Type I diabetes is characterized by the destruction of pancreatic beta cells by the patient’s own immune system. BSCRC Faculty seek to understand the normal development of pancreatic beta cells in order to help direct the development of these cells from iPSC’s and ensure that they are a safe and effective strategy for diabetes treatment.
To develop treatments for diabetes, our faculty are focused on stopping the destruction of pancreatic beta cells as well as on developing therapies to replace the destroyed beta cells. BSCRC faculty have begun to develop methods for generating an unlimited supply of healthy beta cells to be used in cell replacement therapies. They have also begun to identify approaches toward reprogramming the immune system to generate specific immune cells that protect against the destruction of beta cells.