Dates of funding: 2018-2019
Diabetes affects more than 20 million people in the United States, or roughly 1 of out 11 individuals and obesity-induced diabetes incidence is steadily increasing. Despite great efforts, there is unfortunately still no cure. The best treatments for the disease require constant and diligent patient management and even when managed appropriately, the disease can still lead to serious complications like heart disease, blindness, and amputation. We have long known that obesity is a great risk factor for diabetes, however, many of the disrupted genetic pathways that contribute to the disease are still unknown. My proposal seeks to identify novel molecules involved in the onset and/or progression of diabetes with the ultimate goal of discovering effective therapeutics for the many patients affected by diabetes. In particular, I am focusing on a novel class of molecules called long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs), which were previously unknown to be important in biology, but contain properties that facilitate therapeutic targeting. In this study, I have identified a new lncRNA that becomes highly upregulated in the β cells of several obese-diabetic mouse models and islets from obese diabetic patients. We hypothesize that this lncRNA is important for the onset and/or progression of diabetes and we propose a set of studies to determine its specific role during disease development and assess whether targeted disruption of its expression can improve β cell function and patient outcomes.

Dates of funding: 2018-2019
Diabetes affects more than 20 million people in the United States, or roughly 1 of out 11 individuals and obesity-induced diabetes incidence is steadily increasing. Despite great efforts, there is unfortunately still no cure. The best treatments for the disease require constant and diligent patient management and even when managed appropriately, the disease can still lead to serious complications like heart disease, blindness, and amputation. We have long known that obesity is a great risk factor for diabetes, however, many of the disrupted genetic pathways that contribute to the disease are still unknown. My proposal seeks to identify novel molecules involved in the onset and/or progression of diabetes with the ultimate goal of discovering effective therapeutics for the many patients affected by diabetes. In particular, I am focusing on a novel class of molecules called long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs), which were previously unknown to be important in biology, but contain properties that facilitate therapeutic targeting. In this study, I have identified a new lncRNA that becomes highly upregulated in the β cells of several obese-diabetic mouse models and islets from obese diabetic patients. We hypothesize that this lncRNA is important for the onset and/or progression of diabetes and we propose a set of studies to determine its specific role during disease development and assess whether targeted disruption of its expression can improve β cell function and patient outcomes.

Dates of funding: 2018-2019
Diabetes affects more than 20 million people in the United States, or roughly 1 of out 11 individuals and obesity-induced diabetes incidence is steadily increasing. Despite great efforts, there is unfortunately still no cure. The best treatments for the disease require constant and diligent patient management and even when managed appropriately, the disease can still lead to serious complications like heart disease, blindness, and amputation. We have long known that obesity is a great risk factor for diabetes, however, many of the disrupted genetic pathways that contribute to the disease are still unknown. My proposal seeks to identify novel molecules involved in the onset and/or progression of diabetes with the ultimate goal of discovering effective therapeutics for the many patients affected by diabetes. In particular, I am focusing on a novel class of molecules called long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs), which were previously unknown to be important in biology, but contain properties that facilitate therapeutic targeting. In this study, I have identified a new lncRNA that becomes highly upregulated in the β cells of several obese-diabetic mouse models and islets from obese diabetic patients. We hypothesize that this lncRNA is important for the onset and/or progression of diabetes and we propose a set of studies to determine its specific role during disease development and assess whether targeted disruption of its expression can improve β cell function and patient outcomes.

Dates of funding: 2018-2019
Diabetes affects more than 20 million people in the United States, or roughly 1 of out 11 individuals and obesity-induced diabetes incidence is steadily increasing. Despite great efforts, there is unfortunately still no cure. The best treatments for the disease require constant and diligent patient management and even when managed appropriately, the disease can still lead to serious complications like heart disease, blindness, and amputation. We have long known that obesity is a great risk factor for diabetes, however, many of the disrupted genetic pathways that contribute to the disease are still unknown. My proposal seeks to identify novel molecules involved in the onset and/or progression of diabetes with the ultimate goal of discovering effective therapeutics for the many patients affected by diabetes. In particular, I am focusing on a novel class of molecules called long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs), which were previously unknown to be important in biology, but contain properties that facilitate therapeutic targeting. In this study, I have identified a new lncRNA that becomes highly upregulated in the β cells of several obese-diabetic mouse models and islets from obese diabetic patients. We hypothesize that this lncRNA is important for the onset and/or progression of diabetes and we propose a set of studies to determine its specific role during disease development and assess whether targeted disruption of its expression can improve β cell function and patient outcomes.

