Sylvia Kehlenbrink

Balamurugan N. Appakalai
Professor
Dept. of Surgery
Director
Islet Cell Laboratory, University of Louisville, Kentucky
United States of America

About Faculty

Dr. Appakalai N. Balamurugan

Dr. Balamurugan, an “isletologist” for the past 30 years, has focused his research career on advancing pancreatic islet cell isolation and transplantation for the treatment of type-I diabetes and surgery-induced diabetes.

He is a principal investigator in the Center for Clinical and Translational Research at Nationwide Children’s Hospital in Columbus, Ohio. He has established advanced islet manufacturing protocols for clinical auto- and allo-islet transplantations, which have been incorporated into NIH-Clinical Islet Transplant (CIT) Consortium Phase III clinical trials and Clinical Auto-transplant Programs worldwide.

Dr. Balamurugan has worked to improve islet microcirculation by stimulating intra-islet endothelial cells and studying the cross-talk between endothelial cells and beta cells. His research also includes utilizing type II diabetic islets, microvascular fragments, stromal vascular fraction cells, and ductal cells to advance islet biology.

International Faculty