BARBARA DAVIS CENTER: MEET THE DOCTOR

Lori Sussel, Ph.D. Professor of Pediatrics and Cell & Developmental Biology.

HOW DID YOU GET INTO DIABETES RESEARCH?

I have always been curious about how a cell knows what type of cell it is going to be. For instance, consider the process of transitioning from a naïve cell, such as a stem cell or progenitor cell, and differentiating it into a neuron, a pancreatic islet beta cell, or a muscle cell. Throughout my career, I have been dedicated to studying this problem. When I was in training, I was focused on figuring out the process of making motor neurons in the brain. But during this research, we discovered a very important protein that we thought would play a key role in motor neuron development, but surprisingly, it turned out to be absolutely critical for generating insulin-producing beta cells. Consequently, I switched the focus of my research and career to study how to make insulin-producing beta cells. And 25 years later, this is still the focus of my research.

DO YOU HAVE PERSONAL A TYPE 1 CONNECTION?

I have a first cousin who has type 1 diabetes. However, my more recent connection is the many students, postdoctoral fellows, and research technicians in my lab that who have type 1 diabetes. It gives a different perspective to our research and our discussions about the research. In addition, we get their opinion and input on how they think the research is going. This provides us with a daily reality check as to what we're doing in the lab and how it might ultimately affect people with type 1 diabetes.

HOW LONG HAVE YOU BEEN WITH THE BDC?

My first faculty position was at the BDC in 1999 when it was located on the 9th Ave campus, and I was there for seven years – it was a great place to start my career. Then I was recruited to Columbia University in New York City to the Berrie Diabetes Center. This was also a great opportunity to grow and evolve my research program in a highly stimulating environment. I was at Columbia for 10 years, continuing my research in diabetes, but then I had opportunity to come back to the Barbara Davis Center to lead the research division. This provided me with the opportunity to build and lead a diverse research program focused on type 1 diabetes.

WHAT MAKES YOUR DEPARTMENT AND TEAM AT THE BDC SO UNIQUE?

Our BDC basic and translational research team consists of an incredibly unique and talented group of scientists, that includes immunologists, bioengineers, stem cell biologists, islet biologists, and computational biologists – all focused on understanding and identifying a cure for type 1 diabetes.

Everyone approaches the question in a different way; we have immunologists who are looking at different populations of the immune cells, such as the T cells, B cells, or understudied immune cells like the macrophages. This allows us to take a more holistic approach to understand how the diverse cells of the immune system might be causing autoimmunity. We also have several groups studying the insulin-producing beta cells themselves to figure out why they are targeted by the immune system. I think the Barbara Davis Center research division is unique in that we have recruited outstanding scientists who all approach the problem in a different way. This allows us to interact with each other and synergize, so we can tackle the disease from all sides and see how we can fix it from many different angles.

The other advantage we have is the fact that we're so close to the clinic and the clinical trials.

Anything that goes on in the Barbara Davis Center in the clinical or translational realm, we can immediately take to the lab to gain a greater understanding of the disease. So in addition to going from the bench to bedside, we can also go from the bedside to bench. It's another reason I think we're so attractive to people coming to study and do research here is that we have the unique interaction between the research and clinics and clinical trials.

WHAT HAS CHANGED WITH PEDIATRIC DIABETES CARE IN THE TIME YOU HAVE BEEN PRACTICING?

The ability to make insulin producing cells from human stem cells, I think that's been the real game changer just in the last couple of years. There are currently ongoing clinical trials with stem cell derived insulin producing cells, but there is still more research to be done. Although insulin itself is a great treatment, it still isn’t a cure. And that is what we are focused on achieving in the BDC research division.

WHAT DO YOU DO FOR FUN WHEN YOU ARE NOT AT THE BDC?

I love running, reading, and traveling. I’m a foodie so I really enjoy traveling to different cities to try different types of food.

TELL ME ONE FUN FACT ABOUT YOURSELF.

I am Canadian!

WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE COLOR? Burgundy.

WHAT’S YOUR FAVORITE FOOD OR DISH TO MAKE?

My husband does all the cooking.

WHAT MOTIVATIONAL OR INSPIRATIONAL ADVICE DO YOU HAVE FOR TYPE 1S?

The research is moving at a very advanced pace, like with the new technologies and the new discoveries that we're making. For instance, there's Tzield and that's come out of basic T cell biology research. And insulin cells made from human stem cells. Most people only think of advancements in technology, but there have been so many advancements in science. We know so much more about the biology than we did 20 years ago, and we know more about the disease. I think that's going to help us, not only for better care, but for a cure as well.