In this episode, Patrick MacDonald and Jasmine Maghera join Monica Westley to discuss the ongoing research in Dr. Patrick's laboratory. Some exciting new directions in the laboratory include islet-cell phenotyping by combined patch-clamp and single-cell sequencing; and computational modelling of human islet cell profiles.

To learn more about MacDonald Islet Biology Laboratory, click the link below.

MacDonald Islet Biology Laboratory

In this episode, Lonnie Shea joins Monica Westley to discuss the intersection of regenerative medicine, immune engineering, precision health and type 1 diabetes. Dr. Shea's projects include islet transplantation for diabetes therapy and nerve regeneration for treating paralysis. 

To learn more about the ongoing research taking place at The Shea Lab, click on the link below. 

The Shea Lab

In this episode, Adam Ramzy joins Monica Westley to discuss his recent publication, Revisiting proinsulin processing: evidence that human β-cells process proinsulin with prohormone convertase (PC) 1/3 but not PC2. Adam's research projects include investigating prohormone processing and developing gene and cell based therapies for diabetes in the lab of Dr. Timothy Kieffer. 

To learn more about The Kieffer Lab, click on the link below.

The Kieffer Lab

In this episode, Adebola Giwa joins Monica Westley to discuss his bench and clinical research in the type 1 diabetes space. Dr. Giwa is a research investigator in The Hamad Laboratory. His bench research is focused on identifying unconventional lymphocytes and studying their role in the pathogenesis of type 1 diabetes to possibly target them for future immunotherapies. His clinical research involves multi-center clinical trials utilizing islet cell transplants to reestablished insulin production and other beta cell function in people with established type 1 diabetes. 

Checkout his recent publication:

Current understandings of the pathogenesis of type 1 diabetes: Genetics to environment

In this episode, Daniel Espes joins Monica Westley to discuss his work and dedication to type 1 diabetes research. Dr. Espes is the co-founder of Digital Diabetes Analytics. The mission of Digital Diabetes Analytics is to create a bridge between diabetes data and knowledge in order to make life more flexible for everyone living with insulin treated diabetes.

Interested in learning more about Dr. Espes work?

Take a look at some of his recent data: ProTrans shows significant effect in Diabetes

In this episode, Lucy Walker joins Monica Westley to discuss her research at the Walker Lab at the University College London. The group is exploring how CD4 T cell mediated immune responses are initiated and regulated. The principle research goal is to understand why immune regulation fails in certain individuals resulting in destructive autoimmune responses against self-tissues. 

To learn more about the Walker Lab, click on the link below!

The Walker Lab

Recent Publication:

Follicular helper Tcell profiles predict response to costimulation blockade in type 1 diabetes

In this episode, Eimear Dolan joins Monica Westley to discuss her work with implantable medical devices for treating type 1 diabetes. In the interview she also provides some great advice for researchers.

Dr. Dolan has recently been named as one of 10 global visionaries in MIT Technology Review's annual list of Innovators Under 35. Dolan and colleagues have developed a soft robotic device known as a dynamic soft reservoir to improve the longterm performance of implanted medical devices.

In this episode, Christine Bender joins Monica Westley to discuss her latest research at the La Jolla Institute for Immunology in the Von Herrath Laboratory. Her major project focuses on study antigen-specific CD8 T cells, in pancreas from donors with type 1 diabetes and healthy donors. 

Make sure to look out for her new publication coming out soon in Science Advances in October. 

Want to read more about her research? Checkout the following paper linked below.

Islet-Expressed CXCL10 Promotes Autoimmune Destruction of Islet Isografts in Mice With Type 1 Diabetes

In this episode, Inish O'Doherty joins Monica Westley to discuss his work which focuses on the collaborative selection and development of prognostic biomarkers that can be qualified as Drug Development Tools (DDT) and Novel Methodologies with the FDA and EMA, respectively. Dr. O'Doherty is the Executive Director of C-Path’s Type 1 Diabetes (T1D) and Transplant Therapeutic Consortium (TTC).

To learn more about the ongoing research at C-Path, click on the link below

C-Path Website

In this episode, Edward Phelps joins Monica Westley to discuss the ongoing research in his laboratory at the University of Florida. Dr. Phelps’s research focuses on biomaterials engineering as a strategy for regenerative therapies with emphasis in the area of type 1 diabetes. The primary focus of the lab is the pancreatic islets of Langerhans and their diseases with an emphasis on beta cell dysfunction and autoimmunity in type 1 diabetes.

To learn more about research at Phelps Laboratory click on the link below.

Phelps Laboratory