Daniela Nasteska

Daniela is an islet biologist exploring the pathophysiology of type 2 diabetes. Type 2 diabetes is a life-long disease affecting more than 10% of the world population and imposing significant socio-economic burden onto societies world-wide. The disease develops due to a poor release of/lack of responsiveness to the hormone insulin, which regulates normal blood sugar levels. Daniela's current research focuses on protein synthesis dynamics in pancreatic islets. As a fundamental process, protein synthesis in the islet insulin-secreting cells sustains their structure and function. Daniele's work aims to clarify the mechanisms that define total protein turnover, thus widening drug treatment options and improving insulin-secreting cell function and survival. She is also interested in circadian regulation of pancreatic islet physiology. The goal is to establish specific day/night-dependent mechanisms in islet responsiveness to food and drugs, thus understanding how such rhythmicity affects drug effectiveness in type 2 diabetes.