TheSugarScience Podcast- curating the scientific conversation in type 1 diabetes

In this episode, Alex Kitching, Alex Spark, and Steven Lee join us to discuss vLUME technology, 3D Nanoimaging Platform and how it is applicable to type 1 diabetes researchers. vLUME is the world's first and only Virtual Reality solution for Super-resolution Microscopy. Visualise, segment, and analyse in real-time your massive localization data at any scale. Click the following link for a live dem...

In this episode, Jacob Hecksher-Sørensen joins us to discuss imaging diabetes using light sheet microscopy. Jacob walks us through some of the advantages of using this technology and provides us with a live demonstration from two previous experiments.  Checkout the full live demonstration following the link below: https://youtu.be/TmbXq5F_41w Want to learn more about his published work? Follow the...

In this episode, Madina Makhmutova joins us to discuss her recent publication, Pancreatic beta cells communicate with vagal sensory neurons. Her research findings may have important implications for type 1 diabetes researchers. To learn more about Dr. Makhmutova's research in the Islet-Caicedo Lab follow the link below: Islet-Caicedo Lab    

In this episode, Andrew Sas joins us to discus his recent publication, A new neutrophil subset promotes CNS neuron survival and axon regeneration . Dr. Sas also discusses ongoing research in his lab and how the neutrophil may have the potential to mediate inflammation in other areas of the body, such as the pancreatic beta call under autoimmune attack in type 1 diabetes. Listen to this episode to...

In this episode, Calvin Carter and Sunny Huang join Monica Westley to discuss their new findings published Oct. 6 in Cell Metabolism, Exposure to Static Magnetic and Electric Fields Treats Type 2 Diabetes , and new venture Geminii Health . Geminii Health is a medical device company that is pioneering a new wave of medicines and are building the NuWave, a wearable remote control to manage blood sug...

In this episode, Avnesh Thakor joins Sajeev Saluja to discuss bioscaffolds that are used to support pancreatic islet transplantation. Dr. Thakor's research interests are focused primarily on the pancreas, with respect to regenerative medicine and oncology. In Thakor's lab they are creating biocompatible 3D structures which contain spaces to accommodate islets. These bioscaffolds will aim to facili...

In this episode, Tiffany Richardson joins Monica Westley to discuss her ongoing research in the Powers-Brissova Research Group . Richardson's research focuses on elucidating the innervation landscape within the exocrine and endocrine portions of the pancreas. Want to read more about Richardson's work? Follow the links below. Coordinated interactions between endothelial cells and macrophages in the...

In this episode, Alexandra Smink joins Monica Westley to discuss her research in the type 1 diabetes space. Dr. Smink's research focuses on polymer scaffolds for pancreatic islet transplantation. In 2018, Dr. Smink was awarded the young investigator JDRF award and most recently was awarded the EASD Rising Star Award. Using so-called extracellular matrix, which can be used to wrap the islets up and...

In this episode, Patrick MacDonald and Jasmine Maghera join Monica Westley to discuss the ongoing research in Dr. Patrick's laboratory. Some exciting new directions in the laboratory include islet-cell phenotyping by combined patch-clamp and single-cell sequencing; and computational modelling of human islet cell profiles.   To learn more about MacDonald Islet Biology Laboratory, click the link bel...

In this episode, Lonnie Shea joins Monica Westley to discuss the intersection of regenerative medicine, immune engineering, precision health and type 1 diabetes. Dr. Shea's projects include islet transplantation for diabetes therapy and nerve regeneration for treating paralysis.    To learn more about the ongoing research taking place at The Shea Lab, click on the link below.  The Shea Lab

In this episode, Adam Ramzy joins Monica Westley to discuss his recent publication, Revisiting proinsulin processing: evidence that human β-cells process proinsulin with prohormone convertase (PC) 1/3 but not PC2 . Adam's research projects include investigating prohormone processing and developing gene and cell based therapies for diabetes in the lab of Dr. Timothy Kieffer.    To learn more about...

In this episode, Adebola Giwa joins Monica Westley to discuss his bench and clinical research in the type 1 diabetes space. Dr. Giwa is a research investigator in The Hamad Laboratory . His bench research is focused on identifying unconventional lymphocytes and studying their role in the pathogenesis of type 1 diabetes to possibly target them for future immunotherapies. His clinical research invol...

