Dr. Rebecca Hull Meichle

Biography

Rebecca Hull-Meichle is a professor in the Department of Cell Biology at the University of Alberta, where she holds a Canada Excellence Research Chair. She completed her Ph.D. at the University of Nottingham. Her research focuses on understanding the mechanisms underlying the development of diabetes, specifically investigating how the microenvironment surrounding pancreatic beta cells influences their function and contributes to diabetes onset. Her lab examines the interactions between exocrine and endocrine cells in the pancreas, emphasizing the role of exocrine tissue in maintaining islet function. The ongoing projects include studies on cystic fibrosis-related diabetes, exploring how mutations in the cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator (CFTR) affect pancreatic function. Hull-Meichle is also dedicated to understanding islet vascular health and the functional implications of vascular inflammation in diabetes. Her work aims to identify candidate molecules that can improve islet vascular stabilization, using mouse models and various methodological approaches such as gene expression analysis and spatial transcriptomics. Hull-Meichle's research provides new insights into pancreatic diseases and potential therapeutic targets.

Research Interests