Clayton E. Mathews, PhD
Associate Professor
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Dept. of Pathology, Immunology and Laboratory Medicine |
Currently Involved In:
Despite continuing improvements in the ability to treat individuals
with type 1 diabetes (commonly referred to as juvenile diabetes), the need
to identify a true cure for the disease remains. In an attempt to meet this
need, Dr. Clayton Mathews performs studies seeking to improve our collective
understanding on the means by which type 1 diabetes develops, both in humans
as well as in mouse models of the disease. His efforts are extremely novel
in that while the majority of type 1 diabetes researchers addressing the
notion of how the disease develops focus on identifying defects in cells of
the immune system, the guiding hypothesis of Dr. Mathews¹ research is that
insulin secreting pancreatic beta cells are active contributors to the
processes that leads to type 1 diabetes. This concept was birthed through
early works by Dr. Mathews, demonstrating that beta cells had unusual
reductions in their self-defense mechanisms and that this reduction was
important in the initiation of type 1 diabetes. Later his studies
demonstrated that beta cells from different strains of mice varied in their
resistance to destruction by the immune system. These novel findings proved
to be highly influential to the research community since prior to these
efforts, evidence suggesting that beta cells could resist immune destruction
did not exist. These findings also led Dr. Mathews to postulate that
genetic factors related to this feature may underlie natural resistance to
type 1 diabetes; a concept for which has recently found support. Dr.
Mathews¹ continuing attempts to discover genes that beta cells naturally
employ to ward off destructive mechanisms used by the immune system will
undoubtedly have important ramifications for efforts in organ
transplantation, stem cell engineering, and pharmacological based studies
seeking to cure type 1 diabetes.
Related Links:
University of Florida Center for Immunology and Transplantation
American Diabetes Association
Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation
Islet Cell Resource Centers
The National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases