UAB Comprehensive Diabetes Center (UCDC) Director Anath Shalev, M.D., presented the annual Ray A. and Robert L. Kroc Lecture to faculty and staff in the UAB Department of Medicine on February 12.
Shalev is the Nancy R. and Eugene C. Gwaltney Family Endowed Chair in Juvenile Diabetes Research and professor in the Department of Medicine Division of Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolism.
Shalev is a pioneer in the study of thioredoxin-interacting protein (TXNIP) in pancreatic islet biology and its role in diabetes.
In her lecture, “Development of a Novel Class of Diabetes Drugs,” she detailed her laboratory’s two-decade journey from identifying TXNIP to translating molecular findings into novel therapeutic approaches for diabetes.
One approach is the first-of-its-kind oral medication for Type 1 diabetes, TIX100, developed through TIXiMED, Inc., a UAB startup company that Shalev cofounded and serves as chief scientific officer of. TIX100 was cleared by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to proceed to clinical trials as an Investigational New Drug (IND) in 2024.
Shalev reported that Phase 1 human trials began in late January of 2025.
“We are excited that TIX100 was successfully dosed and well tolerated in the first cohort of healthy subjects in the first-in-human study,” Shalev said. “This is a significant milestone in our journey to develop a simple oral drug to improve the function and survival of the patients’ own insulin-producing beta cells.”
Shalev, who won the Award for Excellence in Entrepreneurship from the UAB Bill L. Harbert Institute of Innovation and Entrepreneurship in 2024, also shared important lessons in founding her startup company and encouraged other physician scientists looking to start similar endeavors to begin early and keep pushing forward.
“Dr. Shalev’s extraordinary journey—from discovering a key protein affecting beta-cell survival to developing a treatment and founding a company to deliver it to patients—stands as a testament to relentless hard work, innovation, exceptional foresight, and outstanding leadership,” said Fernando Ovalle, M.D., Professor and Director, Division of Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolism, and Associate Director, UCDC. “Her work embodies the very mission of the Kroc lectureship by pushing the boundaries of science to improve patient care.”
The Ray A. Kroc and Robert L. Lecture, established by the Kroc Foundation, honors (visiting) scientists who have made extraordinary contributions in the field of endocrinology, diabetes, and metabolism. The annual lecture is organized by the Department of Medicine Division of Endocrinology Diabetes and Metabolism in the UAB Heersink School of Medicine.
