Reprogramming Immune Tolerance for Regenerative Therapies
The Maehr lab is developing strategies at the intersection of stem cell biology, immunology, and functional genomics to engineer immune-compatible therapies for Type 1 Diabetes and beyond. They are particularly focused on immune education and immunocloaking approaches to mitigate the need for systemic immunosuppression in allogeneic cell transplantation.
They engineer tolerance-inducing cells and organoids from pluripotent stem cells, enabling patient-specific and directed immune education. In parallel, they are advancing functional genomics-based strategies to discover effective strategies to educate immune cells and protect them from autoimmune attack post-transplantation.
New Funding & Research Advance Dr. Maehr’s Work Toward T1D Stem Cell Therapies
Dr. Maehr was awarded NIH and Breakthrough T1D funding to develop novel ways to protect stem cell-derived islets from autoimmune attack. Together with a recent publication providing new insights into gene regulation, the lab is working to advance strategies to engineer safer, more durable stem cell therapies toward our goal of a curative treatment for people living with type 1 diabetes.
Dr. Maehr Named Co-Director of the Pappas Stem Cell Differentiation Core
The Diabetes Center of Excellence at UMass Chan Medical School named Drs. Sam Redick and René Maehr as co-directors of the Pappas Stem Cell Differentiation Core. Together, they will continue to advance stem cell–derived islet production and research, including gene editing to protect insulin-producing beta cells from autoimmune Type 1 diabetes. The ultimate goal is a cell-replacement therapy that won't require immunosuppressants.