Hosted by the School of Biochemistry
I will start with the nature of homeotic transformations and why they really do arise in vertebrates as well as arthropods. This insight led to the idea that metaplastic transformations in vertebrates, including humans, were caused by misexpression of developmental transcription factors. Using this principle, various procedures were attempted to transform liver to pancreas, specifically pancreatic beta cells, which might potentially be useful in the treatment of diabetes. These were eventually successful although never applied to human treatment. The experiences and contacts led me to write about stem cell-derived beta cells for diabetes treatment at two levels: the textbook and the popular science book.