Associate Members (December 1, 2025)

n a commitment to advance HIRN’s mission, the selection process was guided by the following: prioritizing early-career investigators, proportionately augmenting membership across consortia, achieving synergy with consortium goals, and strengthening partner program relationships. In addition, qualifying grants with at least one year of remaining funding were prioritized, to allow time for meaningful participation in the consortia. 

• Juan Alvarez, PhD, University of Pennsylvania, Consortium on Modeling Autoimmune Diabetes (CMAD)
• Rafael Arrojo e Drigo, PhD, Vanderbilt University, Human Pancreas Analysis Consortium (HPAC)
• Richard Benninger, PhD, University of Colorado, Consortium on Beta Cell Death & Survival (CBDS)
• Erica Cai, PhD, Indiana Biosciences Research Institute, Consortium on Modeling Autoimmune Diabetes (CMAD)
• Katie Coate, PhD, Vanderbilt University, Consortium on Beta Cell Death & Survival (CBDS)
• Dario De Jesus, PhD, University of Chicago, Consortium on Beta Cell Death & Survival (CBDS)
• Sangeeta Dhawan, PhD, City of Hope, Consortium on Beta Cell Death & Survival (CBDS)
• Nikki Farnsworth, PhD, Colorado School of Mines, Human Pancreas Analysis Consortium (HPAC)
• Julia Panzer, PhD, City of Hope, Human Pancreas Analysis Consortium (HPAC)
• Alberto Pugliese, MD, City of Hope, Consortium on Modeling Autoimmune Diabetes (CMAD)
• Sarah Richardson, PhD, University of Exeter, Pancreas Knowledgebase Program (PanKbase)
• Melanie Shapiro, PhD, City of Hope, Consortium on Modeling Autoimmune Diabetes (CMAD)
• Farooq Syed, PhD, City of Hope, Consortium on Beta Cell Death & Survival (CBDS)
• Peter Thompson, PhD, University of Manitoba, Consortium on Modeling Autoimmune Diabetes (CMAD)