NIH NIDDK New Investigator Gateway Award Recipients (Nov 2023)

Congratulations to the November 2023 Recipients of the NIH NIDDK New Investigator Gateway Awards

Congratulations to these three investigators on joining HIRN via the NIH NIDDK Gateway Award Initiative.  This award was designed to ensure that a robust pipeline of talented new investigators will continue to embark on successful careers in type 1 diabetes (T1D) research. The recipients will be embedded within the HIRN scientific framework to provide unique opportunities for New and Early Stage Investigators to increase their understanding of key questions in the field, to network, and to establish unique and potentially long-lasting collaborations that will propel their careers forward. It is anticipated that the Gateway award will provide the support needed to enhance the success of future R01 submissions from New Investigators interested in pursuing careers in T1D research.

Romina Bevacqua, PhD, Mount Sinai School of Medicine
Research Abstract: “Identification of Novel Regulatory Mechanisms Driving Human Beta-Cell Maturation and Function”
HIRN Consortium: CHIB
Date Awarded: November 15, 2023

   
Han Zhu, PhD, University of California, San Diego
Research Abstract: “Gene regulatory programs driving metabolic maturation of human pluripotent stem cell derived β-cells”
HIRN Consortium: CHIB
Date Awarded: November 1, 2023

HIRN 2023 Trainee Scholarship Recipients

The following trainees are recipients of the HIRN 2023 Annual Investigator Meeting!

Award recipients were selected solely based on evaluations by HIRN members on their presentations (oral or poster) at the Annual Investigator Meeting. Oral presentations were evaluated by all audience attendees and posters were evaluated by 3 pre-assigned HIRN Investigators.  Each award recipient can acknowledge this award on their CV.

 

Zeina Drawshy
Institution: Hebrew University of Jerusalem
Title:  Graduate Student
Affiliation: HPAC (Yuval Dor)

  • Oral Presentation Award

Zeina Drawshy is a 5th year PhD student in the laboratory of Dr. Yuval Dor. Her research focuses on the cell type-specific DNA methylation markers for accurately determining the fraction and addressing the function of the pancreatic cell types in human islet and pancreas specimens.

 

Miguel Medina-Serpas
Institution: University of Florida 
Title:  Graduate Student
Affiliation:  CHIB (Brusko)

  • Oral Presentation Award

Michael Medina-Serpas is a Graduate Student in the laboratory of Dr. Todd Brusko. He has assembled a cohort of non-diabetic, at-risk, and T1D donors and present 13 donor-matched sets of pancreas and pancreatic lymph nodes (pLN) in which they assayed using spatial transcriptomics. He observed a global increase in inflammatory chemokine expression and detected an enriched immune signature in the pancreas of donors presenting with multiple islet autoantibodies independent of clinical disease status. Future directions include identifying common features of the immune response in both the pLN and pancreas and further identification of tissue specific processes that are associated with disease.

 

Liza Zamashanski
Institution: Hebrew University of Jerusalem
Title:  Graduate Student
Affiliation: HPAC (Yuval Dor)

  • Oral Presentation Award

 Liza Zamashanski is a MD PhD student in the laboratory of Dr. Yuval Dor. Her research focuses on impaired RNA editing in islets models early stage Type 1 Diabetes. 

 

Catarina de Andrade Barboza
Institution: Miami University
Title: Postdoctoral Research Scientist
Affiliation: HPAC (Joana Almaca)

  • Poster Award

 Liza Zamashanski is a MD PhD student in the laboratory of Dr. Yuval Dor. Her research focuses on impaired RNA editing in islets models early stage Type 1 Diabetes.

