Diabetes is characterised by hyperglycaemia from the loss of beta-cells with replacement being the main cure. A shortage of donors severely limits this, thus generating a need for beta-cell regeneration strategies. During my Honours year in 2022, under the supervision of Professor Sam El-Osta and Dr Keith Al-Hasani, I was responsible for investigating inhibition of the Enhancer of Zeste Homolog 2 (EZH2) protein to influence pancreatic ductal progenitors towards a beta-cell phenotype. We were able to demonstrate that treatment with GSK-126, a pharmacological EZH2 inhibitor led to increases in the expression of beta-cell markers.

Currently, I am working on further characterisation of this process in human donor tissue with a focus on determining the underlying epigenetic and molecular mechanisms. By obtaining a better understanding of this process, we aim to endogenously regenerate beta-cells, which may provide a novel therapeutic for insulin dependent diabetes.