Medical hope on horizon
A tea bag–sized packet of insulin beta cells implanted in the arm eventually may replace the parade of pricks and daily insulin injections necessary to monitor and regulate blood sugar levels in a diabetic. That’s the vision that Douglas Melton, co-director of the Harvard Stem Cell Institute (HSCI), shared with HUBweek attendees last week. At the event, the institute hosted the first “Horizons in Regenerative Medicine” series, three panel discussions showcasing how stem cells can provide new therapies, fresh ways to model disease, and new approaches to understanding fundamental biological processes such as aging. For the first panel, “A Quantum Leap in Diabetes,” Melton was joined by Gordon Weir and Peter Amenta of the Joslin Diabetes Center, a Harvard-affiliated treatment and research institution; Sayeed Malek of Brigham and Women’s Hospital (BWH), also a Harvard affiliate; and Robert Millman of Semma Therapeutics. All of the panelists are working together in the Boston Autologous...