The UBC Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences is proud to announce that Dr. Nicole Krentz, Assistant Professor, has been awarded a prestigious Career Development Award from Breakthrough T1D (formerly JDRF), the leading global type 1 diabetes research and advocacy organization. The highly competitive award provides funding over five years to support Dr. Krentz's innovative research into type 1 diabetes.
Dr. Krentz's funded project, titled "RREB1 and Ras signalling in cytokine-induced beta cell death," represents a promising new avenue in the quest to protect insulin-producing cells from autoimmune destruction, a critical challenge in treating type 1 diabetes.
A significant achievement for early-career research
The Breakthrough T1D Career Development Award is designed specifically for early-career independent researchers who show exceptional promise in advancing type 1 diabetes research. These awards, which provide up to $200,000 annually for up to five years, are highly competitive and awarded globally to qualified individuals at academic and non-profit institutions. The program aims to help promising scientists establish independent research programs that will make meaningful contributions to understanding and treating type 1 diabetes.
"I'm incredibly honoured to receive this Career Development Award from Breakthrough T1D," said Dr. Krentz. "This funding will allow my team to pursue fundamental questions about how beta cells respond to autoimmune attack, and I'm hopeful that our findings will contribute to new strategies for protecting these vital cells in people living with type 1 diabetes."
Addressing a global health challenge
Type 1 diabetes is an autoimmune disease in which the immune system attacks and destroys the insulin-producing beta cells of the pancreas. Approximately 9.5 million people worldwide are living with type 1 diabetes, all of whom require lifelong insulin therapy to survive. While insulin therapy is life-saving, the burden of multiple daily insulin injections needed to control blood sugar levels significantly impacts the quality of life for people living with the condition.
Dr. Krentz's research explores a potential alternative approach: slowing down or even reversing the loss of insulin-producing beta cells caused by autoimmunity. Such an approach could reduce or eliminate the need for constant insulin management, dramatically improving outcomes for people with type 1 diabetes.
Uncovering the role of RREB1 in beta cell survival
At the heart of Dr. Krentz's research is a protein called RREB1. Her laboratory has recently discovered an important role for RREB1 in how beta cells are made during development. Now, her team will investigate whether this same protein also plays a crucial role in how beta cells die during autoimmune attack.
The research hypothesis is that RREB1 may act as an interpreter of signals from immune cells—signals that ultimately lead to beta cell death. By understanding this molecular conversation, researchers may be able to intervene and protect beta cells from destruction.
As Dr. Krentz and her team embark on this five-year research journey, their work may ultimately contribute to transforming how we protect and preserve the insulin-producing cells that are so vital to people living with type 1 diabetes.
To learn more about Dr. Nicole Krentz, click here.
To learn more about T1D Breakthrough, click here.