2007
The Diabetes Research Institute launches a Drug Discovery Program to develop new "small molecules" that can safely and effectively target and block immune cell signals. Peter Buchwald, Ph.D., an expert in drug design and development, is recruited from the pharmaceutical industry to head this major effort to prevent rejection of insulin-producing cells.
2007
Scientists at the DRI design and test a new cell culture device that closely mimics the natural oxygen environment, demonstrating a dramatic increase in beta cell development from an embryonic mouse pancreas.
2007
The Diabetes Research Institute recruits Cherie Stabler, Ph.D, from Emory University to head the expanded Tissue Engineering Program aimed at developing nanocapsule technologies to protect insulin-producing cells from immune destruction. This effort is bolstered by a new partnership with Dr. Jeffrey Hubbell from Lausanne, Switzerland, world renowned for his work with biomaterials for tissue engineering and drug delivery.
2006
Diabetes Research Institute Federation, an international cohort of leading scientific centers, is established to concentrate solely on curing type 1 diabetes. Uniting eight selected research centers in seven countries, this unique global collaboration will focus on tolerance induction, transplantation of islets and other insulin producing cells, stem cell therapies and regenerative medicine strategies.
2006
Scientists from the DRI’s Signal Transduction Laboratory discover that the internal structure of the human islet cell is dramatically different from the more often studied rodent islet – a striking finding that argues for the importance of studying human islets if medical research is to benefit people living with diabetes.
2006
A Diabetes Research Institute study shows type 1 diabetes patients’ quality of life and sense of well-being improve following islet transplantation despite having to take harsh anti-rejection drugs.
2005
As part of a new clinical trial, Diabetes Research Institute (DRI) scientists perform the first islet cell transplant with CD34+ bone marrow stem cells taken from the same donor as the islets, resulting in insulin independence.
2005
The DRI's Human Immunology team identifies a group of antigen-presenting cells responsible for the production of insulin in the thymus and peripheral blood. Scientists believe these cells play a key role in establishing and maintaining self-tolerance to insulin itself.
2005 DRI investigators publish a method for obtaining more islets from a single donor organ. The results, which appear as the cover story of
American Journal of Transplantation, show how DRI’s Human Cell Processing team can now obtain 27% more healthy human islets using the rescue gradient purification (RGP) method.
2005
Scientists report that, for the first time, protein technology can be used to promote
pancreatic cell differentiation. DRI Stem Cell and Molecular Biology teams use this unique technology to show how stem cells can be progressively educated along the pathway leading to functional beta cells. The findings are published in
Diabetes, and open a promising new avenue of research that might enable the development of more insulin-producing islet cells for transplantation in the future.
2004
The
DRI is awarded a five year grant by the National Institutes of Health (NIH), and named one of only five international clinical islet transplant centers. The $14 million grant will focus on methods to improve the safety and long-term success of islet transplantation.
2003
The DRI is awarded a
prestigious five year Center Grant from the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation International (JDRFI). The $6.75 million grant is supported by an additional $6.75 million in matching funds from the Diabetes Research Institute Foundation, and will be used to foster and accelerate the development of new therapeutic strategies to restore islet function.
2003
The DRI's cell processing team performs the first successful human
islet cell transplant in Asia.
2003
The combined clinical islet transplant experience in
Miami and Houston indicates 100% graft survival and 80% insulin independence at 1 year follow-up for patients who received PFC-cultured islets processed at the DRI.
2002
The use of oxygen-rich chemicals (called perfluorocarbons or PFC) enables DRI researchers to isolate and successfully transplant healthy islets from organs that were previously thought to be
too old for transplant purposes.
2002
Camillo Ricordi, M.D., wins the prestigious American Diabetes Association
Outstanding Scientific Achievement Award, and delivers the Eli Lilly Lecture at the ADA Meeting in San Francisco.
2002
DRI scientists develop a new culture media to preserve isolated islets for transplantation, allowing islets to “rest” and improve their function over a 2-3 day period. Previously, the immediate transplant of isolated islets was required, however, this new solution provides adequate time for transplant recipients to arrive at the DRI. Recipients travel from Georgia, New Jersey, Oregon, and as far away as Alaska to participate in DRI clinical trials. This DRI discovery enables the
first State-to-State islet transplant, with DRI providing the cells for Texas’ first successful islet cell transplant.
2001
The DRI establishes two key translational laboratories for work with stem cell lines and enhanced beta cell imaging. The first, a pancreatic stem cell and developmental biology laboratory, is headed by
Helena Edlund, Ph.D., believed by many to be the world authority in this field. The second laboratory is headed by
Per-Olof Berggren, M.D., Ph.D., Professor and Chief of Cell Biology from the Karolinska Institutet in Stockholm, Sweden and an internationally recognized expert in the field of experimental endocrinology. These new in-house facilities will further strengthen DRI research in cellular-based therapies to cure diabetes.
