12/05/2025
This week’s Human Islet Research Network (HIRN) Annual Investigator Meeting brought together hundreds of researchers focused on understanding, predicting, preventing, and ultimately curing type 1 diabetes. HIRN is a National Institutes of Health (NIH)- supported network designed to accelerate discoveries about human pancreatic islets, beta-cell biology, and the immune responses that drive type 1 diabetes—while fostering scientific collaboration across institutions.
The three-day virtual meeting featured discussions and presentations on topics including clinical approaches to guiding the immune system, stem cell–derived islets for research and therapy, and emerging biomarkers that may predict progression to type 1 diabetes. Both UMass Chan Medical School Diabetes Center of Excellence (DCOE) co-directors and three DCOE scientists played key roles as speakers and facilitators throughout the week.
Michael Brehm, PhD, presented an overview of a recently awarded 4-year HIRN-CMAD grant that includes UMCMS DCOE researchers, David Harlan and Accalia Fu. The grant will study the interactions between immune cells and beta cells during the development of type 1 diabetes. His talk, “Models to Study the Synergy between Autoimmunity and Metabolism in Type 1 Diabetes,” highlighted advances in vivo and in vitro systems developed by DCOE investigators that enable the interrogation of immune and metabolic pathways that drive disease.
David Harlan, MD, served as a panelist in the Clinical Immune Interventions breakout session, which focused on translating scientific discoveries closer to treatment options for people with type 1 diabetes. His experience with clinical trials, therapies to guide or reset immune responses, and patient-focused outcomes contributed to discussions about what it will take to translate promising research findings into practical clinical care.
Accalia Fu, PhD, contributed as a facilitator in the Human Disease Modeling: In Vivo breakout session. Her research explores how molecular metabolism influences their ability to adapt—or fail to adapt—when stressed. The Fu lab tests the therapeutic potential of its metabolic discoveries using human donor tissues and sophisticated in vivo disease-modeling approaches.
Sam Redick, PhD, helped lead the Human Islet, Stem Cell, and Assay Standards breakout session, guiding conversations to improve consistency across labs studying human stem cell–derived islets. They discussed optimizing the reliability and comparability of beta-cell research nationwide, including stem cell–derived islet production at UMass Chan Medical School, led by Dr. Redick.
Mina Seedhom, PhD, served as a facilitator in the Human Disease Modeling: In Vivo breakout session and presented new data during the History and Re-enactment of the Pancreatic Battlefield in Type 1 Diabetes breakout session. His presentation traced the evolution of “humanized” mouse models—specialized platforms that allow researchers to study human immune cells and tissues in a living environment. He highlighted a next-generation model to examine how human immune systems interact with stem cell–derived islets, offering new insight into the earliest stages that may trigger autoimmune diabetes.
