A 10-Year Anniversary Symposium Organized by The Human Islet Research Network: Changing the Course in Type 1 Diabetes

Event Details

Purpose

The purpose of the Changing the Course of Type 1 Diabetes: The Human Islet Research Network 10-year Anniversary Symposium is to bring together experts in type 1 diabetes (T1D) and investigators outside of the diabetes field to discuss current trends in biomedicine that have the potential to advance T1D research over the next decade. This symposium is open to the public and will focus on emerging concepts and technological advances that will catalyze progress in T1D research in three broad thematic areas: T1D etiology, discovery, and therapies.

Meeting Objectives

• Explore potential roles of different cellular and molecular players in the mechanisms involved in the etiology and/or exacerbation of T1D.
• Highlight current knowledge and opportunities in discovery efforts relevant to T1D.
• Discuss technical developments with potential to influence the study of and development of therapies for T1D.

Background

T1D is a devastating disease resulting from immune destruction of insulin-producing beta cells in the pancreas. T1D patients depend on exogenous insulin for blood glucose control and are at heightened risk for diabetic complications, including cardiovascular and kidney disease, blindness, and the need for limb amputations. Since 2014, the NIDDK-funded Human Islet Research Network (HIRN) has supported collaborative research focused on understanding how beta cells are lost in T1D and on developing innovative strategies to protect or replace functional beta cell mass in diabetic patients. In this symposium, experts in cell biology, physiology, immunology, developmental biology, biochemistry, bioengineering, genetics, and genomics will come together to discuss the contribution of these different fields to advances made in the past 10 years by HIRN and the T1D research community at large and will discuss emerging opportunities to propel T1D research over the next decade and beyond.

Organizing Committee

Kristin Abraham, NIDDK
Rafael Arrojo e Drigo, Vanderbilt University
Mark Atkinson, University of Florida
Olivier Blondel, NIDDK
Leonardo Ferreira, Medical University of South Carolina
Eddie James, Benaroya Research Institute
John Kaddis, City of Hope
Vira Kravets, University of California, San Diego
Karla Leavens, Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia
Wen-Hong Li, The University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center
Jeffrey Millman, Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis
Joyce Niland, City of Hope
Scott Oakes, The University of Chicago
Audrey Parent, University of California, San Francisco
Layla Rouse, City of Hope
Holger Russ, University of Florida
Desmond Schatz, University of Florida
Cherie Stabler, University of Florida

Abstract Submission Deadline

November 1, 2024

Registration Deadline

January 5, 2025

Agenda

Monday, January 13, 2025

8:00 a.m. – 9:00 a.m.

Arrival, Registration, and Poster Setup

9:00 a.m. – 9:25 a.m.

Meeting Prelude
Griffin P. Rodgers, M.D., MACP, Director, National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK)

John Kaddis, Ph.D., Associate Professor, Department of Diabetes & Cancer Discovery Science, Arthur Riggs Diabetes & Metabolism Research Institute, City of Hope

9:25 a.m. – 10:00 a.m.

Plenary I: The Historical Frontier of Type 1 Diabetes Research
Mark Atkinson, Ph.D., Professor, Departments of Pathology and Pediatrics; Director, University of Florida Diabetes Institute, University of Florida

10:00 a.m. – 10:25 a.m.

Refreshment Break

10:25 a.m. – 11:00 a.m.

Plenary II: A New Dawn in Type 1 Diabetes Research
Audrey Parent, Ph.D., Associate Professor, Diabetes Center, School of Medicine, University of California, San Francisco (UCSF)

Holger Russ, Ph.D., Associate Professor, Department of Pharmacology and Therapeutics, University of Florida

11:00 a.m. – 1:05 p.m.

Lunch/Poster Session I
Pickup pre-ordered lunch (labeled with name)

1:05 p.m. – 3:35 p.m.

Session I: Emerging Approaches and Discoveries in Type 1 Diabetes Research
Moderators: Juan Alvarez, Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Cell and Developmental Biology, University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine

Rohit N. Kulkarni, M.D., Ph.D., Professor of Medicine, Harvard Medical School; Diabetes Research & Wellness Foundation Endowed Chair; Senior Investigator and Associate Director (DRC), Joslin Diabetes Center

“DYRK1A Inhibitors and Pancreatic Beta Cell Regeneration”
Adolfo Garcia-Ocaña, Ph.D., Professor and Chair, Department of Molecular & Cellular Endocrinology, Arthur Riggs Diabetes & Metabolism Research Institute, City of Hope

“The Menage à Trois between Beta Cells, T Cells and Interferons”
Roberto Mallone, M.D., Ph.D., Professor, Clinical Immunology, Université Paris Cité, France; Adult Diabetologist, Cochin Hospital, France; Senior Investigator, Indiana Biosciences Research Institute

“Restoring Alpha Cell Function in Type 1 Diabetes”
Julia Panzer, Ph.D., Research Assistant Professor, Department of Diabetes Immunology, Arthur Riggs Diabetes & Metabolism Research Institute, City of Hope

“Engineering Microphysiological Systems to Study Diabetes: Current Progress and Future Directions”
Cherie Stabler, Ph.D., Professor and Chair, J. Crayton Pruitt Family & UF Foundation Preeminence Professor, Department of Biomedical Engineering, College of Engineering, University of Florida

3:35 p.m. – 3:50 p.m.

