Federal Cooperative Agreement Summary

The University of Wisconsin-Madison received a Cooperative Agreement valued at $757,946 from the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK) under the Diabetes, Digestive, and Kidney Diseases Extramural Research program (CFDA 93.847), effective April 10, 2026, through March 31, 2030. This award funds research aimed at defining the heterogeneity of stress-induced beta cell senescence programs in Type 1 Diabetes (T1D). The research addresses a critical knowledge gap regarding protective and pathogenic senescent beta cell subsets that accumulate during T1D pathogenesis in both animal models and human patients.

Under this cooperative agreement, the University of Wisconsin-Madison will conduct biomedical research investigating how different cellular stressors initiate distinct senescence programs in pancreatic beta cells with divergent effects on T1D progression. The project will examine context-dependent heterogeneity of beta cell senescence, comparing pathogenic senescent cells that promote islet inflammation with protective senescent cells marked by secretomes that promote immune clearance. Research outputs will advance the scientific understanding of beta cell stress responses and senescence mechanisms, contributing to the identification of novel therapeutic targets for diabetes intervention and supporting the NIDDK's mission to improve prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of diabetes through basic and clinical biomedical research.