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Jon Odorico is a Professor of Surgery at the University of Wisconsin–Madison and the Director of the Islet Core at the UW Comprehensive Diabetes Center. His research primarily focuses on pancreatic lineage differentiation using pluripotent stem cells, including embryonic stem cells and induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs). His laboratory aims to address critical needs in diabetes treatment by generating an unlimited supply of functional insulin-secreting beta cells to replace those destroyed in patients. He has pioneered a model for human pancreas development in vitro and continuously improved protocols for differentiating pluripotent stem cells into pancreatic lineages, resulting in glucose-responsive insulin-producing islet-like clusters. Recognizing the importance of organ-specific extracellular matrices (ECM) in influencing cell fates, he has developed innovative methods for decellularizing human pancreatic tissue, leading to the production of hydrogels that provide opportunities to study the interactions between the matrisome and stem cell-derived islets. In collaboration with Dr. Lingjun Li at the UW School of Pharmacy, Odorico's research investigates the matrisome and proteome of the normal human pancreas from fetal stages to old age, highlighting methods that combine human pancreatic hydrogels with human cadaver islets to enhance cell functionality. His work is crucial for improving the maturation and function of stem cell-derived islet organoids.
Department: Department of Computer Sciences