CURRENT RESEARCH:
Research in our Team is focused on the developmental biology of the pancreas as well as the function of the insulin-producing beta-cell. We wish to understand how the pancreas normally develops and use that information to grow and develop insulin-producing cells in vitro. If our studies are successful, it should be possible to apply our conclusions to human cells and provide a source of insulin-producing cells for transplantation into diabetics.

Our goals prompt us to understand the precursor or stem cells that give rise to the pancreas and to characterize the gene products that specify cell fates and functions during organogenesis. The majority of our studies are done with chicken, mice and embryonic stem cells. We use a wide variety of techniques including gene targeting, transgenic mice, gene arrays, immunohistochemistry, confocal microscopy, tissue explants, and in ovo electroporation. The aim of all our experiments is to understand the genetic and cellular interactions that direct pancreatic organogenesis.

We are to a large degree funded by Novo Nordisk A/S, but also receive grants from Danish Research Councils, EU, NIH, and Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation.