Manami Hara PhD

Dr. Hara's research focuses on the identification and characterization of the cells that define the lineage that gives rise to the pancreatic beta cell. She has generated a series of lines of transgenic mice expressing various fluorescent proteins under the control of a series of transcription factor and other promoters that characterize different cell types in the beta cell lineage. She is using these genetically tagged cells to define the patterns of gene expression that characterize each cell type. These studies may lead to the identification of the stem cell that gives rise to the pancreatic beta cell and thereby open up new avenues for treating diabetes.