Dr. Jayne Danska’s immunogenetics research is aimed at understanding the molecular mechanisms behind human diseases including Type 1 diabetes, leukemia and lymphoma. Some of the current experimental approaches include the establishment of novel in vitro and in vivo models, positional cloning, gene expression microarray analysis, flow cytometry, cytogenomics, confocal microscopy, protein biochemistry, bioinformatics and human gene association studies.

The type 1 diabetes (T1D) research effort is based on the notion that the immunogenetic mechanisms behind T1D in laboratory animals will provide valuable insights into the mechanisms involved in human disease. As such, rodent strains have been established in order to identify candidate genes involved in T1D and to understand how these genes contribute to the dysfunction of pancreatic beta cells in the disease. Human gene association studies on the genes and molecular pathways identified in the rodent T1D models are then carried out on well-characterized populations of T1D families. This research effort has included two large-scale research projects involving collaborations across Canada, in the United States and in Sweden.

For more information see: http://www.diabetesgenetics.ca/principal_investigators/jayne_danska.html

Dr. Danska is also involved in a collaborative research program focused on leukemia and lymphoma. The research is aimed at understanding the developmental mechanisms of leukemo- and lymphomagenesis in mouse models and in humans, including studying the molecular pathways involved in lymphoid cell regulation, differentiation and survival.

Dr. Danska received a PhD in Genetics and Molecular Biology from Cornell University Medical College, 1983. Dr. Danska is a Senior Scientist at the Hospital for Sick Children, Genetics and Genome Biology, and Professor in the Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto, Departments of Immunology, Medical Biophysics and the Institute of Medical Sciences. Dr. Danska chairs and serves on grant panels including the National Cancer Institute of Canada, Canadian Institutes of Health Research, Canadian Diabetes Association, and the National Institutes of Health (US). She is recipient of a NCIC Scientist Award, and a Premier''s Research Excellence Award.