Dr. Jean Regal, professor and head of the Department of Biomedical Sciences and Dr. Emilyn Alejandro, Assistant Professor Integrative Biology and Physiology have received an R21 grant from the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) to examine the development of Type 2 diabetes in offspring of hypertensive pregnancy.

Hypertension during pregnancy can predispose the child to the development of Type 2 Diabetes in later life. In their animal models, hypertension during pregnancy reduces insulin-producing ß cells in the pancreas of the offspring. Their studies will determine if manipulations of the immune system will rescue ß cells of offspring following hypertension in pregnancy, thus preventing the development of Type 2 diabetes later in life.

NIH R21HD100840
Principal Investigators: Jean F. Regal and Emilyn Alejandro
Innate Immune Complement System and Developmental Programming of Functional ß Cell Mass
6/2020-5/2022