Lab Interests:
A primary defect in type 2 diabetes mellitus is the inability of pancreatic insulin-secreting beta-cells to sense and respond to changes in blood nutrient levels. How beta-cells sense glucose is incompletely understood, and this is hindering the development of new cell-based and drug therapies for both major forms of diabetes. Our laboratory has developed a modern set of tools that have allowed us to discover novel pathways involved in regulating insulin secretion. These studies will potentially provide novel drug targets to treat type 2 diabetes.