April 2023 NEWSLETTER

HIRN WEBINAR SERIES

We invite you to view recordings of HIRN webinars on our YouTube Channel! The presentations are a showcase of HIRN advancements and resources for the greater scientific community. The most recent webinar was a joint presentation by Dr Audrey Parent (Univ. California, San Francisco) and Dr. Karla Leavens (Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia) on “Stem Cell-based Platforms to Model Human Autoimmune Diabetes”.



Mark your Calendars: Our next HIRN webinar will be on Tuesday, May 2nd (12pm Eastern/9am Pacific) on "Bifunctional small molecules: From PROTACs to molecular glues" by Drs. Bridget Wagner and Amedeo Vetere from the Broad Institute. 

TIPS FOR THE NIH DATA SHARING PLAN

New Reoccurring Series

Currently, there are multiple online tools available to assist researchers with creating a Data Sharing Plan that complies with the new NIH mandate. One example is “DMPTool”. It - is a free open-source tool accessible to all within the scientific community. DMPTool is an online application that guides researchers through the process of creating a plan, utilizing a click-through wizard for creating a Data Management Plan (DMP) that complies with NIH requirements. There are many more helpful features to the DMPTool that you can browse through now!  

Click HERE to access DMPTool to create your Data Management Plan

Ins2-Cre KNOCK-IN MICE AVAILABLE

The Ins2-Cre knock-in mice strain is now available in the USA from the Jackson Laboratory (JAX). These mice have an IRES-Cre cassette inserted between the stop codon and 3' UTR of the 3rd exon of the Ins2 gene, allowing for expression of both INS2 and Cre. These mice display robust Cre expression and activity in pancreatic β-cells without significant alterations in insulin expression. In the brain, significant Cre expression is not detected in the hypothalamus or hippocampus (although Cre activity can be found in the choroid plexus).  Learn more HERE.

WOLF PRIZE AWARD

University of Chicago chemist Chuan He has been awarded the prestigious Wolf Prize in chemistry for his pioneering discovery of reversible RNA methylation and its role in gene expression. Awarded by the Israeli-based Wolf Foundation, the annual prize honors the greatest achievements in the fields of agriculture, chemistry, mathematics, physics, medicine and the arts. The award was established in 1978 and carries a $100,000 prize. Click HERE for more information.

NIH DATA SCHOLAR OPPORTUNITY

DATA National Service Scholar Opportunity with the NIDDK/NIH

This year there is an opportunity for a DATA scholar to join the Division of Diabetes, Endocrinology, & Metabolic Diseases (DEM), National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK).   This can be done as a sabbatical.

This position offers great opportunities in leading high-impact transformative projects that leverage large data sets to advance research in diabetes, endocrinology and metabolic diseases; directly communicating with senior NIDDK leadership; engaging with policymakers and top researchers at NIDDK and NIH; and collaborating with other DATA Scholars and the NIH data science community. 

Due Date: May 15, 2023 (no later than 11:59 pm EDT).  Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis. For more information please click HERE.

dkNET SUMMER OF DATA STUDENT PROGRAM

The 2023 dkNET Summer of Data Student Program provides students an opportunity to utilize the dkNET tools and resources in a research project. Don't miss this opportunity to refine practices in rigor and reproducibility. Students will learn the basics of good data management by following the FAIR (Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, Reusable) data principles!

• 6 week program, June 12 to July 21, 2023
• Week 1: Online bootcamp (2 hrs/day)
• Week 2-6: Weekly conference call & discussion (2 hrs/week)
• Complete a brief end of program report and a survey
• Students from current high school to graduate education who are currently working in a research lab or who will work in a research lab during summer 2023 may apply
• No programming skills or bioinformatics background are required
• $500 scholarship award opportunity
• Application due April 24, 2023
• Only domestic students that are citizens or lawful permanent residents of the United States are eligible to apply to the program. 

Research projects should be in the areas of the NIDDK including diabetes, obesity, nutrition, digestive, kidney, liver, urologic, endocrine, metabolic, bone, and blood diseases. The program is designed for both bench and bioinformatics scientists. Preference will be given to those projects that would most benefit from the types of services offered by dkNET, e.g., projects that involve antibodies, genetically modified organisms, and ‘omics’ data. For more information, please click HERE.

WEILL CENTER NATIONAL COMPETITION

The Weill Center for Metabolic Health is hosting a national competition for senior graduate students seeking postdoctoral positions in metabolism, with cash prizes of up to $1000 awarded for top abstracts. Winners will be invited to present their research in a virtual symposium, and all participants will be invited to attend the symposium to network with current Weill Center for Metabolic Health postdocs and faculty as well as your peers around the country. Learn more HERE. If you have any questions, please email HERE.

