June/July 2024

NEWSLETTER

HIRN 2025 ANNUAL MEETING

The HIRN 10th Anniversary Meeting will be hosted at the Natcher Conference Center on the NIH Campus in Bethesda, MD from January 13 – 14, 2025. Presentations will reflect on the state of the diabetes research field, and the future direction of T1D research. As such, the 2025 HIRN Annual Meeting will be public and open to all individuals, including past and present HIRN members, and anyone interested in the future of diabetes research.

Visit the meeting website to learn more and register.

HIGHLIGHTED MANUSCRIPT: SCALABLE GENERATION OF 3D PANCREATIC ISLET ORGANOIDS FROM HUMAN PLURIPOTENT STEM CELLS IN SUSPENSION BIOREACTORS

The diverse applications for human pluripotent stem cell-derived islets (SC-islets) in research, pharmacology, and transplantation necessitate their production at both small and large scales. In this manuscript, we utilize rotary suspension bioreactor systems to offer a realistic, feasible, and consistent route to scalable 3D SC-islet formation. Our protocol unifies strategies for using bioreactors of 30 mL and 300 mL culture volumes, which yield tens and hundreds of millions of alpha- and beta-like cells with glucose-responsive insulin and glucagon release. We detail procedures for culturing, passaging, and cryopreserving stem cells as suspended clusters and specify growth media and factors for their directed differentiation. We also discuss functional assays for research applications, and outline steps to minimize variability between differentiations and cell lines.

Manuscript Information:

"Scalable generation of 3D pancreatic islet organoids from human pluripotent stem cells in suspension bioreactors." Pollock, S.D., Galicia-Silva, I.M., Liu, M., Gruskin, Z.L., and Alvarez-Dominguez, J.R. 2023 Dec 15. STAR Protocols 4, 102580. PMID: 37738117

UPCOMING MEETINGS

We are delighted to inform you about an upcoming symposium that Helmsley is organizing. The event will explore the latest advancement in ‘Understanding and preventing hypoglycemia in diabetes’. This event is scheduled for September 9, 2024, in Madrid, Spain (during the industry session of the EASD meeting). To register click HERE.

The Western Region Islet Study Group Annual Meeting (WRISG) will be held at the Asilomar Hotel and Conference Grounds in Pacific Grove, CA from October 16-18, 2024. For more information click HERE.

The NIDDK is planning an in person workshop on

October 30-31, 2024, Bethesda MD, entitled

“AI in Precision Medicine for Diabetes and Other

Chronic Diseases: Challenges and Opportunities in Developing Predictive AI Models and Biomarkers for Disease Initiation, Progression, Prevention, and Subtypes”. This workshop aims to bring together biomedical researchers and data science/AI experts, to discuss the critical challenges, crosscutting gaps, and opportunities and actionable items in leveraging AI and other recent data science advances in precision medicine. For more information click HERE.

NIH FUNDING OPPORTUNITIES

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.

Postdoctoral Position

The Thurmond Lab in the Arthur Riggs Diabetes & Metabolism Research Institute, within the Beckman Research Institute of City of Hope, is looking for a highly motivated and team-science minded Postdoctoral Fellow, to study the molecular mechanisms involved in regulating functional beta cell mass, skeletal muscle insulin action, whole body glucose homeostasis, and healthspan/lifespan. The lab specializes in detailed studies of signaling/trafficking/exocytosis, using primary human and rodent islet cells, skeletal muscle cells and adipocytes. Interested applicants please send a cover letter and curriculum vitae, including the names of three references, to Dr. Debbie Thurmond.

Postdoctoral Position

The Greiner and Brehm Labs at the UMass Chan Medical School’s Diabetes Center of Excellence in Worcester, MA is recruiting a fully funded postdoctoral position. Their laboratories specialize in humanized mouse models to study type 1 diabetes. Interests include effector functions of human autoreactive T cells, interactions between T cells and beta cells, and identifying immune therapeutics that suppress beta cell destruction. Approaches used included immunological, cellular, molecular, and genomic. For more information, please contact Dr. Michael Brehm directly.

Postdoctoral Position

Multiple Academia Postdoctoral positions for dry (computational), wet (experimental), or hybrid biologists are available in the lab of Dr. Golnaz Vahedi at the University of Pennsylvania. The Vahedi lab is multidisciplinary, integrating cutting-edge experimental and computational approaches to develop a mechanistic understanding of cell fate determination in the immune system. Interested applicants should submit a CV to Dr. Golnaz Vahedi.