"Since the late 1990s the Edmonton Protocol has provided hope as a human islet cell therapy for treatment of severe type 1 diabetes. Limitations of the procedure, including the limited supply of donor islet cells and the need for prolonged immune suppression, create the opportunity to optimize the protocol or use alternative cell therapies. The panel will discuss promising research advances in these areas."

Objective1:Present the state of the art and limitations of human islet transplantation.

Objective2:Highlight methods to address limitations, including improvements to the current protocol, application of genetically engineered cells, human stem cells and nonhuman islets for transplantation.

Objective3:
Provide insight into the role of the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation in accelerating global advances in research and facilitating translation to the clinic.