Lakshini Weerasekera
PhD Student
Diabetes
Harry Perkins Institute of Medical Research
Australia
Biography
Our group is part of the world-wide Type 1 Diabetes Genetics Consortium, and led collaborative networks across Australia and the Asia-Pacific region in assembling resources to identify and characterise the genes which affect the risk of developing Type 1 diabetes. We also study animal models of type 2 diabetes and diabetes complications. Our work has resulted in the identification of genes affecting each form of diabetes in both humans and mice. We are now investigating ways that we can restore the ability to produce insulin by developing stem cell treatments.
Research Interest
Our area of expertise is understanding the genetic basis of diabetes (both type 1 and type 2) while we are developing several new initiatives.
