Dr Victoria Salem

Senior Clinical Research Fellow

Research Interests

islet biology, calcium imaging, diabetes and obesity, in vivo imaging

I am interested in the biology of the Islet of Langherhans, which are the hormone secreting microorgans of the pancreas, which are extremely difficult to visualise and study in vivo. Failure of the most abundant cell type in the islet, the beta cell, results in loss of adequate insulin secretion and diabetes ensues. Understanding the complex microenvironment of the islet, including its cellular topography, paracrine signalling between neighbouring cell types and blood flow is vital for the development of interventions that can more effectively prevent diabetes as well as the engineering of isletoids that can be transplanted as a treatment for the disease.