Dana Ball
Program Director, The Leona M. & Harry B. Helmsley Charitable Trust

Dana A. Ball is the Program Director for the Type 1 Diabetes (T1D) Program at The Leona M. and Harry B. Helmsley Charitable Trust (Trust). Prior to joining the Trust full time, Dana consulted for the organization from September 2008 through June 2009.

In his short time at the Trust, Dana has been instrumental in implementing an open and transparent platform designed to identify gaps and opportunities to advance the understanding of T1D and provide solutions for the disease. The program funds innovative and novel approaches in research, technology, systems, and outreach. Current plans for funding include an interconnected and interdisciplinary 11-institution, three year, 28 grant research consortium totaling $21 million; and the development of a comprehensive T1D registry with bio-repository, a clinical trial resource, and social networking component. In addition, the Trust is involved in several strategic partnerships with the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation’s Artificial Pancreas Program, which is focused on improving real-time blood sugar monitoring and glucose administration in patients with type 1 diabetes.

Prior to the Helmsley Trust, Dana served as Executive Director at The Iacocca Foundation (Foundation) from 2001 through 2008, where he created a successful program that funds medical research and scientific advances in the prevention and treatment of Type I diabetes.