 

Gregory Golden
Institution: University of Jerusalem
Title: Postdoctoral Research Scientist
Affiliation: HPAC (Michael Betts)

  • Poster Award

Gregory Golden is a Postdoctoral Research Scientist in the laboratory of Dr. Michael Betts in the Microbiology Department at the University of Pennsylvania. He is searching for immune cells that respond to and eliminate insulin-producing cells during Type 1 Diabetes. He has developed a novel yet simple approach to co-incubate immune cells and target pancreatic islet cells from the same donor. This approach allows for the analysis of how both immune cells and islet cells respond when an autoimmune reaction is occurring and may give new insights into T1D  immune pathogenesis.

 

Mollie Huber
Institution: University of Florida 
Title:  Graduate Student
Affiliation:  CHIB (Clayton Mathews, Mark Atkinson & Edward Phelps)

  • Poster Award

Mollie Huber is a graduate student co-mentored by Drs. Clayton Mathews, Mark Atkinson, and Edward Phelps at the University of Florida. Her work utilizes live pancreas tissue slices generated from human organ donor tissue to assess beta cell function and immune cell activity during the different stages of type 1 diabetes pathogenesis. She has found that beta cells have dysfunctional responses to high glucose prior to their death during diabetes development and that this dysfunction is not dependent on T cell infiltration. Instead, this functional defect may reside in the beta cell.  

 

Luciana Mateus Goncalves
Institution: University of Miami
Title: Postdoctoral Research Scientist
Affiliation: HPAC (Joana Almaca)

  • Poster Award

 Luciana Mateus Goncalves is a Postdoctoral Research Scientist in the laboratory of Dr. Joana Almaca in the Department of Medicine, Division of Endocrinology at the University of Miami. She studies Islet capillaries that are made of endothelial cells covered by mural cells named pericytes. These pericytes are crucial for vascular homeostasis, elucidating potential changes in their function/phenotype is critical for our understanding of Type 1 Diabetes pathogenesis. Her data shows that islet pericytes are dysfunctional and capillaries unresponsive at early stages of Type 1 Diabetes.

 

Stephan Ramos
Institution: Miami University,
Title: Postdoctoral Research Scientist
Affiliation: HPAC (Joana Almaca)

  • Poster Award

Stephan Ramos is a Postdoctoral Research Scientist in the laboratory of Dr. Seung Kim at Stanford University. He is studying novel methods to modulate the immune system and induce tolerance to transplanted pancreatic islets.

 

Rob Robino
Institution: Medical University of South Carolina
Title: Graduate Student
Affiliation: CMAI (Leonardo Ferreira)

  • Poster Award

Rob Robino is a graduate student in the laboratory of Dr. Leonardo Ferreira at the Medical University of South Carolina. He studies beta cell replacement can cure type 1 diabetes. Hurdles to implement it include scarcity of beta cells and the need for immunosuppression. We provide proof-of-concept for a strategy to protect stem cell-derived beta cells from immune rejection using regulatory T cells.

 

Snegha Varghese
Institution: City of Hope
Title: Postdoctoral Research Scientist
Affiliation: CTAR (Sangeeta Dhawan)

  • Poster Award

Sneha Varghese is a CIRM Postdoctoral Fellow in the laboratory of Dr. Sangeeta Dhawan at City of Hope. Her research focus on DNA damage as a key driver for beta-cell defects in diabetes. Majority of the beta-cell growth in humans occurs within 5 years of birth via replication; our study establishes that replicating beta-cells are highly vulnerable to DNA damage, especially in this early growth phase. We have established that the Cohesin complex is indispensable for preventing DNA damage during beta-cell growth and  Cohesin deficiency drastically impairs beta-cell growth and function, suggesting that DNA damage in the beta-cells in early life may compromise their health in the long-term. 

New Awards from RFA-22-009: HIRN Consortium on Targeting and Regeneration (CTAR)

Developing A Platform Technology For β-Cell-Targeted Drug Delivery

Justin Pierce Annes*, MD, PhD, Stanford University (U01 DK136965)

 

Development of platforms for beta cell-specific delivery and ligand discovery

Amit Choudhary*, PhD, Broad Institute (U01 DK137242)
Rohit Kulkarni, MD, PhD, Joslin Diabetes Center
Paul Andrew Clemons, PhD, Broad Institute

 

iSTAR Tregs

Qizhi Tang*, PhD, University of California, San Francisco (U01 DK137140)
Michael T McManus, PhD, University of California, San Francisco
Audrey Parent, PhD, University of California, San Francisco
 

* Denotes Contact PI

NIH NIDDK New Investigator Gateway Award Recipients (May 2023)

Congratulations to the May 2023 Recipients of the NIH NIDDK New Investigator Gateway Awards

Congratulations to these three investigators on joining HIRN via the NIH NIDDK Gateway Award Initiative.  This award was designed to ensure that a robust pipeline of talented new investigators will continue to embark on successful careers in type 1 diabetes (T1D) research. The recipients will be embedded within the HIRN scientific framework to provide unique opportunities for New and Early Stage Investigators to increase their understanding of key questions in the field, to network, and to establish unique and potentially long-lasting collaborations that will propel their careers forward. It is anticipated that the Gateway award will provide the support needed to enhance the success of future R01 submissions from New Investigators interested in pursuing careers in T1D research.

Amish Asthana, PhD, Wake Forest University Health Sciences
Research Abstract: “A microwell perfusion plate for manufacturing & testing islet-like clusters”
HIRN Consortium: CHIB
Date Awarded: May 1, 2023

   
Jason Bini,PhD, Yale University 
Research Abstract: “Positron emission tomography to characterize beta cell mass in individuals from multiple stages
in the progression of T1D”

HIRN Consortium: HPAC
Date Awarded: May 1, 2023
   
Richard Aaron Cox, PhD, University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston
Research Abstract: “GABP is a novel regulator of beta cell metabolism & proliferation”
HIRN Consortium: CTAR
Date Awarded: May 1, 2023
   

Jing Liu, PhD, Indiana University-Purdue University
Research Abstract: “Image based spatial transcriptomics to identify b cell phenotypes in T1D”
HIRN Consortium: CBDS
Date Awarded: May 1, 2023

   
Matthew Wortham, PhD, University of California, San Diego
Research Abstract: “Metabolic requirements of pancreatic beta cell proliferation”
HIRN Consortium: CTAR
Date Awarded: May 1, 2023

 

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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)

HIRN 2021 Trainee Scholarship Recipients

The following trainees are recipients of the HIRN 2021 Scholarship based on competitive review of abstracts by members of the HIRN Planning Committee.

 

Giorgio Basile, PhD

Institution: Joslin Diabetes Center
Title:  Postdoctoral Research Fellow

Affiliation: CTAR (Kulkarni Lab)

 

Giorgio Basile is a Postdoctoral Research Fellow in the laboratory of Professor Rohit N. Kulkarni at the Joslin Diabetes Center and Harvard Medical School. He completed his PhD in Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolism from the University of Rome, Sapienza. His interest for the research in diabetes started during his doctoral studies, when he took over a project aimed to identify genetic causes of familiar forms of diabetes, under the supervision of Prof. Vincenzo Trischitta. His previous work was on the characterization of endogenous factors, as well as bioactive small molecules, that could promote human Beta Cell proliferation. His current research focuses on identifying key regulatory pathways of Beta Cell proliferation and how alterations in gene expression contribute to the loss of function of the Beta Cell in diabetes development.

