Diabetes

HSCI receives grant from the Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi to help advance type 1 diabetes research

February 8, 2022

Douglas Melton, Co-Director of the Harvard Stem Cell Institute (HSCI), has received a financial grant from His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi. The grant will bolster HSCI research focusing on accelerating gene editing approaches for pancreatic beta cell replacement therapy.

According to the World Health Organization, about 422 million people worldwide have diabetes, and 1.6 million deaths are directly attributed to diabetes each year. Both the number of cases and the prevalence of diabetes have been steadily increasing over the past few...

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A new therapy for treating Type 1 diabetes

October 20, 2021

Promising early results show that longstanding Harvard Stem Cell Institute (HSCI) research may have paved the way for a breakthrough treatment of Type 1 diabetes. Utilizing research from the Melton Lab, Vertex Pharmaceuticals has developed VX-880, an investigational stem cell-derived, fully differentiated pancreatic islet cell replacement therapy for people with type 1 diabetes (T1D). In conjunction with immunosuppressive therapy, VX-880 produced robust restoration of islet cell function on Day 90 in the first patient in its Phase 1/2 clinical trial.... Read more about A new therapy for treating Type 1 diabetes

HSCI co-director leads multi-institutional center to advance type 1 diabetes research

February 23, 2021

The JDRF Center of Excellence in New England will accelerate beta cell replacement therapy

Harvard Stem Cell Institute (HSCI) co-director Douglas Melton, Ph.D., will lead a new multi-institutional center funded by JDRF to advance type 1 diabetes research. The JDRF Center of Excellence in New England will focus on the transplantation of beta cells, the insulin-producing cells of the pancreas that are attacked by the immune system during type 1 diabetes.

The center is also led by JDRF scientific staff leader Esther Latres, Ph.D. Other collaborators include...

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