Anath Shalev, M.D.Anath Shalev, M.D., director of the UAB Comprehensive Diabetes Center (UCDC), was invited to speak on novel approaches to protecting pancreatic beta cells at the Type 1 Diabetes Early Detection Summit 2026, hosted by the University of Birmingham in the United Kingdom on June 15-16.
The two-day conference brought together pediatric and adult diabetes healthcare professionals, researchers, and representatives from leading U.K. organizations and professional societies focused on the emerging field of early Type 1 diabetes (T1D). Shalev was among the internationally recognized experts invited to present.
Beta cells in the pancreas release insulin to regulate blood sugar. For more than two decades, the Shalev Lab has investigated the role of thioredoxin-interacting protein (TXNIP), a key mediator of cellular oxidative stress. The lab’s groundbreaking research has demonstrated that TXNIP contributes to beta cell death and pancreatic islet dysfunction, underlying drivers of diabetes.
These findings have led to the development of novel therapies designed to inhibit TXNIP. One such therapy recently received Investigational New Drug approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and entered a multiple-ascending dose clinical study in July 2026 after being shown to be safe and well tolerated in healthy subjects in 2025.
“From Birmingham, Alabama, to Birmingham, England, Type 1 diabetes impacts 9.5 million people worldwide,” Shalev said. “Targeting the underlying causes of the disease, including beta cell loss and dysfunction, early in its course could improve outcomes for both children and adults. I was honored to share and discuss with international experts how therapies now being tested in human trials have the potential to transform treatment for people with early-stage Type 1 diabetes.”
At UAB, Shalev holds the Nancy R. and Eugene C. Gwaltney Family Endowed Chair in Juvenile Diabetes Research and is a professor in the Division of Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolism within the Department of Medicine.