Author: Layla Rouse, MS

Webinar: “Stem Cell-based Platforms to Model Human Autoimmune Diabetes”

Posted on | by Layla Rouse, MS

Click HERE to access the YouTube video of the recording.

Tuesday, March 28, 2023  (1:00 PM Eastern |  10:00 AM Pacific)

Presentations by:   
–  Audrey Parent, PhD, University of California, San Francisco
–  Karla Leavens, MD, PhD, Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia

Topics discussed:
–  Advantages of stem cell-based platforms to model human T1D
–  Current state of differentiation of T1D relevant cell types
–  Examples of disease modeling applications using stem cell derivatives
–  Development of multi-tissue platforms combining islets and T cells

HIRN Funding Opportunity: Pancreas Knowledgebase Program (PanKbase)
(RFA-DK-22-018)

Posted on | by Layla Rouse, MS

This Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) invites applications to develop a centralized resource of the human pancreas for diabetes research that will provide access to deeply curated high-quality datasets, knowledge in computable forms, and advanced data science tools and workflows; and enable open and reproducible multidisciplinary collaboration toward accelerating biomarker and therapeutic target development. The program will become a component of the Human Islet Research Network or HIRN (https://hirnetwork.org/).

Posted: October 4, 2022
Letter of Intent Due: February 28, 2023
Application Due Date: March 31, 2023
Start Date: December 2023

Details HERE

New Awards from RFA-21-017: High-Resolution Exploration of the Human Islet Tissue Environment (HPAC)

Posted on | by Layla Rouse, MS

Integrative Analysis of Multiomic Signatures and Cellular Function in Human Pancreas Across Developmental Timeline at Single-cell Spatial Resolution

U01 DK135017

Marcella Brissova*, PhD, Vanderbilt University 
Alejandro Caicedo, PhD, University of Miami
Jie Liu, PhD, University of Michigan
Stephen Parker, PhD, University of Michigan
Al Powers, MD, Vanderbilt University

 

Using ex vivo, in vivo Models and Patient Mutations to Interrogate Pancreatic Exocrine-Endocrine Cross Talk

U01 DK135095

Rohit Kulkarni*, PhD, Joslin Diabetes Center
Saumya Das, MD, PhD, Massachusetts General Hospital
Juan Dominguez-Bendala, PhD, University of Miami

 

The Role of Senescent Beta Cells in Type 1 & 2 Diabetes

U01 DK134995

Klaus Kaestner*, PhD, University of Pennsylvania 
Benjamin Glaser, MD, Hadassah Medical Center
Dana Avrahami-Tzfati, PhD, Hadassah Medical Center
Al Powers, MD, Vanderbilt University

 

Linking Human Islet Structural Heterogeneity to Beta Cell State

U01 DK135019

Julie Sneddon*, PhD, University of California, San Francisco
Zev Jordan Gartner, PhD, University of California, San Francisco

 

Survival and Potential of Insulin-deficient Beta Cells in T1D

U01 DK135001

Des Schatz*, PhD, University of Florida
Martha Campbell-Thompson, PhD, University of Florida
Clive Wasserfall, PhD, University of Florida
Yuval Dor, PhD, Hebrew University

*Denotes contact PI

HIRN 2022 Poster Award Recipients

Posted on | by Layla Rouse, MS

The following trainees were selected as award recipients based on the posters they presented at the HIRN 2022 Annual Investigator Meeting.

  Vrushali Agashe, PhD
Institution: Columbia University Irving Medical Center,
                      Columbia Center for Translational Immunology
Title:  Postdoctoral Research Scientist
Affiliation: CMAI (Sykes Lab)

Vrushali Agashe is a Postdoctoral Research Scientist in the laboratory of Professor Megan Sykes at the Columbia University Irving Medical Center. Dr. Vrushali’s research focuses on Type 1 Diabetes immune systems, and how self-reactive T cells escape thymic negative selection & enter periphery, where they can mediate pancreatic beta cell destruction.
   

 
 

Cristiane dos Santos, PhD
Institution: Vanderbilt University
 Title:  Postdoctoral Research Scientist
Affiliation: CBDS (Arrojo e Drigo Lab)

Cristiane dos Santos is a Postdoctoral Research Scientist in the laboratory of Assistant Professor Rafael Arrojo e Drigo at Vanderbilt University. Dr. do Santos’ studies the effects of caloric restriction on pancreatic beta cell function and longevity. She observes that caloric restriction improves animal glucose homeostasis and insulin sensitivity.

