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Beena Akolkar, Ph.D.

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Program Director: Division of Diabetes, Endocrinology, & Metabolic Diseases
Clinical research in the prevention and immunopathogenesis of Type 1 Diabetes and the genetics and genomics of Type 1 and Type 2 Diabetes

Responsibilities & Activities

I am the program director for the Immunopathogenesis and genetics of Diabetes. My portfolio includes basic and clinical research on the genetics, immunopathogenesis, prevention, and treatment of type 1 diabetes (T1D) and genetics and genomics of type 2 diabetes (T2D).

I am the project scientist for the Environmental Determinants of Diabetes in the Young (TEDDY) study, an international consortium established with the goal of developing and carrying out studies to identify environmental triggers of T1D, such as infectious agents, dietary factors, and/or psychosocial factors, in genetically susceptible individuals.

I am the project scientist for the Accelerating Medicines Partnership in Type 2 Diabetes (AMP-T2D-GENES).

I also serve as a project officer for the NIDDK Central Repositories.  My responsibilities also include coordinating research activities on T1D across the NIH.

Research Programs

Accelerating Medicines Partnership® Program for Common Metabolic Diseases (AMP® CMD)

Clinical Research in Type 1 Diabetes
Determinants, etiology, progression, prevention, and treatment of type 1 diabetes in children and adults.

Diabetes Genetics & Genomics
Genetic mechanisms underlying type 1 and type 2 diabetes and how genetic and epigenetic variation influences the metabolism of therapeutics.

Diabetes: Treatment, Prevention, & Complications

Committees & Working Groups

  • Type 1 Diabetes Working Group, Chair
  • Clinical Advancement based on Research Evidence (CARE) Working Group, Member
  • Basic Biology, Integrative Physiology Working Group, Member
  • DK Data Sciences Working Group, Member
  • DEM Patient Engagement Working Group, Member
  • NIDDK Clinical Sciences Working Group, Member
  • TrialNet, Ancillary, Laboratory, and Mechanistic Committees, Member
  • Immune Tolerance Network Steering and Executive Committee, Member
  • RADIANT, Genetics, Discovery and Lavoratory Committees, Member
  • Type 1 Diabetes after Acute Pancreatitis Consoritum (T1DAPC), Immunology and Diabetes Group, Member
  • Autoimmunity Centers of Excellence Steering Committee, Representative
  • CSGADP Steering Committee, Representative
  • Common Data Elements Working Group, Member
  • NIH Data Access Committee (DAC), Member
  • Prebiotics and Probiotics Working Group, Representative
  • Genomics Working Group, Member

Select Experience

Assistant Professor, Medicine and Pathology, NYU School of Medicine, Division of Molecular Medicine, Department of Medicine, North Shore University Hospital, 1996-2000

Instructor, Cell Biology, NYU School of Medicine, Division of Molecular Medicine, Department of Medicine, North Shore University, 1995-1996

Instructor, Department of Medicine, Cornell University Medical College, North Shore University Hospital, 1992-1995

Research Associate, Department of Medicine, Cornell University Medical College, North Shore University Hospital, 1989-1992

Research Associate, Department of Microbiology and Biotechnology Centre, University of Baroda, Baroda, India, 1987-1989