SCDHHS to serve the first study in this Initiative targeting Type 2 Diabetes (T2D).

This study aims to collect multiple types of data from SC Medicaid-enrolled type 2 diabetes (T2D) patients and healthy patients, including data from biospecimens, questionnaires, cognitive "brain" games, clinical assessments, electronic health records, wearable devices and lifestyle/behavioral data to identify elements that may be related to Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD) diagnosis or T2D progression. The primary goal is for researchers and physicians to analyze the multi-dimensional data to significantly improve the prediction of and strategies to prevent disease progression in T2D patients.

Patients between ages 40 to 70 diagnosed with T2D and enrolled in SC Medicaid may be eligible, as well as a smaller healthy (control) cohort also enrolled in SC Medicaid. Patients will be asked to provide a blood, saliva and stool sample, answer questionnaires, complete online cognitive assessments ("brain games"), and wear a study-provided Fitbit device. Type 2 Diabetes participants will also have access to a Certified Diabetes Educator to assist with disease management and potential suggested lifestyle changes to help improve health.

Study Type

Observational

Enrollment (Estimated)

1200

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Locations

  • United States
    • South Carolina
      • Orangeburg, South Carolina, United States, 29118
        • Recruiting
        • Clemson Health Clinic at Orangeburg
        • Contact:
        • Contact:
        • Principal Investigator:
          • Peter Carek, MD
      • Walhalla, South Carolina, United States, 29691
        • Recruiting
        • Clemson Health Clinic at Walhalla
        • Contact:
        • Contact:
        • Principal Investigator:
          • Peter Carek, MD

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Ages Eligible for Study

  • Adult
  • Older Adult

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Sampling Method

Non-Probability Sample

Study Population

South Carolina Medicaid-enrolled participants

Description

INCLUSION CRITERIA:

All Participants:

  • 40 to 70 years of age (inclusive) at enrollment
  • Enrolled as Medicaid recipients
  • Ability to provide informed consent and authorization for release of relevant protected health information or personal data
  • Ability to provide a blood sample(s) of up to 70 mL and other required biospecimens, including genetic samples.

T2D Group:

• Current diagnosis of Type 2 diabetes OR a blood level of hemoglobin A1c equal to or greater than 6.5% at any time within the past 12 months

Control Group:

  • Blood level of hemoglobin A1c less than or equal to 5.6% at time of enrollment
  • No diagnosis of Type 2 diabetes

EXCLUSION CRITERIA:

  • Pregnancy at time of enrollment (by self-report of pregnancy status)
  • Lack of fluency in spoken and written English
  • Type 1 diabetes or any other type of diabetes besides Type 2 diabetes
  • Active cancer diagnosis or cancer that achieved complete remission within three (3) years prior to enrollment, other than non-melanoma skin cancer (e.g. malignant basal cell neoplasm of skin and/or squamous cell carcinoma of skin)
  • Major Adverse Cardiovascular Events within two (2) years prior to enrollment
  • Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease
  • Cognitive impairment or neurodegenerative diseases (e.g., Alzheimer's disease, dementia, multiple sclerosis, Parkinson's disease, etc.)
  • Pancreatitis or other diseases of the pancreas (besides diabetes)
  • The participant is, in the opinion of the investigator, unlikely to be able to complete all study requirements

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

Cohorts and Interventions

Group / Cohort
Intervention / Treatment
Type 2 Diabetes
SC Medicaid-enrolled Type 2 Diabetes Patients
Other: Not applicable- observational study
Non-interventional biospecimen and data collection study.
Healthy Controls
SC Medicaid-enrolled non-T2D Patients
Other: Not applicable- observational study
Non-interventional biospecimen and data collection study.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Identify data elements or combinations of data elements with strong positive or negative correlation to Chronic Kidney Disease diagnosis and/or progression in Type 2 Diabetes patients
Time Frame: Up to 24 months after enrollment
Perform omics and clinical labs on blood and stool, administer surveys, and analyze medical record data
Up to 24 months after enrollment

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

Guardian Research Network, Inc.

Collaborators

Spartanburg Regional Healthcare System
South Carolina Department of Health and Human Services

Investigators

  • Principal Investigator: Randy Axelrod, MD, Guardian Research Network, Inc.

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start (Estimated)

August 1, 2026

Primary Completion (Estimated)

August 1, 2029

Study Completion (Estimated)

October 1, 2029

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

July 16, 2026

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

July 22, 2026

First Posted (Actual)

July 28, 2026

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

August 18, 2026

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

August 17, 2026

Last Verified

August 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

  • BRISK-T2D-001

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

NO

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

No

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

No

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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