Refreshment Break

3:50 p.m. – 4:55 p.m.

Breakout Session I
(Topics TBA)

4:55 p.m. – 5:40 p.m.

Keynote Presentation I (30-minute talk plus 15-minute Q&A)
Moderator: Klaus Kaestner, Ph.D., Thomas and Evelyn Suor Butterworth Professor in Genetics; Associate Director of the Diabetes Research Center (DRC), University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine

“The Vulnerable Period for Islet Autoimmunity”
Anette-Gabriele Ziegler, M.D., Director of the Institute of Diabetes Research at Helmholtz Munich, German Research Center for Environmental Health, Helmholz Munich; Chair, Diabetes and Endocrinology, Medical Faculty, Technical University Munich, Germany

5:40 p.m.

Adjournment

6:30 p.m. – 8:30 p.m.

Group Dinner
Bethesdan Hotel (Pre-registration Required)

Tuesday, January 14, 2025

8:00 a.m. – 8:30 a.m.

Arrival, Registration, and Poster Setup

8:30 a.m. – 8:50 a.m.

Introduction and Overview of NIDDK Support and Research Objectives
William Cefalu, M.D., Director, Division of Diabetes, Endocrinology, & Metabolic Diseases, NIDDK

8:50 a.m. – 11:10 a.m.

Session II: Exploring the Cellular and Molecular Etiology of Type 1 Diabetes
Moderators: Romina Bevacqua, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, Diabetes, Obesity and Metabolism Institute, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, NY

Lori Sussel, Ph.D., Professor of Pediatrics, University of Colorado Denver Anschutz Medical Campus; Research Director of the Barbara Davis Center for Diabetes

“Beta Cell Protection by Nature”
Bart Roep, Ph.D., Professor of Medicine & Professor of Diabetology, Immunopathology and Intervention, Leiden University Medical Center

“The Many Faces of Type 1 Diabetes: Understanding Cell and Tissue Specific Contributions to Biomarker and Treatment Strategies”
Carmella Evans-Molina, M.D., Ph.D., Eli Lilly and Company Professor of Pediatric Diabetes at Indiana University (IU) School of Medicine; Director of the IU Center for Diabetes and Metabolic Diseases and the Indiana Diabetes Research Center

“Are we Missing Something? The Small Things Really do Matter in Type 1 Diabetes”
Sarah Richardson, Ph.D., Professor of Cellular Biomedicine, University of Exeter, England

“Unlocking Early Detection of Type 1 Diabetes through Multiome Profiling and Machine Learning”
Golnaz Vahedi, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Genetics, Department of Genetics, University of Pennsylvania Perlman School of Medicine

11:10 a.m. – 1:15 p.m.

Lunch/Poster Session II
Pick up preordered lunch (labeled with name)

1:15 p.m. – 2:20 p.m.

Breakout Session II
(Topics TBA)

2:20 p.m. – 2:40 p.m.

Refreshment Break

2:40 p.m. – 5:05 p.m.

Session III: Shaping Therapeutics for Type 1 Diabetes
Moderators: Karla Leavens, M.D., Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Pediatrics, Division of Endocrinology and Diabetes, Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia

Cristina Nostro, Ph.D., Associate Professor, Department of Physiology, University of Toronto; Senior Scientist, McEwen Stem Cell Institute at University Health Network (UHN)

“Development of Durable Beta-Cell Replacement Therapy for Type 1 Diabetes”
Michael Rickels, M.D., Willard and Rhoda Ware Professor in Diabetes and Metabolic Diseases, Division of Endocrinology, Diabetes & Metabolism, University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine

“Creating Localized Immune Tolerance in Type 1 Diabetes Using Chimeric Antigen Receptor Regulatory T Cells”
Leonardo Ferreira, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Medical University of South Carolina

“Optimizing Stem Cell Derived Beta Cell Functions”
Matthias Hebrok, Ph.D., Director, Center for Organoid Systems, Technical University Munich, Germany; Director of the Institute of Diabetes and Organoid Technology, Helmholtz Diabetes Center, Germany

“Engineering Human Islet-specific Tregs for the Treatment of Type 1 Diabetes”
Qizhi Tang, Ph.D., Professor of Immunology, School of Medicine, UCSF

5:05 p.m. – 5:50 p.m.

Keynote Presentation II (30-minute talk plus 15-minute Q&A)
Moderator: Desmond Schatz, M.D., Professor of Pediatrics; Medical Director of the Diabetes Institute; Director of the Clinical Research Center at the University of Florida

“Disrupted RNA as a Driver of Islet Inflammation and Diabetes”
Yuval Dor, Ph.D., Professor, Department of Cancer Biology and Cancer Research, Faculty of Medicine, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Israel

5:50 p.m. – 6:00 p.m.

Closing Remarks

6:00 p.m.

Adjournment

Travel

Hotel Accommodations

The Bethesdan Hotel Tapestry Collection by Hilton
8120 Wisconsin Avenue
Bethesda, MD 20814
Telephone: (301) 652-2000
Reserve a Room

Government Room Rate

A limited block of sleeping rooms for meeting participants has been reserved at The Bethesdan Hotel. The rate is the prevailing government rate of $193 per night for single occupancy, plus tax (13%). The room block will be in effect at the Government rate only until Friday, December 20, 2024, or until full, whichever comes first. Any room reservations received after this date will be accepted on a space- and rate-availability basis. Please be certain that the hotel provides you with a confirmation number for your reservation.

Reservation Dates

Book your arrival date as Sunday, January 12, 2025, and departure as Tuesday or Wednesday, January 14 or 15, 2025. If you require alternate dates, please contact John Hare of The Scientific Consulting Group, Inc. (SCG).

Check-in

When making a reservation, please provide your room and bedding preferences. The hotel will assign specific room types at check-in, based on availability. Please be advised that requests are not guaranteed. Check-in time is 3:00 p.m., and checkout time is 12:00 p.m.

Cancellations

If you need to cancel your reservation, please do so 48 hours prior to your arrival date, or you will be charged a no-show fee for 1 night on your credit card.

NIH Visitor Information

Information on visiting the NIH, campus maps, shuttle schedules, driving directions, security, and more can be found on the NIH Visitor Information page.

Abstracts

Submission Deadline

November 1, 2024 (5:00 p.m. Eastern Time)

Submitting Abstracts

Attendees of the Changing the Course of Type 1 Diabetes: The Human Islet Research Network 10-year Anniversary Symposium are encouraged to submit a poster abstract for consideration. All abstracts will be reviewed.  There is limited space available, so not every submission may result in an invitation to present a poster. Selected posters will emphasize novel and thought-provoking research regarding the future direction of T1D research within the meeting themes of discovery, etiology, and therapy. You must register for the Symposium in order to submit an abstract.

Abstract Review and Selection Criteria

The Abstract Review Committee will consist of experts in the field who will review and rate all submitted abstracts to ensure balanced representation of meeting themes. The review panel will consist of expert reviewers blinded as to the identity of the authors and institutions. Abstracts will be evaluated for poster presentation and considered based on the following criteria:

1. Experimental Approach: Introduction, Hypothesis, Approach, Results, Conclusion
2. Relevance: Importance in T1D Research
3. Innovation & Novelty
4. Future: Future Direction of Research

Abstract Submission and Timeline

• Abstract Submission Deadline: November 1, 2024 (5:00 pm Eastern)
• Abstract Notification Date: mid-November 2024
• Poster Session: January 13 & 14, 2025 

All abstracts must be submitted via email to John Hare of The Scientific Consulting Group, Inc., with “HIRN Abstract” in the subject line. Abstract submissions should be no longer than 500 words (not including title, name, and affiliation). Please make sure to read the formatting requirements below very carefully. It is extremely important that you follow these specifications.

Formatting Requirements

1. The abstract should be an MS Word document, typed and single-spaced using Times New Roman font. Everything but the title should be in normal, 12-point, Times New Roman font.
   1. The abstract’s title should be Bold, 16-Point, Title Case font and should clearly represent the nature of the investigation. The abstract title should be prefixed with an upper case letter indicating the primary meeting theme being addressed by the poster: “D” for Discovery, “E” for Etiology, or “T” for therapy.
   2. On the first line after the title, list the authors’ first and last name, degree, affiliation, city, state, and country. The poster presenter should be indicated with an * in the authors list, with the academic level of the presenter provided as a notation at the end of the author list (eg, “*Student, Postdoctoral Fellow, Asst, Assoc or Full Professor)
   3. Separate multiple authors with a semicolon and underline the primary author’s name (one primary author per abstract).
   4. Provide 3-5 keywords describing the abstract
   5. Use one blank line between the title and the body of the abstract and between paragraphs.
   6. The abstract file name should follow this format: primary author’s LastName_FirstWordOfTitle (e.g., Zucker_Effects).
2. Please ensure that your abstract is the correct length (500 words or less) and use 1-inch margins.
3. The use of standard abbreviations is desirable (e.g., RBC), as well as standard symbols for units of measure (e.g., kg, g, mg, mL, L, and %). Place nonstandard or unusual abbreviations within parentheses after the full word the first time that it appears. Use numerals to indicate numbers, except to begin sentences. Do not use subtitles (e.g., Methods, Results).
4. No figures or tables should be included.

Organize the body of the abstract as follows:

1. Experimental Approach: Introduction, Hypothesis, Approach, Results, Conclusion
2. Relevance: Importance in T1D Research
3. Innovation & Novelty
4. Future: Future Direction of Research

Poster boards will be 6’W x 4’H.