 
   

 
 

Udi Ehud Knebel
Institution: The Hebrew University of Jerusalem
Title:  Doctoral Student
Affiliation: CBDS (Dor Lab)

Udi Ehud Knebel is a Doctoral Student in the laboratory of Professor Yuval Dor at The Hebrew University of Jerusalem. He studies the role of RNA editing in beta-cells, showing that this process prevents the accumulation of double-stranded RNA and the development of interferon-mediated islet inflammation and diabetes.
   

 
 

Leslie Wagner
Institution: Indiana University School of Medicine
Title:  Doctoral Student
Affiliation: CBDS (Linnemann Lab)

Leslie Wagner is a Doctoral Student in the laboratory of Associate Professor Amelia Linnemann at Indiana University School of Medicine. Her research focuses on how human beta-cells in the pancreatic islet exhibit a heterogenous response to cellular stressors, such as cytokines produced by the innate immune system following viral infection using intravital microscopy.

HIRN 2022 Trainee Scholarship Recipient

Posted on | by Layla Rouse, MS

The following trainees are recipients of the HIRN 2022 Scholarship based on competitive review of abstracts by members of the HIRN Planning Committee.

 

Gregory Golden, PhD
Institution: University of Pennsylvania
Title:  Postdoctoral Researcher
Affiliation: CMAI (Betts Lab)

Gregory Golden is a Postdoctoral Researcher in the laboratory of Professor Michael Betts at the University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine. He completed his PhD in Biomedical Sciences from the University of California, San Diego. Dr. Golden currently studies the immune landscape of the pancreas and associated secondary lymphoid organs and the dynamics of the immune system during Type 1 Diabetes development. He has a particular interest in the role of T cells in the autoimmune elimination of beta cells.
   

 

 

Abhishek Kulkarni, PhD
Institution: University of Florida 
Title:  Postdoctoral Research Fellow
Affiliation: CBDS (Mirmira), CHIB (Brusko)

Abhishek Kulkarni is a Postdoctoral Research Fellow in the laboratory of Professor Todd Brusko at the University of Florida. He completed his PhD in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology from Indiana University School of Medicine. He joined Raghu Mirmira as a postdoc at the University of Chicago, where he studied the role of the polyamines-hypusine pathway in human pancreatic islet inflammation. His current work is focused on studying the role of the co-stimulatory protein CD226 in the antigen-presenting cell (APC) – T cell interaction in the context of T1D pathogenesis.

 

  

 

 

Olha Melnyk, PhD
Institution: Indiana University School of Medicine
Title:  Postdoctoral Research Fellow
Affiliation: CBDS (Linnemann)

Olha Melnyk is a Postdoctoral Research Fellow in the laboratory of Associate Professor Amelia Linnemann at the Indiana University School of Medicine. She received her PhD in Applied Sciences-Physics from the University of Colorado, Colorado Springs. Dr. Melnyk is studying pancreatic beta cell physiology, with a focus on autophagic flux and the autophagy machinery, through the use of intravital microscopy.  During her PhD studies, she became interested  in nonlinear optics and advanced microscopy techniques for live cell imaging.

 

  

 

 

Ali Shilleh
Institution: University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus
Title:  Graduate Student
Affiliation: CBDS (Russ)

Ali Shilleh is a 5th year PhD Candidate in the Cell Biology, Stem Cells and Development program at the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus in the laboratory of Holger Russ. He is Serbian-born, Palestinian-raised and completed his BS from the University of Massachusetts, Boston and his MS in Nutrition and Biomedicine from the Technical University of Munich (Germany). Ali’s research focuses on determining the fate of human beta cells upon transplantation.

 

HIRN Catalyst Award Recipients

Posted on | by Layla Rouse, MS

Congratulations to the HIRN Catalyst Award Recipients Awards

Congratulations to the four recipients of our internally  funded “Catalyst” initiative. The goal of this initiative was to support investigators developing bold, innovative, and challenging projects that will catalyze the field and provide  important advances in topics of interest to the network. To be considered  “catalyzing”, the proposed research must address significant and currently intractable problems by employing approaches or ideas that are currently outside the mainstream of contemporary research. The program is not intended to expand a current research program’s funding in the area of the proposed project, but instead must reflect a fundamental new insight or understanding that will revolutionize the field.  

