Dr. Jenny Bruin’s project was one of 35 to receive funding from Diabetes Canada.
Dr. Bruin is investigating whether cisplatin, a medication commonly used to treat different cancers, has unintended side effects on pancreatic beta cells, leading to increased diabetes risk in cancer survivors.
Dr. Bruin has three goals:
1. Investigate how cisplatin disrupts insulin secretion in beta cells.
2. Treat lean and obese mice with either a placebo solution or cisplatin for 2 weeks and assess their long-term metabolic and beta cell health outcomes.
3. Test whether a dietary intervention or treatment with a metformin, a type 2 diabetes medication, at the same time as chemotherapy, protects mice from cisplatin-induced diabetes.
Dr. Bruin’s work will provide insight into how anti-cancer drugs negatively impact beta cell health. By better understanding how these drugs disrupt beta cells, she hopes to design targeted treatments to protect beta cell health and function and reduce the risk of diabetes in cancer survivors.
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