Harvard-led research boosts the yield of insulin-producing cells for diabetes therapy

Applications for 2018 Joslin Pilot & Feasibility grants now open to all Harvard/Affiliates.

The goal of the Pilot and Feasibility Study Program is to encourage research on diabetes and its complications by two target groups: young researchers in these fields who have not yet received significant NIH or other funding, and seasoned investigators either entering the diabetes field for the first time or exploring a completely new direction.

The program has been highly successful since its inception. Projects funded in past years...

Adapted from a Joslin Diabetes Center press release

Diabetes researchers have puzzled for decades about why insulin-producing beta cells in one pancreatic islet often look and behave quite differently than their counterparts in the same islet or in nearby islets. Using newly identified cellular markers of aging, Joslin Diabetes Center scientists now have shown that this diversity may be driven at least in part by differently aged beta cell populations within the pancreas. 

Additionally, the Joslin team demonstrated that the aging of beta cells, with associated losses of...