JANUARY 2023 NEWSLETTER

2ND ROUND CATALYST AWARD RECIPIENTS

Congratulations to the 2^nd round HIRN Catalyst Awards Recipients. The goal of this initiative was to support investigators developing bold, innovative, and challenging projects that will catalyze the field and provide important advances in topics of interest to the network. 

Ernesto Nakayasu, PhD

Transduction of omega-3-protective signaling by protein ADP-ribosylation in beta cells

Mark Huising, PhD

Cooperativity between calcium and cAMP-inducing agents in human alpha and beta cells

HUMAN PANCREAS TO SUPPORT DIABETES RESEARCH

The International Institute for the Advancement of Medicine (IIAM) provides non-Transplantable organs to the medical research community. IIAM works with the 57 Organ Procurement Organizations in the U.S. to source human organs authorized for medical studies, therapeutic applications and pre-clinical investigations.  As a nonprofit with more than 35 years of experience, IIAM is a trusted partner to research institutions worldwide. IIAM is a wholly-owned division of MTF Biologics, a global non-profit organization based in Edison, NJ. For more information click HERE.

SUBSCRIBE TO THE SUGAR SOURCE NEWSLETTER

The Sugar Source is a monthly newsletter providing recent updates in T1D research from The Sugar Science. The most recent edition includes selected papers, preprints, and business updates related to Type 1 Diabetes from December.

UPCOMING NIH GRANTS CONFERENCE

The NIH invites you to explore the 2023 NIH Grants Conference agenda, offering 2-days of sessions designed to clarify the NIH grants process and policies, as well as provide the latest news and information. Twenty-five sessions offer attendees an array of options on various topics, and the opportunity to engage with presenters through Q&A and chat features. Once registered and logged into the conference site, you are free to explore the 2-day agenda, on-demand library of related resources, and create your personal schedule!

 2-day Virtual Conference: February 1-2, 2023. Learn More HERE.

UPCOMING WEBINAR

dkNET is an information hub for the DK community, providing regular updates, webinars and new tools and services to support your research, including funding opportunities available, and to help researchers navigate and comply with new regulations and mandates on resource authentication and data sharing. dkNET will be hosting the Webinar: "Sample Size Shop." Presented by: Devorah H Glueck, PhD, Department of Pediatrics, University of Colorado School of Medicine. This webinar will be held on Friday, February 10, 2023 from 11:00 am - 12:00 pm PST. Click HERE for more information. 

HIRN FUNDING OPPORTUNITIES

RFA-DK-21-030: New Investigator Gateway Awards for Collaborative T1D Research (R03 Clinical Trial Not Allowed)

• Application due date:  March 20, 2023 
• Foreign applications are not eligible

RFA-DK-22-018: Human Islet Research Network (HIRN) Pancreas Knowledgebase Program (PanKbase) (U24 - Clinical Trial Not Allowed)

• Application due date: March 31, 2023 
• Foreign applications are not eligible

IIDP FUNDING ANNOUNCEMENT

The NIDDK Integrated Islet Distribution Program (IIDP) is seeking Requests for Proposal (RFP) for Affiliated Islet Isolation Centers (IICS). For more information, please visit HERE.

• Application due date: March 15, 2023

RFA-DK-22-022: Integrated Physiology of Exocrine and Endocrine Pancreas in Type 1 Diabetes (R01 - Clinical Trial Not Allowed)

• Application due date:  February 22, 2023 
• Foreign applications are not eligible

RFA-DK-21-030: New Investigator Gateway Awards for Collaborative T1D Research (R03 Clinical Trial Not Allowed)

• Application due date:  March 20, 2023 
• Foreign applications are not eligible

RFA-DK-22-017: NIDDK Information Network Coordinating Unit: dkNET-CU (U24 Clinical Trial Not Allowed)

• Application due date:  March 31, 2023 
• Foreign applications are not eligible

PAR-20-140: Catalytic Tool and Technology Development in Kidney, Urologic, and Hematologic Diseases (R21 Clinical Trial Not Allowed)

• Application due date:  Standard dates apply
• Foreign applications are eligible

Assistant or Associate Professor

The Barbara Davis Center for Diabetes (BDC) at the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus is searching for an Assistant or Associate Professor. The person holding this position will develop and direct an independent, externally funded research program related to the development and/or investigation of the molecular and/or cellular mechanisms operative in human stem cell models related to understanding the etiology of Type 1 Diabetes or developing human stem cell derived therapies. This individual will be responsible for the daily management, supervision, training and evaluation of personnel (such as graduate students, postdoctoral fellows and professional research assistants) whose positions are funded by research grants on which s/he is the principal investigator. For more information and official job posting, please contact Dr. Lori Sussel.

iPS Core Manager

A iPS Core Manager position in available at the Kulkarni Lab at Joslin Diabetes Center, Harvard Medical Center. The Core Manager will set up the infrastructure, equipment and supervision of the functionality of generating human iPS cells from patient samples in the long-term goal of generating insulin-secreting beta-like cells for testing in ex vivo and in vitro studies. This role will primarily be responsible for supervising the laboratory as well as having the expertise to undertake hands-on work if necessary, to insure timely progress of the projects. Applicants for the position should provide a brief statement of research interests, CV and the names of three references to Dr. Rohit Kulkarni. 