In this episode, Daniel Espes joins Monica Westley to discuss his work and dedication to type 1 diabetes research. Dr. Espes is the co-founder of Digital Diabetes Analytics. The mission of Digital Diabetes Analytics is to create a bridge between diabetes data and knowledge in order to make life more flexible for everyone living with insulin treated diabetes.   Interested in learning more about Dr....

In this episode, Lucy Walker joins Monica Westley to discuss her research at the Walker Lab at the University College London. The group is exploring how CD4 T cell mediated immune responses are initiated and regulated. The principle research goal is to understand why immune regulation fails in certain individuals resulting in destructive autoimmune responses against self-tissues.  To learn more ab...

In this episode, Eimear Dolan joins Monica Westley to discuss her work with implantable medical devices for treating type 1 diabetes. In the interview she also provides some great advice for researchers. Dr. Dolan has recently been named as one of 10 global visionaries in MIT Technology Review's annual list of Innovators Under 35 . Dolan and colleagues have developed a soft robotic device known as...

In this episode, Christine Bender joins Monica Westley to discuss her latest research at the La Jolla Institute for Immunology in the Von Herrath Laboratory. Her major project focuses on study antigen-specific CD8 T cells, in pancreas from donors with type 1 diabetes and healthy donors.  Make sure to look out for her new publication coming out soon in Science Advances in October.  Want to read mor...

In this episode, Inish O'Doherty joins Monica Westley to discuss his work which focuses on the collaborative selection and development of prognostic biomarkers that can be qualified as Drug Development Tools (DDT) and Novel Methodologies with the FDA and EMA, respectively. Dr. O'Doherty is the Executive Director of C-Path’s Type 1 Diabetes (T1D) and Transplant Therapeutic Consortium (TTC). To lear...

In this episode, Edward Phelps joins Monica Westley to discuss the ongoing research in his laboratory at the University of Florida. Dr. Phelps’s research focuses on biomaterials engineering as a strategy for regenerative therapies with emphasis in the area of type 1 diabetes. The primary focus of the lab is the pancreatic islets of Langerhans and their diseases with an emphasis on beta cell dysfun...

In this episode, Senta Georgia joins Monica Westley to discuss her research at USC. Dr. Georgia's research involves the regeneration of insulin-producing, pancreatic beta cells as a potential therapeutic for patients with type 1 diabetes. Her research on how the enzyme, DNMT1, is critical to stem cells differentiating into pancreatic beta cells was featured on the cover of the journal Genes & Deve...

In this episode, Peter Thompson joins Monica Westley to discuss his research in the type 1 diabetes space. Dr. Thompson is an Assistant Professor at the University of Manitoba and his research focuses on investigating cellular and molecular mechanisms operating in pancreatic beta cells to understand how and why this disease occurs.  Dr. Thompson- "There is some really exciting work coming out, par...

In this episode, Ekaterine Berishvili joins Monica Westley to discuss her research at the University of Geneva. Dr. Berishvili's research is currently focused on the bioengineering of vascularized and immune-protected bioartificial pancreas that can be transplanted into non-immunosuppressed patients. Interested in learning more about Dr. Berishvili's research? Clink on the link below for one of he...

In this episode, Kevin Otto joins Monica Westley to discuss his research at The Neuroprostheses Research Lab at the University of Florida. Dr. Otto's research focuses on engineering neural interfaces for both research purposes as well as treatment options in neurological injuries or disease. Dr. Otto- "Eventual reinnervation can definitely lead to regeneration if the end target has a regeneration...

In this episode, Alejandro Caicedo joins Monica Westley to discuss his research in the type 1 diabetes space. Dr. Caicedo's research focuses on the biology of human islets and how the islets interact with the environment. Interested in learning more about Dr. Caicedo's research? Checkout the following published articles: 1) The Local Paracrine Actions of the Pancreatic α-Cell 2) Secretory Function...

In this episode, Dr. Giuseppe Orlando joins Monica Westley to discuss his interest in type 1 diabetes and strategies for pancreas transplantation. Dr. Orlando is a kidney and pancreas transplant surgeon at the Wake Forest University School of Medicine.  Dr. Orlando- "The problem of using the whole pancreas as a scaffold actually entails the same problems that full organ bioengineering puts us in f...

In this episode, Antonio Citro joins Monica Westley to discuss his research at the Diabetes Research Institute in Milan, Italy. Dr. Citro provides insights to his journey as a researcher and what he is currently working on in the type 1 diabetes space.   Dr. Citro- "I think a possible solution to protecting the newly implanted islet is gene editing or the modulation of the scaffold."