Greenstone Biosciences has been awarded a Breakthrough T1D Industry Discovery and Development Partnership (IDDP) grant to develop a T1D-derived islet cell platform aimed at understanding and protecting insulin-producing β cells in people with type 1 diabetes (T1D).
More than 9.5 million people worldwide live with T1D, and this number is projected to reach 14.7 million by 2040. Although T1D is caused by an autoimmune attack on the pancreas, people experience the disease very differently. Clinical and molecular profiling studies reveal substantial inter-individual variability, even among individuals with similar autoantibody profiles.
With support from Breakthrough T1D, Greenstone Biosciences will generate induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) from a diverse group of individuals with T1D and differentiate them into 3D pancreatic islet organoids — miniature, lab-grown structures containing insulin-producing β cells. These patient-specific organoids will be used to study how β cells respond to inflammation, metabolic stress, and potential protective therapies.
“We are honored to partner with Breakthrough T1D,” said Dr. Angelos Oikonomopoulos, Principal Investigator at Greenstone Biosciences. “This grant enables us to build a scalable, multi-omics discovery engine that connects patient biology to therapeutic innovation.”
“Human pancreatic tissue is limited, and animal models don't fully capture the autoimmune process that drives beta cell dysfunction and destruction in T1D. Together, these gaps have limited our ability to study islet cell vulnerability and develop therapeutic approaches to repair the process,” said Alex Bashore, Scientist at Breakthrough T1D. “We're excited to support Greenstone Biosciences’ efforts to build a valuable model based on a T1D-derived islet cell source that could become an important research resource for the entire T1D research community.”
“Greenstone Bio has built one of the most advanced human cell platforms in the field,” said Dr. Joseph Wu, Director of the Stanford Cardiovascular Institute and Co-Founder of Greenstone Biosciences. “Their ability to generate high-quality iPSC lines and differentiated tissues at scale will accelerate discovery and help uncover new therapeutic strategies for people living with T1D.”
The project will apply advanced multi-omics technologies — including single-cell RNA sequencing, chromatin accessibility mapping, proteomics, and metabolomics — to identify pathways that make some β cells more vulnerable than others. This approach will identify actionable pathways, predictive biomarkers, and therapeutic targets that cannot be resolved using any existing T1D model system.
All iPSC lines will be banked as a renewable resource for future research, and summary-level data will be shared publicly to support transparency and collaboration.
Greenstone Biosciences, Inc. (Silicon Valley, CA) is a biotechnology company based in the Stanford Research Park. Greenstone integrates AI-based drug discovery with clinical genomics and advanced iPSC and organoid platforms. Greenstone maintains the world’s largest human iPSC biobank with >2,500 patient lines spanning across diverse diseases, ancestries, and genetic backgrounds. Greenstone has extensive expertise in implementing New Approach Methods (NAMs), advocated by the FDA and NIH, for advancing human-centric therapeutic development. For more information, please visit: greenstonebio.com
About Breakthrough T1D, Formerly JDRF
As the leading global type 1 diabetes research and advocacy organization, Breakthrough T1D helps make everyday life with type 1 diabetes better while driving toward cures. We do this by investing in the most promising research, advocating for progress by working with government to address issues that impact the T1D community, and helping educate and empower individuals facing this condition.