Wen-Hong Li, PhD
University of Texas Southwestern
 Medical Center
“Ultra-sensitive Probes for High Resolution Imaging of
Hormone Secretion in Islet Cells of Physiological Preparations” (HPAC)

 



Jeffrey Millman, PhD
Washington University
School of Medicine in St. Louis
“Epigenomic Engineering of
Stem Cell-Derived Pancreatic Cells” (CHIB)

Lori Sussel, MD
University of Colorado
Anschutz Medical Campus
“Lactate-mediated Metabolic Reprogramming of
Beta Cells in T1D Contributes to their
Enhanced Plasticity and Dedifferentiation” (CBDS)


Qizhi Tang, PhD
University of  California, San Francisco
“Tregs as Vehicles for Targeted Delivery of
Therapeutic Payload to Human Islets” (CMAI)

Mark Huising, PhD
University of California, Davis
“Cooperativity between Calcium and cAMP-inducing Agents
in Human Alpha and Beta Cells” (HPAC)


Ernesto Nakayasu, PhD
Pacific Northwest National Laboratory
“BioStructure & Function Team Leader” (CBDS)

Webinar: Reprogramming Human Regulatory T Cells to Quell Autoimmunity and Transplant Rejection

Posted on | by Layla Rouse, MS

 

Register HERE

Date:                 Tuesday, September 6, 2022
Time:                 1:00 PM Eastern |  10:00 AM Pacific
Duration:          1 hour

Presentations by:         
Leonardo Ferreira, PhD, Medical University of South Carolina
Everett Meyer, MD, PhD, Stanford University

 Topics to be discussed:

–  What is a regulatory T cell (Treg)? When were they first discovered? What is a chimeric antigen receptor (CAR)?
–  How heterogenous is the Treg compartment? Do different Treg subsets perform different functions? How do tissue-resident Tregs differ from those in the periphery?
–  What are the hurdles in utilizing Tregs? Does engineering Tregs create new opportunities or new challenges?
–  How far along are Tregs in the clinic?

Webinar: Introduction and Overview of the HIRN HPAP Pancreas Database (“PancDB”)

Posted on | by Layla Rouse, MS

 

Click HERE to access the YouTube video of the recording.

Thursday, July 7, 2022 (1:00 PM Eastern |  10:00 AM Pacific)

Presented by:

Golnaz Vahedi, University of Pennsylvania
Colin McGovern, University of Pennsylvania
Michael Stauffer, University of Pennsylvania

Topics to be discussed:

  • Introduction to the Human Pancreas Analysis Program (HPAP)
  • Overview of the Pancreas Database (“PancDB”)
  • Demonstration of the v.20 PancDB Enhancements

Webinar: “Why the Immune System Kills Beta but not Alpha Cells”

Posted on | by Layla Rouse, MS

 

Click HERE to access the YouTube video of the recording.

 May 18, 2022 (1:00 PM Eastern |  10:00 AM Pacific)

Presented by: Dr. Decio Eizirik from the ULB Center of Diabetes Research

Topics to be discussed:

  • Alpha-cells are dysfunctional but not killed in type 1 diabetes
  • Are there different mechanisms for alpha-cell dysfunction in types 1 and 2 diabetes?
  • Learning from single cell RNAseq of alpha- and beta-cells exposed to pro-inflammatory cytokines
  • How do beta- and alpha-cells respond to viral infections?
  • How do beta- and alpha-cells respond to ER stress and other pro-apoptotic stimuli?
  • A preliminary hypothesis for the alpha-cells resistance to apoptosis in type 1 diabetes

April 2022 Webinar: “T Cell Antigen Discovery: Experimental & Computational Approaches”

Posted on | by Layla Rouse, MS

 

Click HERE to access the YouTube video of the recording.

April 27, 2022 (12:00 pm Eastern/9:00 am Pacific)

Webinar co-sponsored with dkNET

Presented by:           
Alok Joglekar, PhD, University of Pittsburgh          

Topics  discussed:

  • Antigen directed detection of T cells
  • TCR directed epitope discovery
  • Computational prediction of TCR specificity
  • Integrating antigen specificity with T cell function
  • Antigenic landscape of islet-infiltrating T cells in Type 1 Diabetes