Type 1 diabetes is characterised by an immune-mediated targeting of the insulin-producing beta cells residing within the pancreatic islets of Langerhans. As a consequence, the patient is left with a lifelong need for exogenous insulin injections and blood glucose monitoring, risk of macro- and microvascular complications and shortened life expectancy.

As a young researcher with more than eight years of combined experience in the type 1 diabetes research field of islet and beta-cell biology, I am extremely interested in investigating approaches to alleviate this global burden. Before joining the Baker Institute to work with Prof Sam El-Osta, I worked at the largest Diabetes hospital in Northern Europe, Steno Diabetes Center Copenhagen, in Denmark, under Prof Flemming Pociot. My prior research experience has been in investigating beta-cell death and functional signalling pathways related to type 1 diabetes (e.g. in human and rodent islet and state-of-the-art beta-cell models, as well as patient samples, employing drug, cytokine-exposure, genetic silencing and activation, apoptosis-assays, glucose-stimulated insulin secretion, investigating coding and noncoding gene and protein expression patterns).

Due to my familiarity with studying the beta cell, I am uniquely poised to evaluate beta-cell regeneration in the research team headed by Prof Sam El-Osta. I look forward to contributing to this important field of research in replacing beta-cells which is extremely near to my heart as a type 1 diabetic patient myself.