Currently, three areas of active research are being maintained.

Autoimmune diabetes research: First research endeavors in this area involved application of a novel bone marrow transplantation procedure involving in vitro-grown hematopoietic stem cells to produce bone marrow chimerics between diabetes susceptible and diabetes resistant laboratory mice. Demonstrated that autoimmune diseases are prevented by altering the genetics of the bone marrow, and warned of the ability to transfer autoimmune diseases to recipients through bone marrow transplantation. (Both situations are now recognized as possible complications in human autoimmune diabetes.) More recently, our research has focused on the neogenesis of the endocrine pancreas. Our discoveries may represent the first time a complete organ has been regenerated in vitro from single stem cells, a process that has been accorded world-wide attention. First, presented at the 1995 American Diabetes Association, the 5th International Diabetes Workshop, and a special session of the 5th International Pancreas and Islet Transplantation Association meeting, this research has been covered by CNN, AP, and the BBC. Discussions have been initiated at both the University of Florida and Karolinska Institutet to look at the feasibility of using these in vitro-generated islets for implantation into diabetic patients.