![Headshot portrait of Emma Tsai - Bio-X Undergraduate Fellow](https://biox.stanford.edu/files/styles/profile_thumbnail/public/tsai_emma.webp?orig=png)
2019 Undergraduate Summer Research Program Participant
Home Department: Human Biology
Mentor: Joseph Wu, Medicine (Cardiovascular Medicine) and Radiology
Sodium-glucose cotransporter 2 (SGLT2) inhibitors are a promising class of diabetes medications that have been shown to improve the vascular outcomes of patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus. The mechanisms by which these medications improve vascular endpoints are not known. Emma’s project will use patient-specific stem cell-derived endothelial cells to investigate the potential of these inhibitors in reducing endothelial inflammation, a possible mechanism for why diabetic patients treated with these medications have improved vascular outcomes.