TYPE 1 DIABETES IN REVIEW

The T1D Week in Review (T1D WiR) is a Friday Weekly Newsletter providing recent updates in T1D research including stellar papers, T1D jobs, grant deadlines, hot ticket events, business updates plus this week’s "Watch and Listen", all provided by The Sugar Science. The most recent edition includes T1D updates from the past week. Learn more HERE.

UPCOMING MEETINGS

The Extracellular RNA Communication Consortium (ERCC) is an NIH Common Fund program launched in 2013 to study extracellular RNA (exRNA). The first phase of the project focused on exRNA biology and their potential use in diagnosis and treatment of a variety of diseases. A second phase initiated in 2019 sought to develop new and improved technologies to identify, characterize, and isolate exRNA and carriers, such as extracellular vesicles and RNA binding proteins (RBPs). The ERCC is now coming to a close and will host its final meeting (ERCC19) on May 1-2, 2023. It will be free to attend and open to the public. For more information click HERE.

Advances in Aging, Immunity, and Chronic Inflammatory Diseases

This workshop will focus on recent advances (biological and technological) in our knowledge of immune mechanisms, immunosenescence, aging, and their impact on chronic disease development The past few years have seen major advances in our knowledge of immune function during aging, and improved methods to define immunological states. Notably, advances in single cell technologies have demonstrated the potential to permit interrogation of metabolic and phenotypic variation of leukocytes, including rare tissue resident populations, and circadian gene regulation in macrophages. The workshop will highlight recent advances, discuss mechanisms involved in accelerated development of immune aging and chronic disease, identify knowledge gaps and challenges, establish scientific research priorities, and promote collaborations among investigators.

This workshop will be held on May 9-10, 2023. For more information, please click HERE.

The 2^nd MPS world summit is less than 6 months away. June 26 - June 30, 2023. Check the program, keynote speakers, venue and social events. For more information click HERE.

The second annual meeting for American Association of Extracellular Vesicles (AAEV) will take place on October 26 - 29, 2023. The purpose of the Association is to promote the development, dissemination, integration, and utilization of knowledge in the field of EV. The Association provides a platform for researchers to learn, disseminate, and network with EV researchers worldwide through Annual Conferences, peer-reviewed journal, initiatives, and industry partnerships. For more information, please click HERE.

UPCOMING WEBINARS

Data Sharing and Reuse Seminar

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) Office of Data Science Strategy hosts this seminar series to highlight exemplars of data sharing and reuse, on the second Friday of each month at noon ET. The monthly series highlights researchers who have taken existing data and found clever ways to reuse the data or generate new findings. A different NIH institute or center will also share its data science activities each month.

Dr. Avi Ma’ayan is a Mount Sinai Endowed Professor in Bioinformatics, Professor in the Department of Pharmacological Sciences, Director of the Mount Sinai Center for Bioinformatics, and a faculty member of the Department of Artificial Intelligence and Human Health at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in New York City. His seminar will be held on May 12, 2023 at 12:00 pm EDT. To register, please click HERE.

dkNET is an information hub for the DK community, providing regular updates, webinars, and new tools and services to support your research, including funding opportunities available, and to help researchers navigate and comply with new regulations and mandates on resource authentication and data sharing. dkNET will be hosting the Webinar: "Heterogeneity of Single Cells Obtained From Peripheral Blood Mononuclear Cells Collected From Youth With Recent Onset Type 1 Diabetes," presented by: Wenting Wu, PhD. Research Assistant Professor, Center for Diabetes and Metabolic Diseases, Department of Medical and Molecular Genetics, Indiana University School of Medicine. This webinar will be held on Friday, May 19, 2023 from 11:00 am - 12:00 pm PST. Click HERE for more information. 

NIDDK DMS Webinar Series

NIDDK is hosting a multi-part Data Management & Sharing (DMS) Webinar Series to provide education and outreach to the NIDDK scientific community about data management and sharing topics.

• Webinar 1 - “Writing a DMS Plan” on April 25, 2023, will provide an overview of DMS planning and highlight NIH and NIDDK resources available to investigators. Register and access webinar details.
• Webinar 2 - “Finding a Repository for Your Data” on May 31, 2023, will provide in-depth information to guide investigators in selecting appropriate repositories for their scientific data. (Registration opening soon.)
• Webinar 3 - “Metadata and Data Standards for NIDDK Research Data” on June 27, 2023, will cover importance and utility of metadata and data standards in maximizing the value of scientific data and how these standards intersect with the NIH DMS policy. (Registration opening soon.)

