This area provides us an enormous amount of hope but still requires, unfortunately, a considerable amount of concrete scientific effort before it can be used for therapeutic purposes in humans. We not only invited scientists from academia but also scientists from every single company we knew working on encapsulation technology. An understanding of the biology of beta cells was essential. Animal models of autoimmunity were going to be important as we move rapidly towards clinical therapy. We are going to have to understand better the nature of the autoimmune process in the context of diabetes, which may destroy those precious cells we are implanting.
Most laboratories only have access to in- vitro or to animal technology.
While there are centers specializing in this technology, we feel they could become JDF core laboratories, providing these precious materials to the scientific community. We have already acted on applications received in this area and funded two such centers, one at the University of Miami and the other at the University of Minnesota. We need to move forward realistically on developing clinical trials without immunosuppression. Transplantation must be safe. Transplantation cannot itself be as bad as the diabetes it is trying to cure.