His research focuses on understanding inflammatory and oxidative beta-cell death leading to diabetes, and his discovery that proinflammatory cytokines cause beta-cell functional failure and destruction qualified him for the 1994 Oskar Minkowski prize of the European Association for the Study of Diabetes. He has been leading PI or co-PI of EU and JDRF (USA) basic science and clinical research grants, several international multicenter clinical studies and has had leadership roles in the data safety monitoring board/advisory boards in international multicenter clinical studies.