Autoimmunity

BIOGRAPHY

ACADEMIC POSITION:
Professor, American Diabetes Association, Eminent Scholar Chair, Department of Pathology, Immunology and Laboratory Medicine, University of Florida, College of Medicine

EDUCATION:
• University of Michigan-Dearborn, BS, Microbiology (1983)
• Pennsylvania State University, Hershey Medical Center (1984)
• Hagedorn Research Laboratory, Gentofte, Denmark (1986)
• University of Florida, PhD, Department of Pathology (1987)

MEMBERSHIPS/AWARDS:
• Division of Sponsored Research Award, University of Florida (1986)
• Member of American Diabetes Association (1986-present)
• Medical Guild Research Award for Graduate Research, University of Florida (1987)
• Post-Doctoral Fellowship, Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (1988)
• Post-Doctoral Fellowship (Mentor Based), American Diabetes Association (1988)
• Research Development Award (CDA), American Diabetes Association (1990)
• Member of American Association for the Advancement of Sciences (1991-present)
• Member of Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (1992-present)
• National Institutes of Health FIRST Award (1992)
• Diabetes Research and Education Foundation Award (1992)
• Career Development Award, Juvenile Diabetes Association (1993)
• The University of Florida, Pew Scholar Nominee (1993)
• Partners for a Cure Award, American Diabetes Association (Florida) (1996)
• Member of Immunology of Diabetes Society (1996-present)
• Mary Jane Krugal Research Award, Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (1997)
• Sebastian Family/American Diabetes Association Endowed Chair (1998)
• Elected Executive Board Member, Immunology of Diabetes Society (1998)
• University of Florida Research Foundation Professorship (1998)
• Mary Jane Krugal Research Award, Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (1999)
• Congressional Briefing on Type 1 Diabetes, United States Congress (1999)
• Named 'Distinguished Faculty', Juvenile Diabetes Foundation (2000)
• Outstanding Research Achievement Award, American Diabetes Association (South Costal Region) (2000)
• Faculty Basic Science Research Award, College of Medicine, University of Florida (2001)
• Member of American Society for Gene Therapy (2002-2006)
• Gerold & Kayla Grodsky Award for Major Contributions to Diabetes Research, Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (2003)
• Mary Jane Krugal Research Award, Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (2003)
• Distinguished Visiting Professor, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine (2003)
• Member of Society for Experimental Diabetes Research (2004-present)
• Member of European Association for the Study of Diabetes (2004-present)
• Mary Tyler Moore and S Robert Levine Clinical Research Award, Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (2004)
• Eli Lilly Award for Outstanding Scientific Achievement, American Diabetes Association (2004)
• Hilborn Scholar, UCLA School of Medicine (2005)
• David Rumbough Award for Scientific Excellence, JDRF (2005)

RESEARCH INTERESTS:
Identifying a prevention and/or cure for type 1 (i.e. insulin dependent, juvenile) diabetes. Key to achieving this goal is an improved understanding of the interactions between environmental, immunologic, and genetic factors that underlie the inability to form immunological tolerance to the insulin secreting pancreatic beta cells. In order to achieve this goal, four avenues of research are actively pursued. The first is that of identifying potential environmental agents (e.g. viruses, diet) that may either directly initiate or modify the progression towards diabetes. The second involves immunogenetics; identifying abnormalities in the humoral and cellular immune response which in association with genetic susceptibility, influence the progression to disease. It is hoped that these factors may be utilized as markers for predicting future cases of diabetes. The third involves that of type 2 diabetes in children and the role that obesity might have on the development of type 1 diabetes. To this aim, studies on the immunological properties of leptin are pursued. Finally, the laboratory seeks to directly define methods (e.g. immunointervention with self-antigens, gene therapy) for disease prevention in non-diabetic subjects identified to be at increased-risk for the disease, or diabetic subjects through pancreatic transplantation in association with novel forms of immunotherapy.