Federal Project Grant Award Summary

The National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK) awarded a $168,000 Project Grant to Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai on May 7, 2026, under the Diabetes, Digestive, and Kidney Diseases Extramural Research program (CFDA 93.847). This research project, titled "Targeting ChREBPbeta to Protect Beta-Cells from Metabolic and Inflammatory Stress in Type 1 Diabetes," will be conducted through February 28, 2028, and aims to investigate the pathological role of carbohydrate-responsive element-binding protein beta (ChREBPβ) in Type 1 Diabetes (T1D) disease progression and beta-cell dysfunction.

The grant supports biomedical research designed to advance understanding of beta-cell intrinsic stress mechanisms in T1D and evaluate the therapeutic potential of a novel small molecule compound (Compound 43) in protecting pancreatic beta-cells from metabolic and inflammatory stress-induced damage. The research encompasses two primary aims: characterizing the impact of ChREBPβ activation on beta-cell stress and survival under inflammatory conditions using human islets through transcriptomic and lipidomic profiling, and testing whether the novel compound can protect human islets from stress-induced injury. This investigator-initiated research contributes to NIDDK's broader mission to improve prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of diabetes through fundamental and clinical biomedical research.