DECEMBER 2019
NEWSLETTER
Wishing you all a very
Happy Holidays and Best Wishes for 2020!
Get to know our HIRN Projects

Contact PI : Dale Greiner, PhD
University of Massachusetts Medical School (UC4 DK104218)

Project Summary : Our project is to develop a small animal model engrafted with human immune cells and islets to study the fundamental mechanisms responsible for the initiation and development of type 1 diabetes that will allow us to develop approaches to prevent or cure the disease.

Contact PI : Megan Sykes, MD, PhD
Columbia University (UC4 DK123559)

Project Summary : We have developed human immune systems from bone marrow stem cells of patients with T1D and healthy controls. We will use this “Personalized Immune (PI)” mouse model along with methods we have developed for generating epithelial cells of the thymus from stem cells, the organ that generates T lymphocytes, along with genetically engineered insulin-producing b cells, to understand how T1D develops.  


IIDP Islet Award Initiative
The   Integrated Islet Distribution Program (IIDP)   is now accepting applications for the  Islet Award Initiative (IAI)  . The award will provide up to 100,000 IEQs to a maximum of 10 eligible investigators per year, without the need for a subscription fee. The next round of applications are due by January 7th, 2020. There will be 3 submission cycles. We anticipate funding 3-4 awards per cycle. The IAI is generously supported by the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF).
Imaging the Pancreas in Diabetes, and Benign and Mailgnant Exocrine Pancreatic Disease

Date: January 13-14, 2020
Location : Natcher Conference Center, Bethesda, MD

Strategies for Clinical Imaging in Diabetes

Date: January 15, 2020
Location : Natcher Conference Center, Bethesda, MD
NIH Requests for Information (RFIs)

NOT-RM-20-002: Increasing the diversity of applications to the NIH Common Fund High-Risk, High-Reward Research Program
 
The purpose of this RFI is to solicit information from the broad community about factors that lead to underrepresentation of certain groups in the applicant pool of the Common Fund’s High-Risk, High-Reward Research Program and approaches that the NIH might take to increase applicant diversity. NIH seeks input from the broad scientific community on factors that may limit or discourage applications from certain groups or institutions and approaches that might be taken to increase the application diversity to the Common Fund’s HRHR Program.
 
  • Response Date: January 15, 2019
NIH Requests for Applications (RFAs)

F31 PAR-19-378 : Bioinformatics Interdisciplinary Predoctoral Fellowship in Diabetes, Endocrinology and Metabolic Diseases  
  • Application Due Date:  Standard dates apply 
  • Foreign applications allowed

F32 PAR-19-379 : Bioinformatics Interdisciplinary Postdoctoral Fellowship in Diabetes, Endocrinology and Metabolic Diseases 
  • Application Due Date:  Standard dates apply 
  • Foreign applications allowed

RFA-GM-19-001: Methods to Improve Reproducibility of Human iPSC Derivation, Growth and Differentiation (SBIR) (R44 – Clinical Trial Not Allowed) 
  • $500,000 in direct cost per year for 5 years
  • Application due date: January 6, 2020
  • Foreign applications are not allowed

RFA-PAR-18-886 : New Par adigms in Tissue Communication-from mediators to metabolic function (RC2 Clinical Trials Optional)
  • Letter of Intent due: Six weeks prior to application due date
  • Application due dates: October 31, 2019; June 2, 2020
  • Foreign applications are not allowed
Other Funding Agencies

  • $150,000 Direct Costs
  • Letter of Intent due: January 14, 2020
  • Application due date: February 14, 2020
  • Foreign applications are not allowed
JOB OPPORTUNITIES
Visit HIRN Website to view full posting details
Job Openings with Funding Agencies
Program Directors

The National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK) is seeking a Clinical Health Psychologist to lead a program of behavioral research on diabetes within the Division of Diabetes, Endocrinology and Metabolic Diseases (DDEM). The DDEM supports and provides leadership for research on the causes, prevention and treatment of diabetes and its complications, as well as other endocrine and metabolic diseases.

The NIDDK is seeking a Ph.D.- level scientist to lead a program of research on the neurobiology of energy balance and metabolic diseases within the Division of Diabetes, Endocrinology and Metabolic Diseases (DDEM). The DDEM supports and provides leadership for research on the causes, prevention and treatment of diabetes and its complications, as well as other endocrine and metabolic diseases.

Physician to Oversee Diabetes Clinical Studies
The NIDDK at the NIH is seeking a talented Physician (M.D. or equivalent) with expertise relevant to type 1 and/or type 2 diabetes research to manage clinical studies and trials related to the prevention and treatment of diabetes and its complications. This position offers unique and exciting opportunities to provide scientific leadership and to administer grants in support of diabetes research in the US.

