My research is in Dr. Amelia Linnemann’s Lab at Indiana University School of Medicine. The Linnemann lab studies the relationship between oxidative stress and pancreatic beta cell function and survival. This is relevant to Type 1 Diabetes, an autoimmune disease that is associated with the specific destruction of insulin producing beta cells, because the immune system produces cytokines such as IFN-α and IFN-γ that have been shown to impair beta cell function through the induction of oxidative stress. To study this impact, we have stained a human beta cell line (EndoC-βH1) with dyes to measure mitochondrial reactive oxygen species production and mitochondrial function. After collecting baseline images with a confocal microscope, we determined if the cytokines IFN-α and IFN-γ cause changes in mitochondrial function and alter mitochondrial reactive oxygen species production. Image analysis was completed using the National Institute of Health’s Fiji image analysis software. The results of this experiment will establish a potential disease mechanism of IFN-α and IFN-γ in the development of Type 1 Diabetes by determining where mitochondrial oxidative stress originates, leading to the loss of pancreatic beta cell function.