Samuel Stephens, PhD, Associate Professor in Endocrinology and Metabolism, has been awarded a three-year, $1.3M R01 from the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK) for his project, Defining the contribution of mitochondrial redox metabolism to support proinsulin folding in the endoplasmic reticulum (ER).

Stephens is working with two co-investigators from the University of Michigan on this research, Peter Arvan, MD, PhD, professor of Molecular and Integrative Physiology, and Scott Soleimanpour, MD, associate professor of Metabolism, Endocrinology & Diabetes.

“Also, a graduate student in my lab, Kristen Rohli, who recently received her PhD, was instrumental in this work,” Stephens said.

Stephens and his team will be investigating the role of pancreatic beta cell (β-cell) failure in the transition from insulin resistance to Type 2 diabetes (T2D). Because defects in the β-cell’s synthesis of insulin are not completely understood, understanding if and how β-cell function could be restored would have significant therapeutic value.

“Our observations have identified a new mechanism linking defects in mitochondrial and redox metabolism with the decline of insulin production in T2D,” Stephens said. “Our proposed studies will define the molecular linkages between mitochondrial metabolism and insulin production and address how this process is dismantled early in the development of T2D.”