Laboratory of Dr. Vira Kravets at UCSD

Our goal is to understand the reasons behind the disproportionate control which insulin-producing β-cell subpopulations exert over pancreatic islet function. We aim to discover patterns of functional β-cell network plasticity in health and disease.

Methods:

We are implementing novel 2-photon laser ablation,

quantitative imaging techniques,

computational models of islet electrophysiology,

calcium imaging of living mouse tissues,

optogenetic neuron stimulation in vivo in zebrafish,

human pancreatic samples from human donors with and without diabetes.