I am delighted to report that our latest paper has now been published in Science Advances: www.science.org/doi/10.1126/... In this study, we generated and characterised a humanised GLP‑1R mouse model carrying the gain‑of‑function A316T variant using CRISPR/Cas9 knock‑in technology.

Oxaloacetate damages mitochondria by perturbing MIC60-dependent membrane remodeling https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.01.28.702225v1

Exciting new work for the early detection of T1D onset from my colleague Lonnie Shea's lab here at Michigan! Happy to have played a small role. #GoBlue

A leader in the global fight against smallpox and a champion of vaccine science, William Foege died last Saturday

Just spoke to The Hill about how the dismantling of the NIH is impacting science in America. We still face a cliff of unfathomable heights, w easily 1000+ labs poised to close in the next year due to funding ending. A generation of young scientists lost because there is nowhere for them to train.

NIH budget bill out today. It’s the result of heavy negotiations in Congress over past month+. 🧪 Big pic: NIH budget now is abt more than funding. It’s abt restraining the technical ways NIH is being broken by Proj 2025. And the restraints in the bill are tepid 🤷‍♂️ Also: watch ICE/DHS budget. 🧵1/

Structural basis for late maturation steps of mitochondrial respiratory chain complex IV within the human respirasome #mitochondria rdcu.be/eZXXC

Individuals with remission of type 2 diabetes after RYGB have better beta cell function than those not achieving remission, but the groups did not differ with respect to beta cell mass. link.springer.com/article/10.1...

House Appropriations minibus bill funding NIH is out now. - $400M increase - Multiyear funding of new awards capped at 2025 levels. - No line item for BRAIN Initiative text here: docs.house.gov/billsthiswee... Screenshots from Dem summary and Sec 240 (multiyear funding text).

Our review on GLP-1R signal compartmentalization is now out in JCI, where we discuss current evidence for the existence of GLP-1R–cAMP–PKA signalosomes at different subcellular locations and the complexity of the GLP-1R spatiotemporal signaling architecture: www.jci.org/articles/vie...

For ~century, we’ve asked: why do proliferating cells ferment glucose even when O2 is around? I’m thrilled to share our latest work @natmetabolism.nature.com, led by @thebiokimist.bsky.social. By leveraging conditional essentiality in HPLM, we propose a provocative new answer to this classic Q. 🧵

New work on the mechanism by which certain deleterious (senescent-like) stromal cells evade immune clearance. www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...

Now online! Structure of pancreatic hIAPP fibrils derived from patients with type 2 diabetes

President Donald Trump’s administration has declined to reappoint Walter Koroshetz as head of the NIH’s neuroscience institute—even though the agency’s director had backed his renewal. https://scim.ag/4pZD0kq

Joel Habener pioneer in molecular biology, mentor, led foundational research that discovered a hormone dubbed GLP-1, which would later become the key ingredient in Ozempic and Mounjaro ⁦‪‬⁩ ⁦‪‬⁩ www.wsj.com/health/pharm...

We're hiring! 🧬 Two positions open in the Parker Lab @umich: 🔬 Postdoc: single-cell multi-omics & statistical genetics 🧪 Lab Specialist: molecular biology & Seahorse assays Great team, supportive culture, exciting science on metabolic disease.

(please share) Immediate #postdoc job opening in the Millman lab at WashU Med (St. Louis, MO). Want to develop next-generation pancreatic islets for the study and treatment of diabetes? Email your CV to apply sites.wustl.edu/millmanlab/

💬 Viewpoint: New H-1B visa restrictions could mean longer patient wait times and fewer clinicians in critical shortage areas, with international medical graduates playing a crucial role in rural and safety-net clinics. ja.ma/3L6KJOm

So much to celebrate this year! This week, the lab donated boxes full of gifts for 3 young children through the Salvation Army as we gathered for our holiday party. Our hearts (and stomachs) are full! ❤️ We can't wait to make new advances for patients with diabetes in 2026! 🥳

⚡️Mitochondria make ATP, the energy that powers life. But in neurons, with axons up to a meter long, how do these tiny power plants stay functional in the right places? We went looking. 1/n www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...

In HLA-predisposed children, family history of type 2 diabetes is associated with delayed progression from islet autoimmunity to diagnosis of type 1 diabetes #T1D #T2D #DiabetesResearch link.springer.com/article/10.1... 🔓

Our latest now published in @natcomms.nature.com, where we found a new role for mitochondrial programming of SC-β cell fate through PPARα. We're excited for the potential to target mitochondria to improve SC-islets to treat #T1D! www.nature.com/articles/s41...

📣 New Pre-print from my lab to wrap-up year!!! 🎉 🎉 led by #GeorginaGoss with support from @alejotorrescano.bsky.social @heathermwilson.bsky.social & @habkcl.bsky.social Pairing #spatialtranscriptomics with #stemcell–derived #multilineage-organoids to elucidate human pancreatic islet development 💥

Lietzke et al. demonstrate that pluripotent stem cell-derived β cells exhibit reduced oxidative and mitochondrial fatty acid metabolism compared to primary human islets, which is related to limitations in key mitochondrial transcriptional networks. 🧪 #PancSky www.nature.com/articles/s41...

