David M. Harlan, MD
Co-Director, Diabetes Center of Excellence and The William and Doris Krupp Professor of Medicine at UMass Chan Medical School
Director, Breakthrough T1D Barbara Dewey Cammett Center of Excellence in New England
Clinical Care
While serving as chief of the Diabetes Division at UMass Memorial Health, Dr. Harlan increased volume and significantly improved the level of care in the adult diabetes clinic. He leads by example and constantly strives to improve care delivery systems. Dr. Harlan's patients benefited from his extensive knowledge of the disease and his willingness to listen to each individual and work together with them to develop a personalized and sustainable diabetes management plan. As an endocrinologist, he believes that the person living with diabetes is the most critical member of their care team.
Type 1 Diabetes Research
Over the past 40 years as a physician-scientist, Dr. Harlan has led basic and clinical research exploring the pathophysiology of diabetes. His current research studies are testing new therapies and investigating human biology related to diabetes and its treatment. Specifically, genetically modifying stem cell-derived pancreatic islets that can be transplanted into people with type 1 diabetes, without the need for immunosuppressant drugs.
Pappas Stem Cell Differentiation Center (SCDC)
The Pappas Stem Cell Differentiation Core, led by Sambra Redick, PhD, is part of the Harlan lab’s broader effort to advance cell-based therapies for type 1 diabetes. Since 2022 the Pappas SCDC has grown into a five-member scientific team dedicated to generating and refining human stem cell-derived islets (SC-islets). These cells support collaborative studies across both the Diabetes Center of Excellence at UMass Chan Medical School and the Breakthrough T1D Barbara Dewey Cammett Center of Excellence in New England, a multi-institution effort led by Dr. Harlan. By testing engineered SC-islets in novel “humanized” models, we are are working to better understand cell function, immune compatibility and the potential for curative therapies for people with type 1 diabetes.
In the News
JDRF Appoints Dr. David Harlan to Lead a New England Research Collaboration
Dr. Harlan's professional passion became personal when his son was diagnosed with gtype 1 diabetes, as mentioned in Spectrum News coverage of the JDRF (now Breakthrough T1D) appointing him as Director of their Center of Excellence in New England.
Additional News Coverage
Rachmiel Levine Award | City of Hope Levine-Riggs Diabetes Research Symposium
HLA Class II antigen processing and presentation pathway components demonstrated by transcriptome and protein analyses of beta cells from donors with type 1 diabetes
We resolved a three-decades-long debate by definitively showing that beta cells express these important immune pathway gene products
T1D Pathogenesis: Lessons Learned & Forgotten and Open Questions
This talk highlights progress made in diabetes treatments, comparing old vs. new ideas, and challenges common assumptions & dogmas about Type 1 diabetes