Research

Our research focuses on developmental biology of the pancreas to understand the guiding principles of pancreatic insulin-producing cells. These cells are either lost or damaged in diabetes; replacement of insulin-producing cells would constitute a possible cure for the disease. Our laboratory uses both mouse genetics and bioinformatics to address the function of signaling factors in pancreatic development. We have developed an online resource, “GeneSpeed,” which is a large-scale categorization of protein domains. GeneSpeed is paired with a dedicated gene array database, allowing analysis of the expression space of the developing pancreas and islets. Results from bioinformatics analyses are validated using conditional gain-of-function models in vivo.

Other interests include studies of the molecular mechanism of fibroblast growth factor-10 signaling, adult pancreatic regeneration, and development of the stomach and intestine.

Our team is part of the Institute’s Diabetes Research Program, which aims to form a multi-investigator task force employing knowledge in developmental biology to harness the regenerative potential of embryonic stem cells or pancreatic progenitor cells. Research in the areas of systems biology, mouse models of development, adult pancreatic regeneration, and embryonic stem cell technology will be combined.

The laboratory is also part of the Chicago Project, a multi-investigator program seeking a functional cure for diabetes. For details, see www.thechicagoproject.org and http://genespeed.ccf.org/.