πLooking forward to sharing our work in Linking Biological Rhythms to Beta Cell Maturation: How the Circadian Clock Shapes Islet Maturation this Thurs 12 noon EST @the(sugar)science! π open.substack.com/pub/thesugar...
JOURNEY TALK: Dr. Susan Bell, Prof. Emerita @ Drexel University | 2022 Leo G. Reeder Awardee | Medical sociologist | Activist will share her pathway & influential research on medicalization & pharmaceuticalization and their impact on vulnerable populations and health disparities.
March NEWSLETTER - Check out these upcoming events!
JOURNEY TALK: Dr. Ziegler-Johnson, Executive Team member of the African Caribbean Cancer Consortium @AC3network | Environment & Genetics Working Group | PA Cancer Coalition | will share her pathway & cutting-edge community-engaged research on cancer disparities teams.microsoft.com/meet/2676962...
Congrats!
Could βcyborgβ transplants replace pancreatic tissue damaged by diabetes? | EurekAlert! www.eurekalert.org/news-release...
Delighted to share our latest now published in @science.org, where we developed "cyborg" pancreatic organoids to trace and stimulate functional human islet cell maturation.
We're excited for the potential as new tools for #diabetes research and therapy!
Workshops: Poster Presentations (2/20) & Peer Networking (2/23) || Wistar Trainee Symposium (2/27) || INSPIRE upcoming sponsored events!
DEC1 regulates human Ξ² cell functional maturation & circadian rhythm ft. Sam Preza, Zihan Gao, Mai Liu, @juanalvarezdom.bsky.social (@pennsleep/ @IRM_UPenn/ @PennIDOM), Bliss Zheng, Akshaya Biju, Zhihui Cheng (@pennbioeng) & Matthew Choi (@PennCDB) @cellpress.bsky.social www.cell.com/cell-reports...
This Friday @4pm: How to design an impactful and polished scientific poster WORKSHOP!
An INSPIRING talk Thu 1/22 @ noon from @drkarenknudsen.bsky.social CEO of @parkerici.bsky.social - from forging paths for women in STEM to turning all cancers into curable disease (Zoom: tinyurl.com/kya2thha)!
Join us for JOURNEY TALK #2 next Thu Jan 22, where
@drkarenknudsen.bsky.social CEO of @parkerici.bsky.social | C-suite Healthcare Executive | Board Director | Strategist | Global Scientific Leader | Public Policy Expertise | Innovator |
will discuss her research, personal journey, and career path!
January NEWSLETTER - Check out these upcoming events!
Humbled & honored for the recognition! Tasked with bold and creative exploration that pushes boundaries for ideas and people in Science
Shoutout to @hhmi-science.bsky.social #GilliamFellows Sam Preza & his team + @NIDDKgov @pennmedicine.bsky.social for funding this work, which was also supported by @IRM_UPenn @PennIDOM
Thus, DEC1 is essential to boost SC-islet maturity
by coordinating circadian glucose-responsive insulin secretion rhythms and clock machinery, offering a mechanistic basis for circadian control as a lever to enhance organoid functionality
But what is the mechanism? Screening drugs targeting distinct steps in glucose-coupled insulin secretion reveald that while bypassing metabolism rescues secretion (e.g. via PKC stimulation), only increasing flux to mitochondria rescues glucose responses in DEC1-KO islet organoids
DEC1 turns out to be essential for glucose import, and immaturity tied to the glucose flux deficit of DEC1-KO islet organoids cannot simply be rescued by the in vivo millieu upon transplant to a living host
We tested DEC1-KO islet organoids for mitochondrial health, and found dramatically higher mitophagy and lower mitochondrial activity, along with poor oxidative respiration - but also lower glycolysis
DEC1 is known to set circadian rhythm phase, and we find that improved & rhythmic glucose responsiveness in synchronized cells is totally gone in DEC1-KO islet organoids - as is oscillation of BMAL1, MAFA, and the DRP1 mitochondrial fission driver
DEC1-KO organoids have normal insulin content , but insulin responsiveness regulators and maturity markers were no longer induced, consistent with the functional maturation defect
DEC1-KO organoids responded to glucose stimulation with insulin secretion, but their responses had a low glucose threshold, poor dynamics, and failed to improve over time, signaling a functional maturation defect
We generated DEC1-knockout hPSCs, which differentiated toward islet organoids surprisingly well
Having found that DEC1 links the circadian clock present in most cells to the maturation process specific to pancreatic beta cells, we wanted to know if this holds true in human cell.com/cell-reports...
π¨Publication updateπ¨ DEC1 regulates human Ξ² cell functional maturation and circadian rhythm: Cell Reports www.cell.com/cell-reports...
Taken only 1 biology course since high school? Not a problem! Our speaker tomorrow @mirlab.bsky.social will talk about his research, personal journey, and career path to becoming Asst. Prof. @upenn.edu @chopresearch.bsky.social sky.social and @hhmi-science.bsky.social Freeman Hrabowski Scholar!
Join us for our inaugural JOURNEY TALK next Tues Dec 16th, where @mirlab.bsky.social, Asst. Prof. @upenn.edu @chopresearch.bsky.social and @hhmi-science.bsky.social Freeman Hrabowski Scholar, will talk about his research, personal journey, and career path!
