January & February

2025 NEWSLETTER

HIRN 10 YEAR ANNIVERSARY SYMPOSIA

The 10-year HIRN Anniversary Symposium Meeting (“Changing the Course in Type 1 Diabetes”) was held January 13 – 14, 2025 at the NIH Main Campus. The meeting was attended by over 400 participants, and featured scientific presentations, breakout sessions, and 100+ poster presentations. The meeting was kicked-off on Monday with a presentation by the NIH NIDDK Director, Dr. Griff Rodgers, and on Tuesday from the Director of the Division of Diabetes, Endocrinology and Metabolic Diseases, Dr. Will Cefalu.

RESEARCH HIGHLIGHT OF THE MONTH

No Evidence for Persistent Enteroviral B Infection of Pancreatic Islets in Patients With Type 1 Diabetes and Prediabetes From RNA Sequencing Data

Persistent enterovirus B infections of pancreatic islets have been suggested as a trigger for autoimmunity leading to type 1 diabetes in genetically vulnerable individuals. In this paper, the Kaestner lab analyzed islets from donors in the Human Pancreas Analysis Program (HPAP), using both bulk RNA-Seq data from sorted islet cells and single cell islet RNA-Seq data, to evaluate if chronic viral infection of the endocrine pancreas is a common occurrence in type 1 diabetic patients or in non-diabetic patients who are auto-antibody positive. Unbiased sequence-based analysis of bulk and single-cell RNA sequencing data from HPAP found no evidence for the presence of enterovirus B sequences in the human pancreas. RNA-Seq is considered a highly sensitive method, but we note our conclusions are limited to this method. Our work places a concrete boundary on the viral hypothesis for type 1 diabetes pathogenesis; if this disease has a persistent pancreatic enteroviral infection, it is undetectable using RNA-Seq. The vast resources provided by HPAP enabled this study and will guide future efforts to explore triggers of T1D.

Manuscript Information: No Evidence for Persistent Enteroviral B Infection of Pancreatic Islets in Patients With Type 1 Diabetes and Prediabetes From RNA Sequencing Data. Manduchi E, Descamps HC, Schug J, Da T, Lahori D, El-Mekkoussi H, Betts MR, Kaestner KH. Diabetes. 2024. PMID: 39083653

UPDATE ON PANKBASE

The PanKbase online research resource for pancreas and pancreatic islet datasets in type 1 diabetes (T1D) was released at the HIRN Meeting on January 13, 2025. During the meeting there was a demo highlighting the utility of uniformly harmonized integrated datasets including bulk RNA-seq data, single-cell RNA-seq data, and single-cell chromatin accessibility data from HPAP, IIDP, and Prodo. Future development of the resource will include additional datasets, analysis tools, and workflows, including AI, in response to feedback received from members of the diabetes research community.

The PanKbase team recently held a webinar where they discussed the importance of having such a large integrated platform for T1D including providing a centralized database of harmonized data, availability of tools for analysis of this data, and resources to analyze your own data. Feedback on the system is welcomed, complete the user feedback survey HERE or email the team with questions or comments.

UPCOMING MEETINGS

The 17th Network for Pancreatic Donors with Diabetes (nPOD) Scientific meeting will be held March 2-5, 2025 at the Hyatt Regency, Clearwater, Florida. It’s that time of year when the nPOD and broader T1D community come together to meet, share groundbreaking discoveries, and advance the science that drives nPOD’s mission. The conference program is designed to facilitate dynamic discussions and collaborations across all disciplines, welcoming researchers, clinicians, and the new generation of scientists to contribute to this vital field. For more information click HERE.

The Virtual Diabetes Research Seminar Series began as an effort to connect investigators and trainees during this time of great change and isolation related to the COVID crisis. This seminar series is organized by several NIDDK-funded Diabetes Research Centers The series has been well-received and will continue. Anyone can register for the seminars, which are free and open to the public (registration required). 

