Becca Davidson, Ph.D., a 2024 inaugural Brehm-Concordia Scholar, was recently awarded the first-ever Concordia Collaborative Project Grant for their project "Characterizing Immune Infiltration Effects on the Islet Microenvironment."
Dr. Davidson is a postdoctoral fellow in islet biology working under the mentorship of Scott Soleimanpour, M.D., director of the Michigan Diabetes Research Center and T1D Basic Research at the Caswell Diabetes Institute. Dr. Davidson is part of a multi-institutional team that also includes two principal investigators from the University of Colorado and one from Columbia University. When asked about the importance of this coalition, Dr. Davidson stated, "What we've been given here is a really unique opportunity to bridge the gap across multiple fields of science that will allow us to break new ground in diabetes research."
The collaborative project aims to uncover how immune system infiltration changes the islet microenvironment in type 1 diabetes. While this condition is typically characterized by the destruction of insulin-producing islet B cells through immune infiltration of autoreactive T cells, growing evidence suggests that other cell types in the islet microenvironment are also compromised.
The project team will test whether immune infiltration directly causes dysfunction in these surrounding cells and leads to vascular remodeling within the islets. The research combines in vivo immunological tools, novel islet biology techniques, and predictive modeling to provide new insights that could improve both treatment and diagnosis of type 1 diabetes, while potentially revealing pathways for repairing cellular damage.
Through this groundbreaking collaboration, Dr. Davidson's research represents not just a scientific milestone but a promising step toward better treatments and outcomes for the millions of people living with type 1 diabetes.
The Brehm-Concordia Coalition
The Brehm-Concordia Coalition Scholars Program represents an unprecedented collaboration between three of the nation's premier diabetes research institutions: the University of Michigan's Brehm Center, Columbia University's Naomi Berrie Diabetes Center, and the University of Colorado's Barbara Davis Diabetes Center.
Established in 2024, this innovative coalition program was designed to accelerate diabetes research by bringing together early-career scientists from diverse specialties across multiple institutions. Coalition members first met at Columbia University in September 2024 and will gather for their second meeting in Ann Arbor in October 2025.
The program plans to expand over the coming years, welcoming additional members through a competitive application process. This sustained growth model ensures the coalition will continue fostering innovation and accelerating progress in diabetes research.