Tang Lab
Principal Investigator: Qizhi Tang
Institution: University of California, San Francisco (San Francisco, CA)
Primary Subfield: Genetics/Genomics
Recruitment Status: Inquire for rotation/fellowship opportunities
Research Focus
ABSTRACT In this proposal we apply somatic cell gene editing strategies to enhance pancreatic beta cell replacement therapies for type 1 diabetes (T1D). We have formed a team that combines expertise in beta cell biology, synthetic and systems biology, and islet transplant immunology to address key impediments for efficient immunosuppression-free transplantation of pancreatic islets. We propose two orthogonal yet complementary aims to address two critical challenges in islet transplantation - islet survival and immune rejection. Most of the transplanted islets die before revascularization can occur, which limits the efficacy of the therapy. We have shown hypoxia and nutrient deprivation during ischemia independently and synergistically kill transplanted islet cells. Aim 1 of this proposal addresses the hypothesis that peri-transplant death can be alleviated by deleting negative regulators of beta cell survival or by over-expression of positive regulators. We will take both targeted and unbiased approaches to test candidate regulators and to identify novel regulators of human islet survival. Our team has already performed high-throughput screens using RNAi in primary human islets usi…
Active NIH Awards
- 5R01DK133645-05: Genome editing of human pancreatic islets to withstand ischemic injuries and promote immune evasion (2026)
- 1R01AI202121-01: Cell signaling determinants of human Treg persistence (2026)
- 5U01DK137140-04: iSTAR Tregs (2026)
- 5P30DK135103-02: Core B: Flow and Mass Cytometry (2026)
- 5R01DK133645-04: Genome editing of human pancreatic islets to withstand ischemic injuries and promote immune evasion (2025)
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