Description
Dr. Screaton’s research focuses on finding cures for type 1 and type 2 diabetes through understanding how human cells respond to extracellular cues to maintain and ensure their function and survival. A central focus is to better understand how the pancreatic beta cell converts feeding cues into signals leading to insulin synthesis and secretion. His lab uses high-throughput functional genomic imaging screens to identify novel players involved in cell signaling pathways that control human pancreatic beta cell proliferation. In addition, he is interested in the function and quality control of mitochondria, critical subcellular organelles essential for cell function and survival. To identify novel gene products and signal transduction mechanisms that are involved in β cell biology, he employs biochemical, cell biological, proteomic and functional genomic approaches, and generate animal models to test the role of these genes in islet function and glucose metabolism in vivo.
