Autoimmune Disease

High school students are fundraising for type 1 diabetes research

It is difficult to get government funding for innovative research due to the lack of supporting data. We provide microgrants so that an innovative researcher can obtain initial data. Your donation will help advance autoimmune disease research by providing much needed funding.

Did you know that cells can recycle too? Well, not in the sense as we usually know it, but rather recycling their own mitochondria. This is called mitophagy. For type 1 diabetes patients, this could be exceptionally valuable. Diabetes patients, especially older patients, have β-cells in the pancreas that are damaged by chronic inflammation and generate less energy. With less energy, these β-cells cannot produce enough insulin, causing diabetes. Scott Soleimanpour, M.D. and Vaibhav Sidarala, M.D. plan to use the ability of cells to recycle, or use mitophagy, to remove damaged mitochondria so that they can be replaced with healthy ones. Their study involves isolating mouse β-cells with varying levels of mitophagy and studying their RNA expressions to gain a better understanding of what allows for resistance against inflammatory damage. In order to conduct their research, they will need $10,000 for materials such as RNA isolation kits. Help Soleimanpour and Sidarala in their effort to investigate this emerging diabetes therapeutic technique by donating to their microgrant here.

Microgrant Candidates (working together)

Scott Soleimanpour, M.D.	Vaibhav Sidarala, M.D.

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