Current research focus of the Gaisano lab involves:
- SNAREs interactions with Kv, KATP and Ca2+ channels forming ‘excitosomes,’ and their involvement in insulin granule exocytotic machinery for predocked (first phase insulin secretion) and newcomer granules (second phase insulin secretion), and how such insights reveal rescue strategies for insulin secretory deficiency in Type 2 Diabetes.
- Islet alpha cell crosstalk with beta and delta cells in health and dysregulation in Type 1 Diabetes.
- Using experimental models, we observe the behaviour of implanted human islets to assess islet biology in Type 1 Diabetes and Type 2 Diabetes over a long duration and their response to novel treatment strategies, regenerative medicine and islet re-engineering strategies.
- The role of the intestinal microbiome in metabolic syndrome specifically affecting the liver and adipose tissues.
- Preparing thin tissue slices from livers at different stages of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease obtained from patients undergoing bariatric surgery for assessment of the cellular mechanisms of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease and the mechanisms of action of several classes of diabetic drugs.
- Elucidating the mechanisms of pancreatitis attributed to pathologic exocytosis and autophagy.