 

Hugh Bender, PhD

Institution: Univ. California, Irvine
Title:  Postdoctoral Research Fellow

Affiliation: CHIB (Hughes Lab)

 

Hugh Bender is a Postdoctoral Scholar in Christopher Hughes’ lab at the University of California, Irvine.  He received his Ph.D. in Developmental, Regenerative, and Stem Cell Biology from Washington University in St. Louis. During his time in the Hughes Lab, he has developed the Islet-Vascularized Micro-Organ — a novel, biomimetic tissue-on-chip platform for maintaining human islets in the lab.  His ongoing work seeks to incorporate human immune cells within this platform to better model beta cell damage during Type 1 Diabetes disease progression

Roberto Castro-Gutierrez

Institution: Univ. Colorado
Title:  Doctoral Graduate Student
Affiliation: CBDS (Russ Lab)

 

Roberto Castro-Gutierrez is currently a 5th year PhD candidate in the Molecular Biology program at the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus. Roberto received his BS degree in Cellular and Molecular Biology from the University of Texas at El Paso.  His research uses genetically engineered stem cell derived beta-like cells (sBCs) to understand the underlying causes of autoimmune diabetes and to develop novel treatment modalities. His recent work established in vitro and in vivo platforms to evaluate the role of PD-L1 and HLA class I proteins in the immune protection of sBCs. He is interested in perusing a scientific career in the field of cell replacement therapy.

Dario F. De Jesus, PhD

Institution: Joslin Diabetes Center
Title:  Postdoctoral Research Fellow
Affiliation: CBDS (Kulkarni Lab)

 

 

Dario De Jesus is a Postdoctoral Research Fellow in the laboratory of Professor Rohit N. Kulkarni at the Joslin Diabetes Center and Harvard Medical School, where he holds an ADA Postdoctoral Fellowship. Dr. De Jesus joined the Kulkarni laboratory initially as a Fulbright Research Scholar during his Master’s studies. He later enrolled in the Graduate Program of Basic and Applied Biology (GABBA) at the University of Porto, Portugal and returned to the Kulkarni laboratory to complete his PhD focused on research related to metabolic reprogramming of Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease. He is currently interested in mRNA modifications and especially in the role of N6-methyladenosine (m6A) in pancreatic islet cell function and survival in Type 1 and Type 2 Diabetes.

Xiaofeng Huang, PhD

Institution: Weill Cornell Medical College
Title:  Postdoctoral Research Fellow
Affiliation: CTAR (Zhou Lab)

 

Xiaofeng Huang is a Postdoctoral Research Fellow in the laboratory of Dr. Qiao Zhou at the Weill Cornell Medical College. He received his B.S. in Biotechnology from Xiamen University in China and his Ph.D. in Molecular Virology from the University of Hong Kong in Hong Kong, China. His current research goal is to develop a technology to derive large numbers of functional insulin-secreting cells from the abundant renewable sources of human gastric stem cells to treat Type 1 Diabetes.

Charles Lazimi

Institution: Univ. Florida
Title:  Doctoral Graduate Student

Affiliation: CHIB (Phelps Lab)

 

Charles Lazimi is a 1st year PhD student in the Department of Biomedical Engineering at the University of Florida in the lab of Dr. Ed Phelps. He received his BS and MS degrees in Biomedical Engineering at the University of Florida. While completing his master’s he was hired as a research scientist at L&L Biotech in Gainesville Florida where he developed skills in Molecular Cloning. His Masters capstone project consisted of sub-cloning a beta cell specific promoter into a GABA biosensor construct to detect endogenous GABA release in Human islets. The aim of his current research is to incorporate cloned biosensors into microphysiological systems to better characterize islet-immune interactions and islet neurotransmitter auto/paracrine signaling

Charanya Muralidharan

Institution: Indiana University
Title:  Doctoral Graduate Student
Affiliation: CBDS (Linnemann Lab)

 

Charanya Muralidharan is a 5th year PhD Student in the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology at Indiana University School of Medicine in the lab of Dr. Amelia K. Linnemann. She received her Bachelor’s in Technology (B. Tech) in Bioinformatics from SASTRA University, India. She received her first Master’s in Science (MS) in Cell & Molecular Biology at the Illinois Institute of Technology and a 2nd MS at the Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) School of Sciences in Biology. Her initial studies were in the lab of Dr. Susan Walsh where she studied pigmentation genetics in the context of Forensic phenotyping. Her current research is on autophagy in the beta cells in the context of type 1 diabetes by implementing various molecular biology techniques and intravital imaging.

