Enhancement Center

The Human Islet Research Enhancement Center (HIREC) is located within the Department of Diabetes and Cancer Discovery Sciences at City of Hope. The HIRN Enhancement Center (HIREC) provides the organizational, operational, technological, and scientific infrastructure that supports collaboration and innovation across the Human Islet Research Network (HIRN). HIREC works across HIRN’s scientific consortia, the Trans-Network Committee (TNC), and NIDDK Program Staff to facilitate activities that advance HIRN’s mission and strengthen the network’s impact on type 1 diabetes research.

The goals of HIREC are to:

Coordinate and support HIRN activities and operations, including scientific meetings, the Annual Investigator Meeting, workshops, committees, working groups, and other network-wide initiatives.
Develop and administer funding and research opportunities that foster innovative science, encourage cross-network collaboration, and support the development of the next generation of T1D researchers.
Facilitate strategic network initiatives that bring together investigators, expertise, technologies, and resources across HIRN and the broader T1D research community.
Maintain and advance HIRN’s technology and information infrastructure, providing access to network materials, research data, publications, resources, and other tools that support discovery and collaboration.
Promote the dissemination and exchange of scientific knowledge through publications, webinars, communications, shared resources, and other mechanisms that connect HIRN investigators and the broader research community.
Support collaborative science and scientific communication, including cross-network publications and initiatives such as the HIRN Molecular Metabolism Review Series facilitated through the Trans-Network Committee.
Cultivate a connected and collaborative research community by creating opportunities for investigators at different career stages and across disciplines to engage, exchange ideas, develop collaborations, and advance innovative approaches to understanding and treating type 1 diabetes.