Ann: I've been working in the field of type
1 diabetes research for a number of years
now. I am very passionate about wanting to
find a cure for type 1 diabetes because it
is a very significantly detrimental disease
especially in young children.
In type 1 diabetes the beta cells of the pancreas
are destroyed by an autoimmune process and
people must take insulin on a daily basis
to regulate their blood glucose levels.
Stephen: Diabetes mellitus is a major challenge
of course in our society. From next year onwards
it is going to be the major chronic condition
contributing to disability. The big challenge
in diabetes is the blood glucose levels become
elevated and that can cause damage to different
body parts and even in the short term make
people feel unwell, so it can cause short
term and long term complications.
Ann: The Centre for Health Technologies here
at UTS was established to bring together interdisciplinary
skills. We have excellent capabilities in
the areas of molecular biology, biochemistry,
microscopy, engineering and IT.
My approach to the problem of type 1 diabetes
is applying gene therapy. That is engineering
artificial beta cells to replace the pancreatic
beta cells, which have been destroyed by the
autoimmune process.
And we're tackling the problem from two directions;
one direction is we are directly delivering
the insulin gene to animal's livers and the
second approach we are using we have engineered
a insulin secreting human liver cell line
called the melligen cells which store and
secrete insulin and respond to glucose in
a normal fashion.
Stephen: Professor Ann Simpson's research
could well end up being a key to the cure
for type 1 diabetes. Professor Ann Simpson's
work is particularly focused on developing
cells that can sense glucose correctly in
the body and can appropriately release insulin.
With the bioengineering she is undertaking
and the studies and proof of concepts she
has undertaken, essentially she has been able
to demonstrate that she has produced cells
that can sense glucose in the body appropriately
and release insulin.
Ann: My research in gene therapy is basically
what one calls translational research it's
taking discoveries in the laboratories and
transferring them to the clinic to help patients.
It's what's called bench to bedside research.
We have partnered with a company called PharmaCyte
Biotech and their partner Austrianova have
a unique encapsulation system called Cell
in a Box. They're sodium cellulose sulphate
capsules, which will encapsulate the cells
and allow us to transplant the cells into
eventually humans. We should get good outcomes
from the patients and they will no longer
hopefully have to inject insulin and no longer
suffer from the chronic complications of the
disease.
Stephen: I think we are in an era where type
1 diabetes is going to be cured in our lifetime
and certainly within the next 5, 10, 15 years.
Professor Ann Simpson is certainly very well
recognized in the national and international
research community to have great integrity
in her area of research and in diabetes more
generally.
It is very clearly the case that she is contributing
in a major way to the international push for
a cure in type 1 diabetes and in particular
she has a niche role to contribute in the
bioengineered cells that can replace pancreatic
beta cells.
