Dr. Bell’s research focuses on the genetics of diabetes mellitus. Ongoing studies in his laboratory include the genetics of type 2 diabetes in the Mexican American population of Starr County, Texas (in collaboration with Dr. Craig Hanis, Human Genetics Center, University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston), the effect of mutations in the insulin gene on insulin biosynthesis and pancreatic beta-cell function, the identification of modifiers of proteostasis in a novel Drosophila system expressing a mutant human insulin (INSC96Y) in different tissues (in collaboration with Dr. Martin Kreitmen, Department of Ecology and Evolution, The University of Chicago), and translation of discoveries in diabetes genetics to diagnosis and treatment (in collaboration with Drs. Siri Atma Greeley, Elbert Huang, Rochelle Naylor and Louis Philipson, Departments of Medicine and Pediatrics, The University of Chicago).