ADA FUNDING INITIATIVE

The American Diabetes Association (ADA) is pleased to announce the opening of a new nomination window for the Pathway to Stop Diabetes® research grants in 2023.

This call for nominations will prioritize translational applications that move knowledge and discovery gained from basic research to its eventual translation into patient and population benefit. The ideal applicant will propose innovative research that will be an important step towards our goal of improving the lives of people at risk of diabetes or living with the disease—and the pathway to this impact is clear. Our vision is to create a pathway to launch the next generation of trailblazers in diabetes research. Submission deadline is August 1, 2023. Learn more HERE.

IIDP FUNDING OPPORTUNITY FOR ISLET RESEARCHERS

The Integrated Islet Distribution Program (IIDP) is pleased to announce a new funding opportunity through the IIDP’s Islet Award Initiative (IAI). The IAI initiative will provide free resources to investigators new to diabetes research using human tissues, including human islets, non-islet biomaterials (NIB: acinar tissue, pancreatic ductal tissue, lymph nodes, spleen, and blood), and/or pancreas slides for histology. Funding for personnel, equipment, travel, supplies, or other costs to perform work is not allowable under the IIDP IAI. The maximum allocation that may be requested is $15,000, equivalent to the cost of 100,000 IEQ. However, other IIDP resources may be requested within this amount as well.

While new investigators are encouraged to apply, they must hold an independent research position that automatically confers eligibility to apply for R01 grants under the applicant’s institutional policy. Established investigators who are new to the field and who seek to extend their studies using human tissues also are eligible to apply. However, given the limited number of awards available, established investigators with a documented pre-existing track record in human islet research are considered ineligible for this round of IAI funding.

• Application due: May 31, 2023.
• Open to US & Foreign Investigators

CLICK HERE if you are interested in this opportunity.

PAR-20-140: Catalytic Tool and Technology Development in Kidney, Urologic, and Hematologic Diseases (R21 Clinical Trial Not Allowed)

• Application due date: May 7, 2023
• Foreign applications are eligible

NOT-OD-23-073: Notice of Special Interest (NOSI): Administrative Supplements to Enhance Software Tools for Open Science

• Application due date:  May 9, 2023 
• Foreign applications are not eligible

NOT-OD-23-082: Notice of Special Interest (NOSI): Administrative Supplements to Support Collaborations to Improve the AI/ML-Readiness

of NIH-Supported Data

• Application due date:  May 16, 2023 
• Foreign applications are not eligible

LEADERSHIP/FACULTY

Assistant Professor

The Department of Biology at Indiana University Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) invites applications for a tenure-track faculty position at the rank of Assistant Professor. Competitive salary and start-up funds are available. A Ph.D. and postdoctoral experience are required. Applicants must demonstrate the ability to initiate a research program that can attract external funding to sustain it, dedication to effective student mentoring and the ability to teach courses at the graduate and undergraduate levels. Candidates able to teach courses in microbiology, biochemistry and neuroscience are particularly welcome. Research strengths in the department span a range of topics in cellular, molecular, and organismal biology. Applicants for the position should provide a brief statement of research interests, CV and the names of three references to Dr. Mastracci.

Senior Scientist

The Islet Cell Therapy and Stem Cell Biology group is looking for an in vitro biologist with training in human iPSC culture. This position will play a key role in establishing a new lab focused on developing the next generation of islet cell therapies and application of iPSC-derived platforms to novel target discovery and validation. Qualified individuals will have experience with human iPSC culture, gene editing, molecular biology and assay development, as well as broad experience in pancreas and islet biology. Applicants for the position should provide a brief statement of research interests, CV and the names of three references to Dr. Gopika Nair.

Assistant or Associate Professor

The Barbara Davis Center for Diabetes (BDC) at the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus is searching for an Assistant or Associate Professor. The person holding this position will develop and direct an independent, externally funded research program related to the development and/or investigation of the molecular and/or cellular mechanisms operative in human stem cell models related to understanding the etiology of Type 1 Diabetes or developing human stem cell derived therapies. This individual will be responsible for the daily management, supervision, training and evaluation of personnel (such as graduate students, postdoctoral fellows and professional research assistants) whose positions are funded by research grants on which s/he is the principal investigator. For more information and official job posting, please contact Dr. Lori Sussel.

Postdoctoral Position

A Postdoctoral Fellowship position is available in the Department of Cell, Developmental and Integrative Biology (CDIB) at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB). The position is available for a minimum period of two years. A major requirement will be expertise in molecular biology approaches and experience with CRISPR technology. The applicant will also be expected to have working knowledge of animal work (genotyping, islet and immune cells isolation); in vivo analyses (glucose tolerance and insulin sensitivity); in vitro assays with beta-cells and immune cells; Western blotting; immunofluorescence analyses; and proficiency with RT-qPCR protocols. Interested applicants please send a cover letter and curriculum vitae, including the names of three references, to Dr. Sasanka Ramandham.