Job Openings in Research & Academia
Faculty Position

The Department of Pathology, Immunology and Laboratory Medicine,  University of Florida Diabetes Institute  is seeking creative and highly motivated individuals for the position of Postdoctoral Associate under the direction of Dr. Todd Brusko. The Postdoc will be engaged in studying novel pathways regulating the differentiation and pathogenicity of T cells, the function of regulatory T cell biology in autoimmunity.
Faculty Position

The  Lilly Diabetes Center of Excellence (LDCE)  at the Indiana Biosciences Research Institute (IBRI) is recruiting promising young investigators to start their own independent laboratories under excellent research conditions. The LDCE is recruiting high-potential Principal Investigators (PIs) at the IBRI in Indianapolis, Ind., who are interested in pancreatic beta cell research, particularly related to iPSC-derived beta cells and the crosstalk between beta cells and the immune system in type 1 diabetes (T1D). 
Faculty Positions

The  Diabetes Center of Excellence at the University of Massachusetts Medical School  invites applications for a SENIOR TENURED or JUNIOR TENURE-TRACK basic science or clinical investigator faculty position. The position will be highly competitive with regard to start-up funds, laboratory space (if needed) and salary. The Center seeks an individual of outstanding research potential relating to diabetes pathophysiology or treatment. 
Faculty Positions

The  University of California, San Diego   Department of Pediatrics is recruiting two tenure track faculty positions. An Associate or Full position in the area of basic biology of diabetes and metabolic disease. This is broadly interpreted to include individuals in the fields of cell biology, stem cells, immunology, genetics, or bioengineering, interested in studying disease-relevant mechanisms.

An Assistant position in the area of basic biology of diabetes and metabolic disease. This is broadly interpreted to include individuals in the fields of cell biology, stem cells, immunology, genetics, or bioengineering, interested in studying disease-relevant mechanisms.
Assistant & Associate Member
The Diabetes Clinical Research Program (DCRP) at  Benaroya Research Institute  seeks to recruit outstanding applicants for a new faculty position. The appointment will be at the at the assistant, associate or full member level, commensurate with experience, training and achievement.
The  University of Miami Miller School of Medicine  Department of of Microbiology and Immunology is accepting applications for Assistant and Associate Professor level for investigators with research interests related to immunotherapy of cancer, autoimmunity, or infectious diseases. Applicants should have a Ph.D., M.D. or equivalent, at least 3 years of postdoctoral training.
Postdoctoral Position

Postdoctoral position is available in the Stanger laboratory to study the pathogenesis of autoimmune diabetes using ex vivo models. The project will involve working within a team of bioengineers, stem cell biologists, and immunologists to understand autoimmune destruction of human beta cells. A background in immunity and/or beta cell biology is desirable.
Postdoctoral Position

We are looking for recent Ph.D to pursue a career in science and biotechnology at the intersection of immunology and aging. People trained in my lab pursue careers in academia, biotech start-ups, venture funds or consultants for large firms. The long-term goal of my research is to understand the role of tissue secretory senescent cells in diseases such as autoimmunity, diabetes and diseases of aging.
Interested in small-molecule discovery and modulating beta-cell phenotypes? The Wagner lab in the Chemical Biology & Therapeutics Science (CBTS) Program at the Broad Institute , is accepting applications for postdoctoral fellow positions. We are looking for researchers interested in studying small molecule-mediated beta-cell proliferation and insulin secretion.
Applications are invited for prospective Post-Doctoral Fellows to train at the Joslin Diabetes Center , Harvard Medical School. Applications are invited from qualified individuals with a PhD or MD or MD PhD degrees and interested in working in the Kulkarni Lab on projects focused on defining pathways and mechanisms that regulate pancreatic (endocrine and exocrine) biology and interrogating inter-organ cross talk in the overall maintenance of glucose homeostasis.
The Tang lab at UCSF is looking for a postdoctoral fellow to join the efforts on optimizing beta cell replacement therapy in preclinical mouse models. 
Postdoctoral position in the Lab of Dr. Sangeeta Dhawan at the  Beckman Research Institute  at  City of Hope , in Los Angeles county, CA to study the epigenetic regulation of pancreatic beta cell mass. The candidate should have a PhD in molecular, cell, or developmental biology. Experience in genetic mouse models, islet biology, physiology, molecular biology, high throughput sequencing is desirable. 
Postdoctoral position in the Lab of Dr. Doris Stoffers in the   Institute for Diabetes, Obesity, and Metabolism  within the  Perelman School of Medicine  at the  University of Pennsylvania . A PhD is required; experience in genetic mouse models, islet physiology, advanced molecular techniques, high throughput sequencing methodologies and bioinformatics, proteomics, metabolomics is helpful. 
Postdoctoral Position
The  Lab of Dr. Abdelfattah El Ouaamari   at  Rutgers University/Robert Wood Johnson Medical School is recruiting self-driven, creative and organized candidates with a PhD in neuroscience, biochemistry or molecular and cellular biology. The candidate must possess skills in manipulating and assessing neuronal activity.