In honor of World Diabetes Day, the Diabetes Research Center of the Division of Endocrinology, Metabolism and Lipid Research hosted the 2025 Diabetes Day Symposium. The event took place on Thursday, November 6, at WashU Medicine’s Eric P. Newman Education Center. The symposium brought together scientists, trainees, and clinicians to showcase research, foster collaboration, and raise awareness of cutting-edge advances in diabetes research.
The event included around fifty posters, with participants from various departments and divisions, such as the Division of Cardiology; Division of Endocrinology & Diabetes; Division of Nephrology; Division of Nutritional Science & Obesity Medicine; Division of Bone and Mineral Diseases; Cell Biology and Physiology; Pathology & Immunology; Radiology; Psychiatry; Orthopaedic Surgery; Obstetrics and Gynecology: Center for Reproductive Health Sciences; Radiation Oncology; Biomedical Engineering; Physical Therapy; and the School of Public Health. Presenters also included extended Pilot & Feasibility program researchers from the Department of Molecular and Cellular Biochemistry, Barnstable Brown Diabetes and Obesity Center at the University of Kentucky College of Medicine.
Poster Winners
Basic Science
Guifang Dong, PhD
Mentor: Clay F. Semenkovich, MD
“Overexpression of Acyl Protein Thioesterase 1 in Pancreatic Islets Preserves Beta Cell Function”
Adrian Li, MD, PhD
Mentor: Fumihiko Urano, MD, PhD
“Leveraging Gene Therapy as a Potential Cure for Wolfram Syndrome: a Monogenic Model for Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus, Neurodegeneration, and Retinal Atrophy”
Marguerite Mrad, PhD
Mentor: Monika Bambouskova, PhD
“Immune-Progenitor Crosstalk in Regulation of Adipose Tissue Fibrosis During Obesity”
Sandip Mukherjee, PhD
Mentor: Brian Finck, PhD
“Adipose Tissue Nicotinamide Phosphoribosyltransferase Prevents Metabolic Dysfunction in Obese Mice”
Clinical / Translational
Dennis Tsagli, MD
Mentors: Joseph Steensma, MPH, MA, EdD and Maura Kepper, MPH, PhD
“A Silent Complication: Sex-Stratified Association Between Diabetes and Hearing Loss in Older Adults”
Will Wasielewski, BA
Mentor: Stephen Stone, MD
“The Molecular Pathogenesis of Familial Partial Lipodystrophy: Insights from iPSC-Derived Adipocytes and Human Adipose snRNA-Seq”
For a full list of poster presenters and abstracts, visit here.
Keynote Speaker: Mary Elizabeth Patti, MD
The Diabetes Research Center was honored to host, Mary Elizabeth Patti, MD, as the keynote speaker. Dr. Patti is an adult endocrinologist and physician-scientist at Harvard Medical School and the Joslin Diabetes Center. She is also Director of the Hypoglycemia Clinic and Co-Director of the Joslin Diabetes Research Center’s Molecular Phenotyping and Genotyping Core.
Dr. Patti’s research focuses on how early-life environmental and nutritional factors influence metabolic disease risk later in life and across generations, and on novel approaches to treat post-bariatric hypoglycemia. She received her MD magna cum laude from Jefferson Medical College, completed her residency at the University of Pittsburgh, and her fellowship at Harvard Medical School.
In addition to her research and clinical leadership, Dr. Patti has contributed extensively to the field through roles such as organizing a diabetes-focused Keystone Symposium, chairing the American Diabetes Association’s Scientific Sessions Planning Committee, and serving as a National Institutes of Health study section member. Her accomplishments have been recognized through election to The American Society of Clinical Investigation, the Association of American Physicians, and to Fellowship in both the American College of Physicians and The Obesity Society.
