Our unit develops knowledge, methods and strategies for early diagnonis, prevention and treatment of diabetes. This objective is addressed through projects that integrate basic research, preclinical development and clinical trials, and benefit from a multidisciplinary expertise in the fields of cell biology and pathology, animal models of disease and therapy, clinical biology and diabetology. A Functional Cytomics Core BioBank stores human samples and data in three sections, the Blood and Data Base, the Tissue and Histopathology Bank, and the Beta Cell Bank. Our projects are undertaken within the VUB-Diabetes Research Center, which includes also the VUB-units "Beta Cell Neogenesis" (BENE, head H. Heimberg) and "Differentiation" (DIFF, head L. Bouwens). They form part of the international Center for Beta Cell Therapy with its coordination unit on the VUB-medical campus. They offer master and PhD students a profound training with broad exposure to various disciplines in translational medicine.