►Where are you from originally, and where did you go to school?

Basel, Switzerland. University of Basel Medical School.

►What is your current position?

Professor of Medicine
Nancy R. and Eugene C. Gwaltney Family Endowed Chair in Juvenile Diabetes Research
Director, UAB Comprehensive Diabetes Center

►Why did you decide to become a researcher?

To some degree, scientific curiosity, but mainly because as a physician I wanted to be able to ultimately provide my patients with better therapies or at least work towards that goal.

►What is the “Big Picture” of what you study?

Loss of insulin producing beta cells is a major problem of T1D and neither therapies that target this process nor simple measures/biomarkers that quantify it are currently available in humans. Our goal is to change this and to establish
non-invasive diagnostic tools to recognize the disease as early as possible and at a stage when still a large portion of the body’s beta cell mass is intact and develop novel and better treatment approaches that protect and promote this beta cell mass and the patient’s own beta cell function and insulin production. Together these efforts should lead to disease-altering therapeutic strategies that delay progression of the disease, improve glucose control and reduce the need for exogenous insulin.

► What is your favorite aspect of your research? 

Making new discoveries and bridging the gap from bench to bedside.

► What is your favorite aspect of your research? 

Develop better diagnostic and therapeutic tools for diabetes

► What groups are you involved with?

American Diabetes Association (ADA), Endocrine Society (ENDO), The American Society for Clinical Investigation (ASCI)