congratulations
Please join us in congratulating Vrajesh Patel, a first-year pre-med Health Science student who was recently selected by the Emerging Scholars Program to conduct research under the mentorship of Dr. Todd Brusko.
His project, Defining the Role of CD226 Signaling in CD8⁺ T Cells in Type 1 Diabetes, focuses on understanding how immune signaling contributes to the destruction of insulin-producing pancreatic β-cells in Type 1 diabetes. He will investigate whether selectively removing CD226 signaling in CD8⁺ T cells reduces disease onset and immune infiltration in pancreatic islets using a non-obese diabetic mouse model. This work aims to clarify how targeted immune modulation could inform future therapies designed to preserve β-cell function and promote immune tolerance in autoimmune diabetes.
The Emerging Scholars Program encourages early undergraduate students who are interested in adding a research experience to their curriculum during their freshman or sophomore year to apply for this entry-level program.