Dates of funding: 2018-2019
Diabetes affects more than 20 million people in the United States, or roughly 1 of out 11 individuals and obesity-induced diabetes incidence is steadily increasing. Despite great efforts, there is unfortunately still no cure. The best treatments for the disease require constant and diligent patient management and even when managed appropriately, the disease can still lead to serious complications like heart disease, blindness, and amputation. We have long known that obesity is a great risk factor for diabetes, however, many of the disrupted genetic pathways that contribute to the disease are still unknown. My proposal seeks to identify novel molecules involved in the onset and/or progression of diabetes with the ultimate goal of discovering effective therapeutics for the many patients affected by diabetes. In particular, I am focusing on a novel class of molecules called long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs), which were previously unknown to be important in biology, but contain properties that facilitate therapeutic targeting. In this study, I have identified a new lncRNA that becomes highly upregulated in the β cells of several obese-diabetic mouse models and islets from obese diabetic patients. We hypothesize that this lncRNA is important for the onset and/or progression of diabetes and we propose a set of studies to determine its specific role during disease development and assess whether targeted disruption of its expression can improve β cell function and patient outcomes.

Dates of funding: 2018-2019
Diabetes affects more than 20 million people in the United States, or roughly 1 of out 11 individuals and obesity-induced diabetes incidence is steadily increasing. Despite great efforts, there is unfortunately still no cure. The best treatments for the disease require constant and diligent patient management and even when managed appropriately, the disease can still lead to serious complications like heart disease, blindness, and amputation. We have long known that obesity is a great risk factor for diabetes, however, many of the disrupted genetic pathways that contribute to the disease are still unknown. My proposal seeks to identify novel molecules involved in the onset and/or progression of diabetes with the ultimate goal of discovering effective therapeutics for the many patients affected by diabetes. In particular, I am focusing on a novel class of molecules called long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs), which were previously unknown to be important in biology, but contain properties that facilitate therapeutic targeting. In this study, I have identified a new lncRNA that becomes highly upregulated in the β cells of several obese-diabetic mouse models and islets from obese diabetic patients. We hypothesize that this lncRNA is important for the onset and/or progression of diabetes and we propose a set of studies to determine its specific role during disease development and assess whether targeted disruption of its expression can improve β cell function and patient outcomes.

Dates of funding: 2018-2019
Diabetes affects more than 20 million people in the United States, or roughly 1 of out 11 individuals and obesity-induced diabetes incidence is steadily increasing. Despite great efforts, there is unfortunately still no cure. The best treatments for the disease require constant and diligent patient management and even when managed appropriately, the disease can still lead to serious complications like heart disease, blindness, and amputation. We have long known that obesity is a great risk factor for diabetes, however, many of the disrupted genetic pathways that contribute to the disease are still unknown. My proposal seeks to identify novel molecules involved in the onset and/or progression of diabetes with the ultimate goal of discovering effective therapeutics for the many patients affected by diabetes. In particular, I am focusing on a novel class of molecules called long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs), which were previously unknown to be important in biology, but contain properties that facilitate therapeutic targeting. In this study, I have identified a new lncRNA that becomes highly upregulated in the β cells of several obese-diabetic mouse models and islets from obese diabetic patients. We hypothesize that this lncRNA is important for the onset and/or progression of diabetes and we propose a set of studies to determine its specific role during disease development and assess whether targeted disruption of its expression can improve β cell function and patient outcomes.

Dates of funding: 2018-2019
Diabetes affects more than 20 million people in the United States, or roughly 1 of out 11 individuals and obesity-induced diabetes incidence is steadily increasing. Despite great efforts, there is unfortunately still no cure. The best treatments for the disease require constant and diligent patient management and even when managed appropriately, the disease can still lead to serious complications like heart disease, blindness, and amputation. We have long known that obesity is a great risk factor for diabetes, however, many of the disrupted genetic pathways that contribute to the disease are still unknown. My proposal seeks to identify novel molecules involved in the onset and/or progression of diabetes with the ultimate goal of discovering effective therapeutics for the many patients affected by diabetes. In particular, I am focusing on a novel class of molecules called long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs), which were previously unknown to be important in biology, but contain properties that facilitate therapeutic targeting. In this study, I have identified a new lncRNA that becomes highly upregulated in the β cells of several obese-diabetic mouse models and islets from obese diabetic patients. We hypothesize that this lncRNA is important for the onset and/or progression of diabetes and we propose a set of studies to determine its specific role during disease development and assess whether targeted disruption of its expression can improve β cell function and patient outcomes.

Dates of funding: 2018-2019
Diabetes affects more than 20 million people in the United States, or roughly 1 of out 11 individuals and obesity-induced diabetes incidence is steadily increasing. Despite great efforts, there is unfortunately still no cure. The best treatments for the disease require constant and diligent patient management and even when managed appropriately, the disease can still lead to serious complications like heart disease, blindness, and amputation. We have long known that obesity is a great risk factor for diabetes, however, many of the disrupted genetic pathways that contribute to the disease are still unknown. My proposal seeks to identify novel molecules involved in the onset and/or progression of diabetes with the ultimate goal of discovering effective therapeutics for the many patients affected by diabetes. In particular, I am focusing on a novel class of molecules called long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs), which were previously unknown to be important in biology, but contain properties that facilitate therapeutic targeting. In this study, I have identified a new lncRNA that becomes highly upregulated in the β cells of several obese-diabetic mouse models and islets from obese diabetic patients. We hypothesize that this lncRNA is important for the onset and/or progression of diabetes and we propose a set of studies to determine its specific role during disease development and assess whether targeted disruption of its expression can improve β cell function and patient outcomes.