Awarded in 2020
Home Department: Electrical Engineering
Faculty Advisors: Ada Poon (Electrical Engineering), Justin Annes (Medicine – Endocrinology, Gerontology, & Metabolism), and Joseph Wu (Medicine – Cardiovascular Medicine and Radiology)

Research Title: An Implantable Artificial Pancreas Using Direct Electrical Depolarization of Beta Cells to Control Insulin Release

Research Description: Type 1 Diabetes is a disorder of glucose homeostasis caused by beta-cell destruction and insulin insufficiency. Available systems to treat T1D include electronic artificial pancreases, which are limited by the need for exogenous insulin replenishment; and biological systems, which are limited by the difficulty of co-localizing glucose sensing and hormone release while maintaining immune isolation. Ella’s work aims to develop an implantable artificial pancreas that spatially separates an electronic glucose sensor from an immune-isolated, electrically-controlled cellular insulin source, to control insulin release via device-triggered depolarization of implanted beta-cells. This hybrid system will combine the advantages of electronic and biological systems into an implant for better patient outcomes.

WHERE IS SHE NOW?

Ella is an electrical engineer at Meta Reality Labs.