Second-year Cellular and Molecular Biology PhD student Caterra Leavens’ mission to develop a cure for Type 1 diabetes is personal; as a Type 1 diabetic herself, she is very familiar with the complexities of the disease and the secondary complications that can result from current treatments. This month, Leavens’ mission was jump-started by the receipt of a Graduate Training Award from the UW Stem Cell & Regenerative Medicine Center (SCRMC). These awards provide interdisciplinary research training for those pursuing careers in the field of stem cell and regenerative medicine. The award will provide Leavens with a stipend and tuition support for one year while she pursues her dissertation research in the lab of Division of Transplantation Professor Dr. Jon Odorico.
Type 1 diabetes occurs when a patient’s own immune system destroys the cells in the pancreas that produce insulin, a hormone that is essential for regulating blood sugar levels. A major line of research in the Odorico lab focuses on the development of stem cell-based therapies that could be used to treat or cure Type I diabetes. Stem cells are cells that have the potential to develop into any type of cell or tissue in the body.
“Our goal is to use gene editing strategies to protect cells from the immune system. After differentiating stem cells into insulin-producing pancreas cells, called islet cells, and then transplanting these cells, we hope to replace the destroyed insulin-producing cells in patients with Type 1 diabetes, effectively eliminating the need for exogenous insulin injections and constant glucose monitoring,” explained Odorico. “However, transplanted cells can be attacked and destroyed by the immune system, so we’re also trying to find ways to genetically engineer these cells to escape immune recognition and destruction, and thus potentially treat patients with Type 1 diabetes without the need for immunosuppression or encapsulation.”
Working under the mentorship of Odorico and using a line of islet cells that have been gene-edited by the lab to evade the immune system, Leaven’s will study the interaction between the gene-edited islet cells and immune cells, and compare this response to naturally-occurring islet cells that are taken from a human cadaver. She also plans to transplant the gene-edited islets into humanized mice (mice that have been engineered to develop a functional human immune system) to further study the immune-evasive properties of these cells.
“As a Type 1 diabetic myself, I feel especially privileged to work on a project that has personal significance and the potential to positively impact the lives of the over 9 million people living with the disease,” said Leavens. “I am both honored and grateful to be selected as a recipient of an SCRMC Graduate Training Award.”