Decoding pulsing proteins in the pancreas

Diabetes is a growing global health problem with more than 415 million people affected by the disease worldwide. Diabetes results from the inability of the pancreas to produce insulin. One therapy for the disease is to generate insulin-producing ß-cells in the laboratory and to supply them to patients by transplantation. However, there are still problems in producing functional ß-cells in large enough amounts.

I will focus on one dynamic molecule, Ngn3, which controls the generation of ß-cells. I will investigate how I can change the way Ngn3 works to make more ß-cells that function more efficiently and can be used for clinical purposes.

My findings could result in novel and more effective ways to treat diabetes.