The Kulkarni laboratory studies the biology and function of pancreatic islets including insulin secreting beta cells and glucagon-secreting alpha cells. The lab has recently started to work on signaling pathways that are critical for modulating beta cell biology including insulin secretion and growth. Current topics under investigation include evaluation of compounds such as small molecules and ligands that can modulate human beta cell biology. Some studies are related to generation of induced pluripotent stem cells from mouse models of type 1 and type 2 diabetes and humans with type 1 and type 2 diabetes. The studies are focused on using peripheral tissues (e.g. skin fibroblasts, blood cells and adult...