Funded in 2012 and awarded annually by the Division of Endocrinology, Metabolism and Lipid Research, the David and Deborah Winston Fellowship in Diabetes Research was created to support graduate students in diabetes and diabetes-related research that reside within laboratories of Diabetes Research Center members.
The 2024 Winston Fellowship awardees that have demonstrated significant potential in diabetes research are Ilana Olin and Marlie Maestas.
Ilana Olin
Olin is an MD/PhD student in the Immunology program, conducting research in the Peggy Kendall Lab in the Division of Allergy & Immunology. Her doctoral work investigates the roles of B cells and the microbiota in the development of type 1 diabetes. Specifically, she explores how Akkermansia muciniphila, a beneficial gut microbe, may play a protective role against type 1 diabetes. Throughout her graduate training, Ilana has shared her findings through poster presentations at both national and international conferences, such as the American Association of Immunologists Annual Meeting and the Immunology of Diabetes Society Congress.
Marlie Maestas
Maestas is a 5th-year PhD student in Developmental, Regenerative, and Stem Cell Biology, working in the Jeffrey Millman Lab. Her research focuses on identifying transcriptional regulators involved in diabetic-related stress in primary human islets. Using single-cell RNA sequencing, she examines cell-type-specific responses to endoplasmic reticulum stress and inflammation. Additionally, Marlie is conducting a whole-genome CRISPR screen to enhance the survival of stem cell-derived islets following transplantation into diabetic mouse models. Throughout her graduate training, she has presented her work at numerous local and international conferences. She is also a member of the Early Career Executive Council, participated in the Lucille P. Markey Special Emphasis Pathway in Human Pathobiology, and recently published her first first-author research and review articles.