Postdoctoral Position

One postdoctoral fellow position is available at the ULB Center for Diabetes Research, Brussels, Belgium. We are looking for a highly motivated researcher to join the lab of Dr. Decio Eizirik. This lab aims to clarify the mechanisms of pancreatic beta cell dysfunction and death in type 1 diabetes mellitus, with focus on endoplasmic reticulum stress, alternative splicing and other mechanisms that may contribute to beta cell death and generation of neoantigens. Interested individuals are encouraged to provide a brief letter stating their accomplishments and interest in the lab’s research, curriculum vitae, and a list of three references to Dr. Decio Eizirik.

Postdoctoral Position

The laboratory of Dr. Xuelin Lou at the Medical College of Wisconsin is seeking a highly motivated and creative Postdoctoral Fellow to lead exciting research projects on membrane trafficking in islet β cells.  The ideal candidate will have a Ph.D. in Biology (or a related field) and quality publications. Experience in islet biology, or expertise in relevant research methods is highly desirable. Please send your cover letter, curriculum vitae, and the name/contact of three references to Dr. Xuelin Lou.

Postdoctoral Position

The Khosravi Immunoengineering Lab in the Department of Immunology at the Mayo Clinic Arizona is seeking two Postdoc Research Fellows in the areas of autoimmunity and transplantation. The Immunoengineering Lab research focuses on developing and applying novel ways of inducing immune tolerance using integrated approaches that combine laboratory, clinical, and computational methods. The engineering of immune cells is an integral part of these novel methods. The focuses of current research projects: 1) to develop chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) Tregs with enhanced stability and functionality for inducing immune tolerance in transplantation and xenotransplantation; 2) to study Tregs in autoimmune diseases and apply engineering strategies to develop autologous Treg therapies for these patients. Please contact Dr. Mohsen Khosravi Maharlooei for more information.

Postdoctoral Position

The Kravets Lab – “Pancreatic Islet Physics and Physiology” lab at the Department of Bioengineering and Department of Pediatrics of the University of California San Diego - is looking for a creative and highly motivated Postdoctoral Fellow to lead experimental and computational research projects. The successful candidate will have a PhD in Bioengineering, Biology, Biophysics, Mathematics, or related fields. Desired (but not required) skills:  experience in animal work (mouse or zebrafish) and tissue culture, willingness to perform animal surgical procedures, MATLAB, C (or other languages), signal analysis. Interested applicants please send a cover letter and curriculum vitae, including the names of

three references, to Dr. Vira Kravets.

Postdoctoral Position

The Alvarez laboratory at the University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine seeks a creative, collaborative and highly independent postdoctoral fellow to lead new research projects. Our laboratory asks how circadian & metabolic rhythms impact islet cell maturity, aiming to build mature stem cell-derived organoids as human models of islet development & physiology and as diabetes cell therapy. We are unraveling genetic, chromatin, and translation circuits that govern islet maturity states in health and disease. Candidates must have quality first-author publications and a PhD in Biology, Bioengineering, or related fields. Computational/bioinformatics expertise is highly desirable. We embrace diversity, equity, and inclusion. Please send your CV, a brief statement of relevant research interests, and contact information for three references to Dr. Juan Alvarez. 

Postdoctoral Position

The University of Montreal, under the direction of Dr. Poitout, has a postdoctoral position available to decipher the mechanisms whereby very long-chain sphingolipids lead to reactive oxygen species production and cell-cycle activation in rodent and human beta-cells. Methodologies to be employed include rat and mouse islet isolations, adenoviral transduction of rodent and human islets, measurements of beta-cell proliferation by flow cytometry, assessment of hormone secretion in static incubations and perifusions, and islet transplantation studies. Interested applicants please send a cover letter and curriculum vitae, including the names of three references, to

Dr. Vincent Poitout.

Postdoctoral Position

The laboratory of Dr. Audrey Parent at the University of California, San Francisco is seeking postdoctoral fellows interested in developing immune evasion strategies for beta cell replacement therapy. Our research program is diverse, combining directed differentiation of human pluripotent stem cells into pancreatic beta cells and thymic epithelial cells with genome engineering approaches to study autoimmunity in humanized models. Selected candidates will work in a collaborative and interdisciplinary team and will be encouraged to develop their own research interests. Candidates must have a PhD in biology, immunology, or a related field. Applicants for the position should send a CV, a brief statement of their research interests, and contact information for three references to Dr. Audrey Parent.