TheSugarScience Podcast- curating the scientific conversation in type 1 diabetes

Episode 14: Giorgio Raimondi, PhD, Assistant Professor at Johns Hopkins University

In this episode, Giorgio Raimondi joins Monica Westley to discuss his research at Johns Hopkins University in the Vascularized and Composite Allotransplantation Laboratory. Dr. Raimondi provides insights to his recently published work titled: "Multiphase Assembly of Small Molecule Microcrystalline Peptide Hydrogel Allows Immunomodulatory Combination Therapy for Long‐Term Heart Transplant Survival."

Dr. Raimondi- "I am a strong supporter of multidisciplinary approaches. The idea is to try to merge and bring together what is out there so we can give a better life to transplant patients."

Episode 13: Dan Abebayehu, PhD, University of Virginia, The intersection between fibrosis and type 1 diabetes

In this episode, Dan Abebayehu joins Monica Westley to discuss his research in the matrix biology and engineering lab at University of Virginia. His work focuses on examining the role innate immunity plays in initiating fibrosis.

Dr. Abebayehu- "Fibrosis emerges across multiple diseases and is often times one of the key obstacles to developing better therapies."

Episode 12: Bart Roep, PhD, Chan Soon-Shiong Shapiro Distinguished Chair in Diabetes, Founding Chair of the department of Diabetes Immunology at City of Hope

In this episode, Bart Roep joins Monica Westley to discuss the current and future scientific work in the field of type 1 diabetes. Dr. Roep is the Chan Soon-Shiong Shapiro Distinguished Chair in Diabetes and the founding chair of the Department of Diabetes Immunology within the Diabetes & Metabolism Research Institute at City of Hope. He serves as project director for The Wanek Family Project for type 1 diabetes at City of Hope, an ambitious initiative committed to developing a cure for type 1 diabetes.

 

Dr. Roep- "Immunotherapy isn't going to be good enough, we need to have beta cell therapy on top. That will be the perfect storm to treat type 1 diabetes."

Episode 11: Jeffrey Millman, PhD, Assistant Professor at Washington University, Production of pancreatic insulin-producing β cells

In this episode, Jeffrey Millman joins Monica Westley to discuss his research. The major focus of the Millman laboratory is the in vitro production and study of pancreatic insulin-producing β cells from human pluripotent stem cells for use in cellular replacement therapy and drug screening.

 

Dr. Millman- "The field right now is very hot and exciting! With the development and discovery of how to make insulin-producing β cells from stem cells that I and my colleagues developed when I was working in Doug Melton's lab at Harvard University has opened up a new era of research in diabetes."

Episode 10: Paul-Peter Tak, Academic, business leader and biotech entrepreneur

In this episode, Paul-Peter Tak joins Monica Westley to discuss his innovative ideas within the type 1 diabetes space and how immunology can play a role in helping find a cure for T1D. Paul-Peter is an immunologist, academic, and venture partner who has specialized in the fields of rheumatology and immunology. 

Paul-Peter Tak- "I think the future is clearly in looking at type 1 diabetes in a different way. I would almost reclassify it (as an immunologist, not necessarily as a diabetes expert) and I would call it pancreatic autoimmunity." 

Episode 9: Izortze Santin Gomez, PhD, University of the Basque Country, Spain, icRNA and type 1 diabetes

In this episode, Izortze Santin joins Monica Westley to discuss her research in the type 1 diabetes space. Dr. Gomez is an associate professor at University of the Basque Country and a researcher at BioCruces Health Research Institute.

Episode 8: Ali Cinar, PhD, Director, Engineering center for diabetes research and education, Illinois institute of technology

In this episode, Ali Cinar joins Monica Westley to discuss his research and how he became interested in studying type 1 diabetes. Professor Cinar's research activities are concentrated in three areas: complex adaptive agent-based systems, modeling, simulation and control of biomedical systems, and supervision of manufacturing process operations. 

Episode 7: Giovanni Amabile, PhD, CEO of Enthera, Developing first-in-class biologics for type 1 diabetes

In this episode, Giovanni Amabile joins Monica Westley to discuss the future of Enthera. Enthera is a biotech company building a pipeline of first-in-class biologics for several autoimmune conditions, with a focus in type 1 diabetes and inflammatory bowel disease.  

Episode 6: Jennifer Bridge, PhD, Bluestone Lab, Anderson Lab, UCSF

In this episode, Jennifer joins Nicole Phillips to discuss her research at UCSF in the Bluestone Lab and Anderson Lab. Jennifer's research focuses on understanding mechanisms regulating T-cell activation and studying an immunosuppressive population of T cells known as Tregs.

Episode 5: Rebecca Vaught, PhD, Co-Founder of Van Heron Labs, Reframing the understanding of organismal and cellular performance

In this episode, Rebecca Vaught joins Monica Westley to discuss her work at Van Heron Labs and its' potential intersection with type 1 diabetes. Van Heron Labs created a novel pipeline that uses genetic analysis to design a customized procedure for optimizing metabolism for a particular organism or cell, maximizing growth and product output.