Kim-Vy Nguyen-Ngoc, PhD

Institution: Univ. California, San Diego
Title: Postdoctoral Research Fellow
Affiliation: CHIB (Sander Lab)

 

Kim-Vy Nguyen-Ngoc is a Postdoctoral Research Fellow in the Laboratory of Maike Sander at the University of California, San Diego. She received her Ph.D. at Johns Hopkins University in Cell Biology with Dr. Andrew Ewald. During her time at the Sander lab, she has developed disease models to study diabetes using human pluripotent stem cell (hPSC)-derived islet cells. She established an organotypic culture model to vascularize hPSC-islets, which will serve as a platform for islet physiology and drug testing.

Benjamen O’Donnell, PhD

Institution: Univ. California, Irvine
Title: Postdoctoral Research Fellow
Affiliation: CHIB (Hughes Lab)

 

Benjamen O’Donnell is a Postdoctoral Research Fellow in the laboratory of Dr. Christopher Hughes and the University of California, Irvine. He received his Bachelor of Science in Biomedical Engineering at Saint Louis University before completing his PhD. in Bioinnovation at Tulane University. His dissertation focused on developing a microphysiological system modeling the effects of type II diabetes on an osteoarthritic synovial knee joint. His current work involves expanding an existing human vascularized micro-organ pancreatic islet model to incorporate circulating immune cells. This model will then be used to investigate the onset of type I diabetes and disease progression.

Julia Panzer, PhD

Institution: Univ. Miami
Title: Postdoctoral Research Fellow

Affiliation: HPAC (Caicedo Lab)

 

Dr. Julia Panzer is a Postdoctoral Research Fellow in the Department of Medicine at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine in the laboratory of Dr. Alejandro Caicedo. She is trained as a food chemist and completed her PhD in Human Biology at the Technical University Dresden with Dr. Stephan Speier in Germany. During her doctoral studies she implemented the human slice platform to study islets in their native environment. Her current research focus on human islet development and alpha cell dysfunction in Type 1 Diabetes.

 

 

HIRN 2020 Trainee Scholarship Recipients

The following trainees are recipients of the HIRN 2020 Scholarship based on competitive review of abstracts by members of the HIRN Planning Committee.

Joshua Chiou

Institution: University of California, San Diego

Title: Doctoral Graduate Student

Affiliation: HPAC (Gaulton Lab)

Dario De Jesus, PhD

Institution : Joslin Diabetes Center

Title : Postdoctoral Research Fellow

Affiliation : CBDS (Kulkarni Lab)

Shen Dong, PhD

Institution : University of California, San Francisco

Title : Postdoctoral Research Fellow

Affiliation : CMAI (Bluestone Lab)

Angela Kruse, PhD

Institution : Vanderbilt University

Title : Postdoctoral Research Fellow

Affiliation : CBDS (Caprioli Lab)

Rachel Madley

Institution : Columbia University Medical Center

Title : Doctoral Graduate Student

Affiliation : CMAI (Sykes Lab)

Padma Nanaware

Institution : University of Massachusetts Medical School

Title : Postdoctoral Research Fellow

Affiliation : CMAI (Stern Lab)

Emilie Ronin

Institution : University of California, San Francisco

Title : Postdoctoral Research Fellow

Affiliation : CMAI (Tang Lab)

Magdalena Samojlik

Institution : University of Florida

Title : Doctoral Graduate Student

Affiliation : CHIB (Stabler Lab)

Alexandra Theis

Institution : University of Colorado Denver

Title : Doctoral Graduate Student

Affiliation : CBDS (Sussel Lab)

New Awards from RFA-19-024: Discovery of Early Type 1 Diabetes Disease Processes in the Human Pancreas (CBDS)

Peter Arvan*, PhD, University of Michigan
Leslie Satin, PhD, University of Michigan
Scott Soleimanpour, PhD, University of Michigan

