PhD Defence Dana Cook | Leuven Diabetes Lab

December 6, 2019

We proudly congratulate Dana Cook on the successful defense of the PhD thesis entitled “A novel Lactococcus lactis-based antigen-specific platform for the treatment of type 1 diabetes: Essential steps towards successful clinical translation.” The work was guided by Chantal Mathieu (promoter), Jeroen Raes (co-promoter), and Conny Gysemans (co-promoter). The examination committee was chaired by Geert Carmeliet (Clinical and Experimental Endocrinology, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium), with Gianluca Matteoli (TARGID, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium) serving as secretary, and included Mark Atkinson (University of Florida, Gainesville, USA), Ilse Rooman (Laboratory for Medical & Molecular Oncology (LMMO), Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB), Brussels, Belgium), and Susan Schlenner (Autoimmune Genetics, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium). This research represents an important step towards developing innovative antigen-specific therapies for type 1 diabetes and advancing their translation to the clinic. We warmly celebrate this achievement and wish Dr. Cook every success in the next stage of a promising scientific career.

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PhD Research Summary - Dr. Cook

This PhD project explored antigen-specific immunotherapies for type 1 diabetes in the non-obese diabetic (NOD) mouse model.

A short course of anti-CD3 antibodies combined with probiotic Lactococcus lactis producing proinsulin and IL-10 restored long-term normal blood sugar in over 60% of recently diagnosed mice, driven by regulatory immune responses. Biomarkers predicting success included residual beta-cell mass and autoantibody titers at therapy start.

In long-term diabetic mice, combining therapy with islet transplantation delayed or prevented disease recurrence. These findings supported the launch of a clinical trial testing the bacterial therapy alone or with teplizumab, bringing antigen-specific strategies closer to patients.

More information can be found via the link.

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