Our group is focused on the study of the natural history of autoimmune type 1 diabetes. The overall goal is to prevent the immune-mediated destruction of pancreatic islet beta cells that leads to the onset of clinical type 1 diabetes and which occurs after the transplantation of beta cells into patients. In order to achieve this, we are engaged in the identification of markers identifying persons with diabetes-associated autoimmunity and high risk for developing diabetes, markers which are correlates of immune-mediated beta cell destruction, and therapies which can prevent beta cell destruction.