Lori Sussel*, PhD, University of Colorado, Investigator
Charles Ansong, PhD, Investigator, Pacific Northwest National Laboratories
Maggie (Pui Yu) Lam,  PhD, co-Investigator, Pacific Northwest National Laboratories
Ernesto Nakayasu, PhD, co-Investigator, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory
Galya Orr, PhD, co-Investigator, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory
Shi Tujin, PhD, co-Investigator, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory

Shuibing Chen*, PhD, Weill Cornell Medical College
Steven Parker, PhD, Investigator, University of Michigan
Chengyang Liu, PhD, Co-Investigator, University of Pennsylvania

Golnaz Vahedi*, PhD, Investigator, University of Pennsylvania

Raghu Mirmira*, PhD, Investigator, University of Chicago
Decio Eizirik, PhD, Investigator, Indiana Biosciences Research Institute
Carmella Evans-Molina, MD, Investigator, Indiana University
Thomas Metz, PhD, Investigator, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory
Bobbie-Jo Webb-Robinson, PhD, Investigator, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory
Sasanka Ramandha, PhD, Investigator, University of Alabama at Birmingham
Scott Oakes, PhD, Co-Investigator, University of Chicago
Sarah Tersey, PhD, Co-Investigator, University of Chicago
Manami Hara, PhD, Co-Investigator, University of Chicago
Ernesto Nakayasu, PhD, Co-Investigator, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory
Emily Sims, MD, Co-Investigator, Indiana University
Wenting Wu, PhD, Co-Investigator, Indiana University
Xiaoyong Lei, PhD, Co-Investigator, University of Alabama at Birmingham

* Denotes Contact PI

NIH NIDDK New Investigator Gateway Award Recipients (2020)

Congratulations to the 2020 Recipients of the NIH NIDDK New Investigator Gateway Awards

Congratulations to these four investigators on joining HIRN via the NIH NIDDK Gateway Award Initiative.  This award was designed to ensure that a robust pipeline of talented new investigators will continue to embark on successful careers in type 1 diabetes (T1D) research. The recipients will be embedded within the HIRN scientific framework to provide unique opportunities for New and Early Stage Investigators to increase their understanding of key questions in the field, to network, and to establish unique and potentially long-lasting collaborations that will propel their careers forward. It is anticipated that the Gateway award will provide the support needed to enhance the success of future R01 submissions from New Investigators interested in pursuing careers in T1D research.

New Awards: RFA-DK-18-013: HIRN Consortium on Modeling Autoimmune Interactions (CMAI)

New HIRN Grants from RFA-18-013: HIRN Consortium on Modeling Autoimmune Interactions (CMAI)

Megan Sykes*, MD, Columbia University, Investigator
Mark Anderson, MD, PhD, University of California, San Francisco, Investigator
Matthias Hebrok, PhD, University of California, San Francisco, Investigator
Audrey Parent, PhD, University of California, San Francisco, Investigator 
Remi J Creusot, PhD, Columbia University, Co-Investigator
Robin Goland, MD, Columbia University, Co-Investigator

CMAI

Humanized Mouse Avatars
for T1D

UC4 DK104218**

Dale Greiner*, PhD, University of Massachusetts Medical School, Investigator
Michael Brehm, PhD, University of Massachusetts Medical School, Investigator
Leonard Schultz, PhD, The Jackson Laboratory, Investigator
George Daley, PhD, Harvard University, Investigator
Doug Melton, PhD, Harvard University, Investigator
Rene Maehr, PhD, University of Massachusetts Medical School, Co-Investigator
David Harlan, MD, University of Massachusetts Medical School, Co-Investigator

* Denotes Contact PI
** Grant Renewal

New Awards: RFA-DK-18-011: HIRN Consortium on Human Islet Biomimetics (CHIB)

New HIRN Grants from RFA-18-011: HIRN Consortium on Human Islet Biomimetics (CHIB)

