Cate Speake, PhD

Cate Speake, PhD
Research Assistant Member

Background Information

Dr. Cate Speake received her BS degree in Microbiology and her PhD in Pathobiology from the University of Washington in Seattle, WA. She then pursued post-doctoral studies in Systems Immunology at Benaroya Research Institute (BRI), and subsequently transitioned to the Diabetes Clinical Research Program at BRI as a staff scientist. In 2019, Dr. Speake joined the faculty at BRI and is currently a Research Assistant Member in the Center for Interventional Immunology. Working with Dr. Carla Greenbaum, she serves as the lead translational scientist in BRI’s Diabetes Clinical Research Program. She coordinates BRI’s Experimental Medicine Unit, and, with Dr. Alice Long, is principal investigator of the JDRF-funded Core for Assay Validation. She is also the project lead for BRI’s collaborative study with the Allen Institute for Immunology.

Area of Research

Throughout her career, Dr. Speake has focused on translating findings in the laboratory to the clinic, using her expertise in analyzing large data sets to help answer clinical questions, from initial work in infectious disease settings to her current work in diabetes and autoimmunity. Current projects involve:

  1. Incorporating the transcriptional signatures identified in our group with other assays of immune function and beta cell dysfunction to identify a composite biomarker of C-peptide decline through our JDRF Core for Assay Validation.
  2. Directing data analysis for three recently completed T1D clinical trials at BRI, two of which aim to identify mechanistic markers of IL6 blockade in T1D and the third being a longitudinal sample collection in longstanding T1D subject.
  3. Understanding the healthy immune system through multi-omic profiling.