Marika Bogdani, MD, PhD, is working to identify the earliest islet changes that take place in people who get type 1 diabetes (T1D) before they have symptoms. Her goal is to be able to intervene earlier in order to prevent and ultimately cure T1D.

Dr. Bogdani is investigating the role the extracellular matrix (ECM) plays in the development of T1D with a special focus on a specific tissue component named hyaluronan (or HA). Islets from people with T1D have more HA present in their ECM, which can influence the behavior of other cells. She wants to understand the early changes that take place in islet ECM and why large amounts of HA are in islets of people with T1D.

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