Cherie Stabler, PhD (Univ. of Florida)*
Investigator: Ashu Agarwal, PhD (Univ. Miami)
Investigator: Todd Brusko, PhD (Univ. Florida)
Investigator: Clayton Mathews, PhD (Univ. Florida)
Co-Investigator: Rhonda Bacher, PhD (Univ. Florida)
Co-Investigator: Edward Phelps, PhD (Univ. Florida)
Co-Investigator: Naohiro Terada, PhD(Univ. Florida)

Maike Sander, MD (Univ. California, San Diego)*
Investigator: Christopher Hughes, PhD (Univ. California, Irvine)
Co-Investigator: Luc Teyton, MD, PhD (Scripps Research Institute)
Co-Investigator: Karen Christman, PhD (Univ. California, San Diego)
Co-Investigator: Steven George, PhD (Univ. California, Davis)

Ben Stanger, PhD (Univ. Pennsylvania)*
Investigator: Dan Hugh, PhD (Univ. Pennsylvania)
Investigator: James Riley, PhD (Univ. Pennsylvania) 
Co-Investigator: Ali Naji, MD (Univ. Pennsylvania)
Co-Investigator: Wenli Yang, PhD (Univ. Pennsylvania) 

* Denotes Contact PI

New Awards from RFA-18-014: HIRN Consortium on Targeting and Regeneration (CTAR)

Bridget Wagner*, PhD, Broad Institute, Investigator
Amit Choudhary, PhD, Broad Institute, Investigator
Rohit Kulkarni MD, PhD, Joslin Diabetes Center, Investigator

 

Gene Therapy for Diabetes

U01 DK123608

Hiroyuki Nakai*, PhD, Oregon Health and Science University, Investigator
Markus Grompe, PhD, Oregon Health and Science University, Investigator
Mark Kay, MD, PhD, Stanford University, Investigator

Feroz Papa*, MD, PhD, Univ. California, San Francisco, Investigator
Dustin Maly, PhD, University of Washington, Investigator

Seung Kim*, MD, PhD, Stanford University, Investigator
Everett Meyer, MD, PhD, Stanford University, Investigator
Alvin Powers, MD, Vanderbilt University, Investigator

* Denotes Contact PI

New Award: RFA-DK-18-021: Discovery of Early Type 1 Diabetes Disease Biomarkers in the Human Pancreas (CBDS)

One new HIRN CBDS grant was awarded “Development of an Early Diagnostic Biomarker and Novel Treatment Strategy for T1D” to Dr. Anath Shalev at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. 

Summary: The objective of this HIRN grant is to establish a non-invasive biomarker for pancreatic beta cell loss in humans with T1D and help develop novel approaches for the early diagnosis and treatment of T1D.

Anath Shalev, MD Shalev Lab Members Visual Schematic of Project

New Awards: RFA-DK-17-022: High-Resolution Exploration of the Human Islet Tissue Environment (HPAC)

New HIRN Grants from RFA-DK-17-022: High-Resolution Exploration of the Human Islet Tissue Environment (HPAC)

Juan Dominguez-Bendala (Univ. of Miami)*
Investigator: Ricardo Pastori (Univ. of Miami)
Co-Investigator: Alejandro Caicedo (Univ. of Miami)
Co-Investigator: Camillo Ricordi (Univ. of Miami.)

Maike Sander (Univ. California, San Diego)*
Kyle Jeffrie Gaulton (Univ. California, San Diego)
Co-Investigator: David Gorkin (Univ. California, San Diego)
Co-Investigator: Sebastian Preissl (Univ. California, San Diego)
Co-Investigator: Al Powers (Vanderbilt  Univ.)

