Home Department: Bioengineering
Mentor: Avnesh Thakor (Radiology - Pediatric Radiology)

“How Co-Transplanting Extracellular Vesicles (pFUS-EVs) Derived from Mesenchymal Stem Cells (MSCs) with Pancreatic Islets Ameliorates the Transplantation Outcomes for the Treatment of Type 1 Diabetes”

Alvaro’s research project focuses on improving the transplantation outcomes for the treatment of Type 1 diabetes by co-transplanting extracellular vesicles (EVs) derived from mesenchymal stem cells with pancreatic islets in mice. Currently, there is limited supply of human islets from cadaveric donors, but if successful, using mesenchymal stem cell-derived EVs would provide a significant leap forward in providing scalable therapies. Alvaro will test the effectiveness of EVs in enhancing the viability and functionality of islets. He will also investigate the ability of EVs to restore glycemic control in diabetic mice.