Speaker: Dr. Raghu Mirmira MD, PhD, Professor and Director, University of Chicago Diabetes Research and Training Center

Title: Stress, Inflammation, and the Spiral of Autoimmunity in Type 1 Diabetes

Date: March 12, 2025, 2:00 pm Eastern

Learn more HERE

Join Webinar HERE

The 2025 Rachmiel Levine-Arthur Riggs Diabetes Research Symposium will be held in Pasadena, California from November 14-17, 2025. This year’s symposium will highlight the latest developments in type 1 diabetes research and provide opportunity for trainees to present and receive awards. For more information, scan the QR code below or learn more HERE.

NIH FUNDING OPPORTUNITIES

RFA-DK-26-009: New Investigator Gateway Awards for Collaborative T1D Research (R03 Clinical Trial Not Allowed)

• Application due date: March 7, 2026
• Foreign applications not allowed

PAR-23-237: Enhancement and Management of Established Biomedical Data Repositories and Knowledgebases (U24, Clinical Trial Not Allowed)

• Application due date: Standard Dates
• Foreign applications allowed

Below is a summary of the most recent job postings by category (Faculty, Research Staff/Admin, Postdoc). Visit the HIRN Website for a full listing of job opportunities.

LEADERSHIP/FACULTY

The Medical University of Graz is looking for an excellent researcher with great potential to develop an internationally recognized research agenda in the fields of (cellular) (energy) metabolism, signaling, molecular biology and biochemistry. The successful candidate is expected to conduct research and teaching in molecular biology and biochemistry, focusing on the function and health of beta cells. The new Tenure Track Professor position will complement the research activities of the Division of Molecular Biology and Biochemistry at the Gottfried Schatz Research Center Graz. The initial appointment is limited to six years. For more information click HERE. 

The Mallone & You satellite laboratory has a Staff Scientist position available for a talented individual with training, knowledge and experience in immunology. As a Staff Scientist, the candidate will run the lab locally and lead the research projects at IBRI. The incumbent will design and perform experiments, critically analyze the results obtained, generate reports and use this information to fine-tune the starting hypotheses and design new experiments. Interested applicants please send a cover letter and curriculum vitae, including the names of three references, to Dr. Roberto Mallone. 

Benaroya Research Institute (BRI) in Seattle, WA seeks to recruit several outstanding investigators for new faculty positions at the Assistant or Associate Member level, equivalent to Assistant or Associate Professor. We seek candidates who use innovative experimental and/or computational approaches to study immune system function in health and disease, with a particular emphasis on autoimmune and immune-mediated diseases. Qualified candidates should send an application package comprising a single pdf document including their curriculum vitae, a research describing their research plan and goals, a cover letter describing how their research fits with the focus of BRI, and the names and contact information for at least 3 references HERE.

The University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) Heersink School of Medicine (Heersink SOM) and the UAB Comprehensive Diabetes Center (UCDC) are continuing the recruitment of up to 10 investigators for a major strategic portfolio increase across basic, translational, clinical, and population science research efforts in diabetes. Of note, one of the priority focus areas is islet biology.

This an open rank recruitment for faculty applicants with an MD, PhD or MD/PhD and includes academic appointment in one or more of 27 academic departments, many of which rank in the top 10 nationally in NIH funding. Successful candidates will join half a dozen recently recruited faculty as well as the rest of the highly collaborative 200 UCDC faculty members.

For a more detailed position announcement and to apply, please visit HERE.

RESEARCH STAFF/ADMIN

The University of Florida Diabetes Institute is looking for highly motivated and team-science minded individual with managerial experience, who will serve as the Operational Director of a series of programs at the University of Florida that utilize tissues obtained from organ donors to address important research questions, largely but not exclusively related to diabetes, including its pathogenesis and disease-related complications.

