Examining the effect of reducing IGF-1 receptor expression in late outgrowth endothelial progenitor cells from insulin resistant humans
Dr Richard Cubbon, a BHF Intermediate Clinical Research Fellow, at the University of Leeds, has been awarded a grant totalling nearly £170,000 to allow his team to investigate the link between diabetes and cardiovascular disease. They will undertake fascinating research in the area of regenerative medicine. They will collect stem cells from blood samples of patients with diabetes and modify the genes expressed by the cells, to see if this enhancement allows these cells to repair damaged blood vessels. This research is important because of the high occurrence of diabetes in the UK today. These patients are at a particularly high risk of developing heart or circulatory disease later on. One characteristic of diabetes is that it disrupts the normal function of blood vessel stem cells, meaning they are less able to perform the important task of repairing blood vessels – putting patients at risk of heart and circulatory disease. Therefore a highly desirable outcome of this research would be to restore the normal function of a patient’s stem cells.
Project details
| Grant amount | £183,901 |
|---|---|
| Grant type | Fellowships |
| Application type | Clinical Research Training Fellowship |
| Start Date | 01 August 2014 |
| Duration | 3 years |
| Reference | FS/14/10/30472 |
| Status | Complete |
