Hosted by the School of Medicine at Cardiff University
Register on Eventbrite
Since about 15 years we have had the privilege of studying the pathology of T1D by having access to well-preserved human pancreata via the National Pancreatic Organ Donor network (nPOD). This has offered us hence unprecedented insight into human pathology, which we will discuss here. Emerging new insights that further our understanding of this multi-factorial complex disease are that beta cell dysfunction often precedes immune inflammation of islets. Thus, beta cells appear to ‘reveal’ themselves to the immune system rather than becoming merely the subject of an autoimmune attack orchestrated elsewhere. While the cause remains unknown (innervation, viral infections?), these findings strongly argue for more beta cell centric interventions. Furthermore, the most pre-dominant cell type in islets are CD8 lymphocytes (many of which are autoreactive to pre-proinsulin) that become memory cells and interfere also with islet replacement therapies. It follows that combination therapies are likely urgently needed to tackle the various components of the disease. In addition, induction-maintenance type of therapies will be required to lessen the immunosuppressive burden on patients. We will discuss promising new approaches in the context of recent therapeutic achievements.
Prof. von Herrath is the Director of Diabetes Research Institute, University of Miami. He is also Vice President and Senior Medical Officer of Novonordisk Inc., a Danish pharmaceutical company, where he is responsible for overseeing the company's research and development efforts in diabetes care. He is regarded as one of the leading diabetes experts in the world. Prof. von Herrath's research focuses on understanding the molecular mechanisms that underlie type 1 diabetes (T1D), with particular interest in studying the role of the immune system in the development and progression of T1D. He is widely recognized for his groundbreaking work in understanding the molecular mechanisms of T1D, an autoimmune disease in which the body's immune system attacks and destroys insulin-producing beta cells in the pancreas, and developing novel therapies for this disease. He has published over 250 scientific papers in leading journals, including Lancet Endocrinology, Science, and the Journal of Experimental Medicine. His efforts have been recognized by numerous awards and honors, and was ranked by Expertscape as the T1D expert worldwide #1 in 2014 and 2018.