The individual in this position will be involved in programmatic designs and is responsible for implementing the various strategic plans for each program and ensuring their success. Importantly, this individual will be responsible for monitoring grant budgets, negotiating numerous financial and legal contracts, preparing external reports, and supervising local administrative staff. Interested applicants please apply directly through the UF Jobs or send a cover letter and curriculum vitae, including the names of three references to Dr. Mark Atkinson, Institute Director.

Postdoctoral Position

The Wortham lab at the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus is recruiting a postdoctoral trainee to study how nutrient metabolism impacts regulation of the epigenome to mediate functional adaptations by pancreatic beta cells. Successful candidates will employ combinations of stable isotope tracing, single cell genomics, and physiological studies in mouse models of diabetes and in primary human islets. Trainees in the lab will benefit from strong technical support including animal surgery, tagging, and genotyping, as well as computational analysis. This position will provide opportunities for career development activities pursuant to the trainee’s goals including presentations at regional and national conferences, collaborations within and beyond CU Anschutz, networking opportunities, and focused training in scientific communication including grantsmanship, manuscript preparation, and public speaking. Prior experience in mouse genetics and strong written communication skills are required. A background in genomic dataset analysis is preferred. Interested candidates should send a CV and brief description of research interests to Dr. Matthew Wortham.

Postdoctoral Position

We are seeking highly motivated, detail-oriented, and collaborative individuals with excellent writing and verbal communication skills to join our research team. Experience in animal physiology, molecular biology, and cell biology are desired. Additional experience in transcriptomics, metabolomics, or bioinformatics are desirable, but not required. A recent PhD in biology or a related field is required. Projects in the laboratory are centered on elucidating the molecular and transcriptional mechanisms involved in the regulation of beta cell proliferation and mitochondrial metabolism, delta cell function, islet paracrine signaling, and stem cell-derived islet generation. 

Interested applicants please send a cover letter and curriculum vitae, including the names of three references, to: Dr. Richard Cox.

Postdoctoral Position

The Integrative Immunology and Cell Design Laboratory at Penn Medicine is seeking postdoctoral fellows to investigate the molecular mechanisms underlying T cell antigen recognition in autoimmunity, cancer, and infectious diseases. Our research employs high-throughput antigen discovery, single-cell genomics, and synthetic biology to map T cell specificity using platforms such as TScan-I (Cell, 2019), TScan-II (Cell, 2023), and TCR-MAP (Nature Biotechnology, 2024). Successful candidates will join a multidisciplinary team to advance our understanding of T cell-mediated immune surveillance and tolerance while contributing to translational research. Interested applicants should send a cover letter, CV, and reference contacts to: Dr. Mohammad Haj-Dezfulian.

Postdoctoral Position

At the KU Leuven Diabetes Lab, headed by Professor Dr. Chantal Mathieu and Dr. Conny Gysemans, are dedicated to preventing and treating type 1 diabetes through pioneering research and global collaborations. We are looking for an interdisciplinary scientist that is eager to develop approaches to analyze and integrate mouse and human single-cell, single-nucleus, and spatial data across modalities and apply these methods to further progress our understanding of type 1 diabetes development and propose therapeutic options. Interested applicants please send a cover letter and curriculum vitae, including the names of three references, to Dr. Chantal Mathieu.

Postdoctoral Position

The University of Michigan Multidisciplinary Training Program in Basic Diabetes Research seeks applicants for an NIH-funded postdoctoral trainee position. The primary goal is to develop trainees to have a deep understanding of the molecular aspects of diabetes and to prepare Ph.D. basic scientists for research careers in Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes. Our training program includes mentors in the area of pancreatic beta cell biology as well as other molecular and cellular aspects of diabetes science. Training is a combination of immersion in specific laboratory-based research projects, formal education, mentorship, and participation in a variety of other research-related educational activities. This program has a track record of success for all of its former trainees. Interested applicants please send a cover letter and curriculum vitae, including the names of three references, to Dr. Peter Arvan.