2001
Immunogenetics laboratory at the DRI, headed by Alberto Pugliese, M.D., identifies the cells that express insulin in the thymus and other organs of the immune system. The findings, published in the
Journal of Clinical Investigation, describe a novel subset of cells that make small amounts of insulin and other islet molecules termed “self antigen presenting cells.” These cells appear to play a crucial role in the regulation of immunological tolerance to islet molecules. Further studies will address clinical application for promoting and restoring self-tolerance to help prevent diabetes and the potential recurrence of diabetes after islet transplantation.
2001
University of Florida and DRI/University of Miami are awarded $10.4 million grant to establish the JDRF
Gene Therapy Center for the Prevention of Diabetes and Its Complications at UF and UM. UM and UF scientists will capitalize on gene therapy’s potential to deliver agents in novel ways, engineer rejection-proof tissues for islet and kidney transplant, and tackle diabetes-associated complications such as vision loss.
2001
Camillo Ricordi, M.D. is awarded the
Nessim Habif World Prize in Surgery for his invention of the “Ricordi Chamber” which allows researchers to separate and harvest insulin-producing cells from the pancreas. The chamber is now in worldwide use.
2000
The DRI makes the Ricordi islet isolation chamber available to all of the centers participating in the
Immune Tolerance Network (ITN) Clinical Islet Transplant Program.
1999
The DRI is selected by the
National Institutes of Health and the Naval Medical Research Center as the only non-governmental partner in a unique public/private research initiative aimed at curing diabetes and its complications through islet cell transplantation.
1999
Using monthly injections of a new monoclonal antibody, the DRI's pre‑clinical research team, led by Norma S. Kenyon, Ph.D., is the first to show that
transplanted islet cells reverse diabetes in monkeys without the need for any other anti-rejection drug. The recipients remain insulin independent for over one year post-transplant and emerging rejection episodes can be reversed using this antibody. Even after discontinuation of the antibody, many animals remain off insulin for several months
1998
The first clinical trial in which patients can receive
islets “alone,” without requiring the simultaneous transplantation of another organ is launched. It is the first time patients are eligible to receive islets before the long-term complications associated with diabetes set in. Twenty-three patients from around the world are admitted into the study, and placed on a transplant waiting list in mid-1998.
1997
DRI researchers, in collaboration with the University of Miami’s Division of Organ Transplantation, demonstrate that multiple infusions of donor bone marrow cells can improve the survival of transplanted organs.
1997
DRI scientist Alberto Pugliese, M.D. publishes new findings related to insulin production in the thymus and its role in the development of type 1 diabetes. The
Nature Genetics paper describes how this type of insulin might play a key role in the immune system’s ability to recognize insulin molecules as “self”. Scientists believe that the amount of thymic insulin might determine either susceptibility to or protection from diabetes.
1995
A multi-center comparison of islet cell transplantation and current diabetes management practices shows that successful or even partially successful islet transplants can more effectively control blood glucose (and do so without hypoglycemic episodes) than either conventional or intensive insulin therapy.
1995
Biopsies show intact, functioning islet cells in the liver of a patient who was completely insulin independent for five years following an islet transplant.
1992
Experiments with islet transplants prove that it is possible to reverse diabetes and achieve complete insulin independence in pre-clinical models without the use of continuous immunosuppression.
1990
Nine patients receive islet cells in conjunction with their multi-organ transplants. This study, published in
The Lancet, demonstrates that islets can produce insulin independence in patients who had previously been pancreatectomized.
1988
Camillo Ricordi, M.D., develops an
automated method for isolating large numbers of islets from a single pancreas. This technology enables scientists to consider a wider application of islet cell transplantation as a potential cure for diabetes.
1987
DRI investigators use a zinc-binding substance (dithizone) to stain and
better visualize islets during the isolation process. They also show that this new method does not interfere with islet function in vitro or in vivo.
1985
DRI performs
islet transplant in a patient already requiring immunosuppression for a transplanted kidney. The procedure results in a 75% reduction of the patient’s insulin requirement for almost one year.
1984
The first successful transplant of healthy
islets into dogs with diabetes is performed, effectively curing them of their diabetes.
1978
Using self-glucose monitoring and intensive insulin therapy, DRI researchers develop a successful treatment for
pregnant women with diabetes. The risk of miscarriage drops markedly for these future mothers, and their chances of giving birth to healthy children rise significantly.
1976
Islet cells are successfully transplanted into rats with diabetes, producing a cure for diabetes in laboratory animals. The results are published in the journal
Diabetes.