Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation: Seeding Novel Insights in Diabetes Research Julia Greenstein Additional article information
Introduction The Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF) is the leading nonprofit, nongovernmental funder of international research in type 1 diabetes. The organization was founded in the U.S. in 1970 by parents whose children had type 1 diabetes. The volunteers' personal connection to the disease imbued them with a passionate and unrelenting commitment to the JDRF mission—to find a cure for diabetes and its complications through the support of research. Over the past 40 years, the organization has grown to more than 100 locations worldwide and has awarded more than $1.5 billion to diabetes research.
The Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF) is the leading nonprofit, nongovernmental funder of international research in type 1 diabetes. With more than 100 locations worldwide, the organization has awarded more than $1.5 billion to diabetes research. ...
Major Findings Among the major breakthroughs made possible via JDRF funding is the derivation of human embryonic stem cell (hESC) lines that have been widely used to develop methods of differentiation toward pancreatic lineage cells. The ultimate goal is to use these cells as an alternative cell source to replace β cell function. We have also funded pancreatic developmental biology studies to identify the timing and players necessary and sufficient to create functional islets; these studies have built the foundation for stepwise in vitro protocols to derive functional β cells from stem cells. Although many of the organization's projects involving stem cells are still in the research and development phase, we hope that our support in creating and distributing robust hESC
lines (for example, ESI, Cythera, D. Melton/Harvard University) that might be used for research and future product development will have long-term impact in the field. Our programs have been successful in bringing ―new brains ‖ together to collaborate on our multifaceted conundrum: how can a cell type be functionally replaced in an autoimmune context? Our support of multi-investigator programs bringing together pancreatic developmental biology experts, stem cell specialists, bioengineers, small-molecule screeners, transplant surgeons, and immunologists has seeded novel insights and lasting working relationships. In addition, our support of cadaveric islet cell transplantation has greatly improved the lives of the transplant recipients who were previously suffering from hypoglycemic unawareness, as well as providing proof of concept for the field of stem cell-based islet replacement. Finally, our early support of the International Society for Stem Cell Research (ISSCR) Web site and initiatives has resulted in a wonderful resource for the general public interested in stem cell biology and patients who need practical advice about stem cell therapeutics (http://www.closerlookatstemcells.org). Although our funded programs are not yet in the clinical trial stage, the JDRF's strategy calls for moving multiple stem cell-derived β cell source products into early-stage clinical testing for both safety and efficacy over the next 5 years. Current efforts are focused on developing physical immunoprotective barriers to optimally protect xenogeneic and stem cell-derived cell therapeutics. Using cell therapy to cure type 1 diabetes requires both the establishment of an expandable, transplantable, functional replacement β cell source and the methodology to block the autoimmune response that is a hallmark of type 1 diabetes. Our strategy is to foster encapsulation approaches that will protect alternative β cell sources from both the autoimmune and foreign tissue rejection by the recipient immune response; this includes both basic research and translational efforts.
The Importance of Advocacy and Communicating Results Whereas the JDRF's leadership believes that patients hope cell therapy using stem cellderived materials will be part of the steps required to achieve a cure for type 1 diabetes, the popular press tends to focus on the translational potential of novel scientific findings. Unfortunately, the complexity, cost, regulations, and timelines required for translation and the development of commercialized stem cell-based therapy for diabetes are less well understood.
Communicating the Results of Research Is an Important Tool There have been several notable stem cell advances in the diabetes field over the past few years—key among them are the development of immature β cells from hESCs that were
eventually capable of producing insulin and reversing diabetes in mice, the identification of a bona fide pancreatic progenitor cell in mice that has the capacity to generate new insulinproducing β cells, and the creation of induced pluripotent stem cells from nonpluripotent body cells. However, stem cell research is still in its infancy, and researchers have only just begun to understand and assess its full therapeutic potential. To provide the greatest opportunity for scientists to achieve a stem cell-based cure for type 1 diabetes, it is critical that research using stem cells continue. JDRF has funded numerous studies showing its therapeutic potential and is keen to share these important developments with its supporters. Over the past decade, JDRF has worked to ensure that research funding and U.S. public policy allow scientists to fully evaluate the potential of all forms of stem cell research to lead to new treatments for type 1 diabetes. In November 1998, publication of the research that hESCs and fetal stem cells (human embryonic germ cells) could be isolated and propagated in culture represented not only a potential new source for insulin-secreting cells but also the promise of an unlimited supply if scientists could unlock the secrets to directing differentiation and proliferation. Because of that promise and the hope for a cure, it is not surprising that the JDRF was one of the very first advocacy groups to support this research. In December 1998, we issued a position paper supporting stem cell research and calling for federal funding. Then chair of research, Sandra Puczynski, Ph.D., articulated the foundation's position: ―JDRF encourages the pursuit of this line of research within the framework of appropriate and ethical safeguards established by representatives of the public.‖ JDRF has also played a leadership role in numerous other advocacy efforts on Capitol Hill and across the U.S. and worked with other advocates to form the Coalition for the Advancement of Medical Research, an umbrella organization composed of patient and health advocacy organizations. Advocacy efforts included congressional hearings, congressional sign-on letters, and other events to communicate the importance and potential of stem cell research. The work led to passage of congressional legislation and then the issuance of an executive order allowing expanded funding of stem cell research under strict ethical guidelines. JDRF also played a key role in supporting and guiding volunteer-led efforts to enact favorable legislation in many states, including New Jersey, and advocacy for Proposition 71 in California, which created the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine. JDRF also supports the ISSCR as a critical means for the world's top stem cell scientists to communicate and build collaborations focused on developing stem cell therapies. We believe it is important to pursue research that could potentially lead to a cure for type 1 diabetes and its complications, and we recognize the potential of stem cell science as an important tool for transformational cell-based therapies toward the treatment of the disease.
Meet Julia Greenstein, Ph.D.
Dr. Julia Greenstein is currently the assistant vice president for Cure Therapies at the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation. Her group oversees the JDRF's β cell replacement and regeneration and imaging portfolio as well as its immune therapies portfolio. Dr. Greenstein has more than 20 years of experience in the corporate biotechnology arena. She was president and founder of Life Science Advisors LLC, a dedicated network of expert advisers and consultants in the pharmaceutical, biotechnology, and medical device industries, and the chief executive officer and president of Immerge BioTherapeutics, Inc. This Novartis Pharma AG and BioTransplant joint venture focused on developing pig xenotransplantation for clinical practice. Prior to that, Dr. Greenstein held the roles of chief scientific officer and senior vice president of research at BioTransplant Inc. and vice president of Discovery Research at ImmuLogic Pharmaceutical Corp. Dr. Greenstein currently serves on the board of directors of the MGH Institute of Health Professions and the MassBioEd Foundation, and was on the board of the Massachusetts Biotechnology Council and the Massachusetts Society for Medical Research. She received her Ph.D. in microbiology from the University of Rochester Medical School based on work in the laboratory of Dr. Philippa Marrack. Her postdoctoral training was at the University of Rochester Medical School and the Dana Farber Cancer Institute of Harvard Medical School. Dr. Greenstein was also an assistant professor at Harvard Medical School and the Dana Farber Cancer Institute.
Article information Stem Cells Transl Med. 2012 March; 1(3): 175–176. Published online 2012 February 22. doi: 10.5966/sctm.2012-0007 PMCID: PMC3659847 Julia Greenstein Received January 20, 2012; Accepted January 20, 2012. Copyright ©AlphaMed Press 1066-5099/2012/$20.00/0 Articles from Stem Cells Translational Medicine are provided here courtesy of AlphaMed Press