Human Islet Research Network Enhancement Center (HIRN-EC)

May 2022 Council

Lead Division/Office

DEM

Point(s) of Contact

Executive Summary

The Human Islet Research Network (HIRN) is major research initiative investigating basic and preclinical aspects of type 1 diabetes islet biology. The HIRN currently involves five consortia including the Consortium on Beta Cell Death and Survival (CBDS), Consortium on Human Islet Biomimetics (CHIB), Consortium on Modeling Autoimmune Interactions (CMAI), Consortium on Targeting and Regeneration (CTAR), and the Human Pancreas Analysis Consortium (HPAC). Since 2014, there have been 77 awards and 265 investigators with funding totaling over 150 million dollars and such a large effort requires significant coordination to maximize the returns from this investment. Currently there are HIRN grants funded until June 2025. Planned HIRN consortia include HPAC Research Grants (2022), CTAR (2023) and CMAI/CHIB (2024). To maintain coordinating center support for current and future HIRN grants and activities, funding for the HIRN Enhancement Center is needed through at least 2028. The HIRN-EC has developed infrastructure that provides a framework for promoting synergy between investigators both within and between the Consortia, significant opportunity fund support of junior investigators as well as enhancing communication between the Consortia and the scientific, medical, and patient communities. The HIRN-EC enhances and extends the impact of research carried out by the network by providing needed coordinating, communication, and informatics support.