Alejandro Caicedo, Ph.D., is a Research Assistant Professor of Surgery in the Cell Biology and Signal Transduction laboratory at the Diabetes Research Institute.
A physiologist initially trained in sensory neuroscience, Dr. Caicedo is applying his knowledge and expertise to studying the physiology of human islet cells.
His particular interest is in determining how the response of human beta cells to glucose leads to insulin secretion. Most studies on islet structure and function have been performed using rodent islets as a model, however these cells dramatically differ from human cells.
Together with other DRI colleagues, Dr. Caicedo has been characterizing the cell composition of human islets, and studying the different molecules that might be involved in their cell-to-cell communication. The goal of this work is to assess islet health, viability and function prior to transplantation into a recipient with diabetes.