Alejandro Caicedo (Univ. Miami)*
Co-Investigator: Marcela Brissova (Vanderbilt Univ.)
Co-Investigator: Stephan Speier (Paul Langerhans Institut)

Patrick MacDonald (Univ. of Alberta)*
Co-Investigator: Stephen Quake (Stanford Univ.)
Co-Investigator: Martin Hetzer (Salk Institute)
Co-Investigator: Emma Lundberg (KTH Stockholm)
Co-Investigator: Seung Kim (Stanford Univ.)/p>

* Denotes Contact PI

HIRN 2018 New Investigator Award Recipients

Recipients of the HIRN 2018 New Investigator Awards

Seven investigators were selected to carryout bold and highly innovative new research approaches to biological problems under current investigation in HIRN.  They will join their respective consortium conference calls and attend the HIRN Annual Investigator Meeting.

New Awards: RFA-DK-17-003: Therapeutic Targeting of the Human Islet Environment (UC4)

New HIRN Grants from RFA-DK-17-003: Therapeutic Targeting of the Human Islet Environment (UC4)

Paolo Serafini (Univ. of Miami)*
Midhat Abdulreda (Univ. of Miami)
Co-Investigator: Peter Buchwald (Univ. of Miami)
Co-Investigator: Camillo Ricordi (Univ. of Miami)
Co-Investigator: Natasa Strbo (Univ. of Miami)

Jeffrey Bluestone (Univ. California, San Francisco)*
Wendell Lim (Univ. California, San Francisco)
Co-Investigator: Qizhi Tang (Univ. California, San Francisco)
Co-Investigator: Kole Roybal (Univ. California, San Francisco)

Seung Kim (Stanford Univ.)*
Everett Meyer (Stanford Univ)
Co-Investigator: Philip Streeter (Oregon Health & Science Univ.)

Amit Choudhary (Broad Institute)*
Bridget Wagner (Broad Institute)
Rohit Kulkarni (Joslin Diabetes Center)

* Denotes Contact PI

RFA-DK-17-004: Competitive Collaborative Projects for Human Islet Biology (UC4)

New Awards: RFA-DK-17-004: Competitive Collaborative Projects for Human Islet Biology (UC4)

Qiao Zhou (Harvard Univ.)*
Stephan Kissler (Joslin Diabetes Center)

Sally Kent (Univ. of Massachusetts Medical School)*
David Harlan (Univ. of Massachusetts Medical School)
Lawrence Stern (Univ. of Massachusetts Medical School)
Co-Investigator: Dirk Homann (Mount Sinai School of Medicine)

Michael Roper (Florida State Univ.)*
Christopher Hughes (Univ. of California, Irvine)
Ryan White (Univ. of Cincinatti)

Desmond Schatz (Univ. Florida)*
Yuval Dor (Hebrew Univ. of Jerusalem)
Carla Greenbaum (Benaroya Research Institute at Virginia Mason)

Rohit Kulkarni (Joslin Diabetes Center)*
Chuan He (Univ. of Chicago)

Klaus Kaestner (Univ. of Pennsylvania)*
Yuval Dor (Hebrew Univ. of Jerusalem)
Ali Naji (Univ. of Pennsylvania)

* Denotes Contact PI

New HPAP Consortium – October 2016

A fifth consortium, Human Pancreas Analysis Program (HPAP), has been added to HIRN.  These two awards were made in response to a NIH NIDDK initiative (RFA-DK-15-027). The primary goal of HPAP is to accumulate, analyze, and distribute high value T1D datasets to the diabetes research community.  

Three New HIRN CBDS Awards – Oct 2015

Three new projects have been added to the CBDS porfolio. These three awards were made in response to the second HIRN/CBDS initiative (RFA-DK-14-021) that supports the development of medium- to high-throughput “omics” technologies that can be used to explore human pancreatic tissues with single cell- or near single cell- resolution. The three new teams/projects are: “Single Cell Resolution Omics Analysis of T1D islets”, “Single-Cell Analyses of Human Islets in T1D Using Highly Multiplexed Imaging“, and “High-Resolution Analysis of Juvenile Human Pancreas Maturation”.

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