PhD Qualifying Examination by Yawen Deng, PhD Candidate
PhD candidate Yawen Deng recently completed her PhD Qualifying Examination with a presentation titled “Role of α–β Cell Interaction in Regulating In Vivo Islet Ca²⁺ Dynamics and Glucose Homeostasis.” Her research focuses on how communication between pancreatic α and β cells helps coordinate islet activity and maintain stable blood glucose levels. By studying islet Ca²⁺ dynamics in vivo, the project aims to better understand how intra-islet interactions are organized under physiological and diabetic conditions. Preliminary findings suggest that blood glucose levels influence islet Ca²⁺ rhythmicity, and that disrupted α–β cell communication may contribute to impaired insulin secretion and unstable glucose homeostasis in metabolic disease. This defense session marked a key milestone in her doctoral research journeys, with her proposed studies promising to provide a framework for using in vivo islet Ca²⁺ rhythms as a dynamic indicator of islet cell communication and may offer new insight into the mechanisms underlying diabetes-related islet dysfunction. Congratulations!