Testimonials

T1D TCR DATA REPOSITORY BUILD

• “Few aspects of biology are as diverse as the receptors expressed on T and B cells in the immune system that drive type 1 diabetes development. Identifying these signatures requires large datasets and community engagement, and for that, the(sugar)science has been instrumental.”- Todd Brusko PhD, Professor, University of Florida, Research Director UFDI
• “The type 1 diabetes T and B cell receptor repository is a landmark resource to understand human immunology during diabetes development that the(sugar)science has been instrumental in initiating through community engagement to share large datasets. The Repository holds promise to improve prediction of progression through the stages of type 1 diabetes with the potential to guide patient selection for current and future clinical intervention trials.” – Aaron Michels MD, Assoc Professor Pediatrics, Barbara Davis Center for Diabetes, University of Colorado. Special recognition: Aaron’s team was the first to add their data to the T1D TCR Repo.
• “the(sugar)science initiated and facilitated the expansion of the AIRR Data Commons through the T1D TCR repository build. This important project highlights the power of adopting community standards for curating, analyzing and sharing data, and is expected to lead to novel diagnostics and therapeutics for T1D and other autoimmune diseases.” – Felix Breden PhD, PI/Scientific Director of iReceptor Gateway
• “While it is typically challenging to have sufficient participation from investigators who have produced valuable TCR data in the initiation phase of the program, we are really lucky to have the(suga)science who facilitates the process of curating TCR data from a number of investigators studying type 1 diabetes.” – Maki Nakayama PhD, Associate Professor, Barbara Davis Diabetes Center, University of Colorado 
• “The new T1D TCR repertoire repository (Repo) is a tremendous resource for my work on antigen specific TCRs in T1D. The repository expands my ability to interrogate the use of shared TCR chains in relation to stage of diabetes, tissue versus blood, and potential for multi-specificity. The development of the T1D TCR Repo is due to the concerted effort of Monica Westley PhD and the(sugar)science in initiating the project, bringing the relevant individuals in T1D and iRepertoire together, and facilitating the contribution of sequences by T1D scientists in the field.”  – Karen Cerosaletti, PhD, Director, Center for Translational Immunology, Benaroya Research Institute, Seattle WA

 

ASK THE EXPERT Research Salons

• “It is my honor and pleasure to thank your team and you personally for your incredible “Ask the Expert” series. First of all, these brief interactive presentations are of the highest scientific value, where the best and most prominent scientists of the world could find one another and suddenly discover full understanding and kind support. Our team and I are very much impressed by the highest scientific level of presentations, we very much appreciated revealing most of our colleagues think alike, (which does not go without saying), and accept new ideas and approaches.  Second, this is our experience – due to your brilliant “Ask the Expert” project, our team already has found the real supporters of our ideas not only among our colleagues but also among diabetes patients and businessmen and there are more to come. Third, your project – is a great tool for establishing collaboration among scientists who study T1D and spreading the ideas among a growing generation of medical students, educators, and scientists. Our team remains your fan and continues to follow your “Ask the Expert” series with great interest.”  Shmuel Levit, MD PhD. CEO Levicure, Head of Institute of Endocrinology, Diabetes & Metabolism, Assuta Medical Center, Tel Aviv, Israel
• “Ask the Expert is a great opportunity to keep updated on the latest advancements in T1D research and to connect with scientists in order to find new and exciting collaborations. I personally recommend everyone with an interest in science to sign up for the (sugar)science newsletter and to stay tuned for upcoming events.”- Daniel Espes, MD PhD,  Associate Professor Uppsala University, Sweden, Co-founder of Digital Diabetes Analytics
• “the(sugar)science Ask the Expert series opened new avenues and research collaborations as well as connecting to trainees. Great pathway to share up-to-the-minute research!”- Laura Jacobsen, MD, Assistant Professor, Associate Fellowship Program Director,Pediatric Endocrinology, University of Florida
• “Dear Dr. Westley, I am writing to express my appreciation for the work that the(sugar)science has done. Your dedication to improving the lives of individuals with type 1 diabetes (T1D) has been a source of inspiration for me and others in our community. Personally, I have participated in the Ask the Expert series. This series facilitates collaboration among researchers in the field of T1D and serves as a valuable educational resource for trainees to learn about the latest advances in T1D research. I believe that the impact of your programs extends beyond the T1D community, as these interactive scientific conversations can attract the best and the brightest to enter T1D research. I am very impressed by the dedication and passion of your team, and I am proud to support your work. Thank you for all that you do, and for the positive impact that you are making in the lives of so many.” – Ping Wang, MD PhD, Asst Professor, Dept of Radiology, Precision Health Program, College of Human Medicine, Michigan State University
• “The(sugar)science is an important grass-roots movement bringing together the best global T1D researchers agnostically of institute and funding source. This creates opportunities for establishing connections beyond the standard boundaries, which will deliver better outcomes for people living with and at risk of T1D.”- Megan Penno, PhD, Research Fellow University of Adelaide, Australia, ENDIA Early-Mid Career Science Accelerator Award recipient from Helmsley and JDRF Australia

 

D-CHALLENGE (2021, 2022)

• “The DChallenge has emerged as a highly valuable learning platform for the members of my research team, serving as a means to acquire knowledge on diverse tools that can be applied in their scientific pursuits. Every week, the participants were introduced to a new tool and were highly motivated to employ it in their experiments, thus facilitating the refinement of their research approaches. Additionally, the platform provided a unique opportunity to work on a proposal, which further bolstered their intellectual and professional acumen. The award bestowed upon us has had a direct impact on our ongoing research in the field of Type 1 Diabetes (T1D). We remain deeply grateful for the support extended to us through this prestigious recognition.” – Emrah Altindis, PhD, Assistant Professor, Boston College, Adjunct Joslin Diabetes Center, Harvard Medical School
• “Competing in the DChallenge was a riveting experience. It led us to assemble a 4-person team hailing from 4 different institutions across the country and representing different fields of expertise to develop a hypothesis, analyze publicly available data to test it, and generate a path forward to using it to make an impact in type 1 diabetes. We became aware of many resources thanks to the D-challenge and shared great moments of brainstorming and discovery. New collaborations among us were started thanks to this experience. The D-Challenge also gave us the opportunity to present our ideas to an audience of academics, industry scientists, and venture capital investors. I highly recommend anyone interested in type 1 diabetes to participate in the D-challenge!” – Leonardo Ferreira, PhD, Assistant Professor, Medical University of South Carolina and Hollings Cancer Center
• “Our team’s participation in the DChallenge proved to be an immensely enriching experience. As interdisciplinary researchers, we were deeply honored to receive the “Outside T1D Award” in D Challenge for our approach in devising cutting-edge machine learning algorithms to identify potential therapeutic avenues for Type-1-diabetes. The DChallenge brought us together with amazing people from around the world, giving us the chance to learn from each other and grow as a community. Together, we’re making strides toward finding life-changing solutions for people with Type-1-diabetes.” – Hanrui Zhang, PhD. Candidate, Department of Computational Medicine and Bioinformatics, University of Michigan. Yuanfang Guan, PhD. Associate Professor, Department of Computational Medicine and Bioinformatics, University of Michigan
• “The DChallenge was a great opportunity that allowed us to develop and promote a hypothesis for Type 1 Diabetes. It was fascinating to see how many different angles we could take to approach this disease. Some groups focused on genetics, others on biology, experiments, software, and so much more. Our participation eventually led to an important and viable project for the lab, and one that we hope can make a real difference in the understanding of T1D etiology” – Ay Lab, La Jolla Institute of Immunology