We are hiring!. If you hold a PhD in natural science and are passionate about mitochondria, reach out!

Our latest now published in @natcomms.nature.com, where we found a new role for mitochondrial programming of SC-β cell fate through PPARα. We're excited for the potential to target mitochondria to improve SC-islets to treat #T1D! www.nature.com/articles/s41...

PPARα-dependent mitochondrial programming promotes the differentiation of SC-β cells and may be a promising target to improve β cell replacement efforts for #T1D #stemcells #islets www.nature.com/articles/s41... 🧪

NCLX is a mitochondrial proton/calcium exchanger, not a sodium/calcium exchanger as previously thought www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Take a look behinds the sciences of our recent work!

New York Times article on science funding with some depressing but familiar curves with interactive graphics. www.nytimes.com/interactive/...

Worked with a great team to organize @keystoneSymposia.bsky.social Fueling #MASH : #Metabolic Drivers & #Inflammatory Crosstalk, this April! Join us to explore emerging research in Vancouver! keysym.us/KSMASH26 #KSMASH26 Early Registration and Abstract deadline is in less than 2 weeks!

Our new paper is out now in Nature Communications! We uncovered the function of XBP1 in beta cells of a preclinical model of T1D and identified unique and shared gene regulatory networks driven by IRE1 and XBP1. www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Islet Biologists in 🇨🇦 🏆 @cirtn.bsky.social

In a potentially dramatic change to how it chooses what science to fund, NIH is ending a long-running practice at many of its institutes of establishing, and making public, a threshold peer-review score needed for a grant application’s approval. https://scim.ag/48ck2zu

CIRTN-R2FIC is currently running in Toronto its 4th Annual Meeting. During this meeting we have launched our mini interview series called "Islets in a Pod" ! Our first interview is with Dr. Patrick MacDonald from the University of Alberta. youtu.be/UlHn_1Fz3ck?...

Kinesin-1-driven microtubule sliding helps pancreatic β cells reorganise their cytoskeleton in response to glucose. buff.ly/r3BlzFj

A new #ScienceImmunology study finds that mice and humans have pancreatic islet-resident macrophages with elevated antioxidant profiles, which could shield β cells from oxidative stress. https://scim.ag/49cqs3M

Measuring mitochondrial membrane potential @marcliesa.bsky.social , Guillermo Martínez-Corrales et al @ibmb-csic.bsky.social comment on common misinterpretation of mitochondrial membrane potential measurements & suggest guidelines for accurate determination in cells www.embopress.org/doi/full/10....

Yesterday we wished Vaibhav Sidarala a warm farewell as he heads off to start his lab at Marshall University! Thrilled to see him take the helm and excited for the advances his group will make to treat diabetes. Can't thank him enough for what he did for us! Go Vaibhav! 🤩🥹 #proudPI

🚨 Check out our new paper is now online in its final version!!! 🎉 👏 Congratulations @alejotorrescano.bsky.social who led the study + past & current team @labspagnoli.bsky.social + collaborators #VigilanteLab @kingslsm.bsky.social ➡️ doi.org/10.1126/scia... short 🧵 below & more acknowledgments ⤵️

🎉Very excited to share our new work on senescence and insulin processing now out in @DiabetologiaJnl link.springer.com/article/10.100… Fantastic effort by my @dream-diabetes.bsky.social trainees, along with @yichunchen.bsky.social @bruceverchere.bsky.social @cirtn.bsky.social

www.nature.com/articles/s41... Cytosolic acetyl-coenzyme A is a signalling metabolite to control mitophagy

Deadlines are approaching (some next week!) for @keystoneSymposia.bsky.social #IsletBiology & #Diabetes : #BetaCell Compensation, Failure & Recovery, this March in Breckenridge! See scholarship, abstract and discount reg dates: keysym.us/KSDiabetes26 #KSDiabetes26

Even as American academics look to leave the country, US academia will struggle to attract talent Florida Universities to Stop Hiring Foreign H-1B Workers Under DeSantis Plan www.nytimes.com/2025/10/29/u...

Mechanism of #autophagy initiation by transmembrane selective autophagy receptors @elias-adriaenssens.bsky.social & @martenslab.bsky.social review emerging mechanistic differences between soluble and transmembrane autophagy receptors www.embopress.org/doi/full/10....

North American kids deserve better Canada is likely to lose its measles elimination status. The U.S. could be next. www.nbcnews.com/news/amp/rcn...

A valuable reference for comparative studies of mitochondrial adaptations across space and time, and in pathophysiological contexts. www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

🎉Early Career Researcher Grants for #MitoCellFate are now available💰 For more details on how to apply, please see the conference website here: bit.ly/43EWiSX Be quick! Our short talk submission deadline is soon approaching (10 Nov 2025) #FusionStemCells #FusionAgingResearch