News

2026

• New Publication in Diabetes! Congratulations to Dr. Ahmed Lotfy on the publication of his first-authored research article, “Protective Effects of PD-L1–Overexpressing MSCs and Their Derived Extracellular Vesicles in Type 1 Diabetes”, in Diabetes, a leading journal of the American Diabetes Association. The study demonstrates that engineered mesenchymal stromal cells (MSCs) and their extracellular vesicles can suppress harmful immune responses, promote immune tolerance, and protect pancreatic islets. Importantly, these treatments significantly delayed the onset of type 1 diabetes in a preclinical mouse model, highlighting their potential as promising cell-based and cell-free therapeutic strategies.

     Read the full article: https://doi.org/10.2337/db25-0732

• New Publication! Congratulations to Ramy and Lexi , undergraduate researchers in the Lotfy Lab, on the publication of their co-first-authored review article, “Biomaterial-Based Regulation of Mesenchymal Stromal Cell Hepatic Differentiation for Liver Regeneration,” in Bioengineering.

     Read the full article: https://doi.org/10.3390/bioengineering13101157

• Graduate Research Award! Congratulations to Sydney Rodell on receiving the HMCSE Graduate Research Award in recognition of her research achievements.

• 3-Minute Thesis Competition! Sydney Rodell participated in the Three Minute Thesis (3MT) Competition, presenting her research to a broad audience.

• Undergraduate Research Symposium! Evamaria and Ramy Hinna presented their research at the UWF OUR Symposium, showcasing their scientific work.

2025

• Undergraduate Research Grant! Congratulations to Evamaria and Ramy Hinna on receiving Office of Undergraduate Research (OUR) grants to support their research projects.