Postdoctoral Position

The Kravets Lab – “Pancreatic Islet Physics and Physiology” lab at the Department of Bioengineering and Department of Pediatrics of the University of California San Diego - is looking for a creative and highly motivated Postdoctoral Fellow to lead experimental and computational research projects. The successful candidate will have a PhD in Bioengineering, Biology, Biophysics, Mathematics, or related fields. Desired (but not required) skills:  experience in animal work (mouse or zebrafish) and tissue culture, willingness to perform animal surgical procedures, MATLAB, C (or other languages), signal analysis. Interested applicants please send a cover letter and curriculum vitae, including the names of three references, to Dr. Vira Kravets.

Postdoctoral Position

The Alvarez laboratory at the University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine seeks a creative, collaborative and highly independent postdoctoral fellow to lead new research projects. Our laboratory asks how circadian & metabolic rhythms impact islet cell maturity, aiming to build mature stem cell-derived organoids as human models of islet development & physiology and as diabetes cell therapy. We are unraveling genetic, chromatin, and translation circuits that govern islet maturity states in health and disease. Candidates must have quality first-author publications and a PhD in Biology, Bioengineering, or related fields. Computational/bioinformatics expertise is highly desirable. We embrace diversity, equity, and inclusion. Please send your CV, a brief statement of relevant research interests, and contact information for three references to Dr. Juan Alvarez. 

Postdoctoral Position

The University of Montreal, under the direction of Dr. Poitout, has a postdoctoral position available to decipher the mechanisms whereby very long-chain sphingolipids lead to reactive oxygen species production and cell-cycle activation in rodent and human beta-cells. Methodologies to be employed include rat and mouse islet isolations, adenoviral transduction of rodent and human islets, measurements of beta-cell proliferation by flow cytometry, assessment of hormone secretion in static incubations and perifusions, and islet transplantation studies. Interested applicants please send a cover letter and curriculum vitae, including the names of three references, to Dr. Vincent Poitout.

Postdoctoral Position

The Integrative Omics Group at PNNL is seeking postdoctoral fellow to join our multi-disciplinary team with a focus on mass spectrometry-based omics analyses. The postdoc will be working across multiple cutting-edge and synergistic NIH-funded projects on human physiology and metabolism. The individual will be performing a single or a combination of deep mass spectrometry-based omics (proteomics, lipidomics, metabolomics, and/or analysis of post-translational modifications) and functional and analyses of cells, tissues, protein complexes, and biofluids to discover and probe novel mechanistic pathways that drive normal human development and dysregulations that contribute to diseases. Interested candidates should send their CV, cover letter, a brief statement of their research interests, and three references to Dr. Ernesto Nakaya. 

Postdoctoral Position

The laboratory of Dr. Audrey Parent at the University of California, San Francisco is seeking postdoctoral fellows interested in developing immune evasion strategies for beta cell replacement therapy. Our research program is diverse, combining directed differentiation of human pluripotent stem cells into pancreatic beta cells and thymic epithelial cells with genome engineering approaches to study autoimmunity in humanized models. Selected candidates will work in a collaborative and interdisciplinary team and will be encouraged to develop their own research interests. Candidates must have a PhD in biology, immunology, or a related field. Applicants for the position should send a CV, a brief statement of their research interests, and contact information for three references to Dr. Audrey Parent.

Postdoctoral Position

The University of Miami, Department of Medicine, division of Endocrinology is seeking a Post Doctoral Associate that will support investigations that focus on understanding the molecular mechanisms that govern growth and survival of islet b- cells. The candidate will perform scientific research and studies under the supervision of managing staff. They will investigate the molecular and cellular biology of how insulin producing cells grow and die and how they adapt to diabetogenic conditions. Perform a variety of complex technical duties involved in conducting physical, chemical, biological and other research laboratory tests.  For more information and official job posting, please contact Dr. Werneck de Castro.

Postdoctoral Position

The Almaça lab in the Division of Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolism in the Department of Medicine at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine (UM) is seeking a highly motivated post-doctoral fellow to join their enthusiastic and energetic research team. The overall goal of the Almaça lab is to define the role of blood vessels in the regulation of hormone secretion from pancreatic islets. Much of the work will be focused on studying the physiology of islet pericytes and endothelial cells and examining their impact on endocrine cell function. The successful applicant for this position should have a Ph.D. degree and a background in physiology and functional imaging approaches. Applicants should provide a brief statement of their research interests, CV, and the names of three references to Dr. Joana Almaça.

Postdoctoral Position

The Tang lab at UCSF is looking for two postdoctoral fellows to work on projects on improving beta cell replacement therapy by promoting beta-cell survival in ischemia and developing local immune modulation strategies to avoid systemic immunosuppression. The ideal candidate should have experience in type 1 diabetes research, knowledge of transplant immunology, animal modeling, and enthusiasm for novel therapeutic development. The Tang lab is located in the UCSF Diabetes Center among a group of highly collaborative labs with expertise in immunology, stem cell biology, and beta-cell biology. Please contact Dr. Qizhi Tang for more information.