Autoimmune Life Blog

What if doctors could treat type 1 diabetes (T1D) by teaching the immune system to stop attacking cells in the pancreas? BRI researchers are working with the pharmaceutical company Novo Nordisk and global research consortium T1D TrialNet, testing a new approach that aims to do just that.

Before BRI Lab Aide Noah Biru had degrees in engineering and biochemistry — and was headed to Yale to pursue a PhD in immunology — he was a little kid who wanted to help his mom.

Raising a child with type 1 diabetes takes patience. Blood sugars rise and fall unpredictably, affecting nearly every aspect of daily life. It takes attention to detail.

To understand what causes type 1 diabetes (T1D), imagine a spy novel. It starts with a hero, the T-cell, that roams your body like James Bond. The T-cell hunts down enemies — bacteria and viruses — and snuffs them out. Then something goes terribly wrong: The hero becomes a villain.

One goal is to find markers that identify why some people with the virus don’t have symptoms while others get fatally ill. The sickest patients tend to have multiple health issues, which makes it hard to pinpoint the factors related to COVID-19.

COVID-19 has put a therapy called hydroxychloroquine in the spotlight — and, at the same time, shrouded it in confusion.

With a newly awarded $4 million grant from The Leona M. and Harry B. Helmsley Charitable Trust, BRI and SCRI will now focus on using their novel approach to generate an engineered T cell product that can be used in a future first-in-human clinical trial.

In the face of COVID-19, the Brooke family got used to things being canceled: school and work now happen at their home in Portland, Oregon. Twins Zoe and Andrew had to change their plans for their 10th birthday party.

Even before the governor closed the schools, I think we realized COVID-19 was going to be a really big deal. Still, for many of us, that was the day it hit home. The virus was going to alter the way we live, work, learn and connect with others - maybe for years to come.

In February, Dana VanBuecken, ARNP, was living her normal life as a clinical research nurse and mother of four who lives with type 1 diabetes (T1D).