Lectures and seminars MEB seminar: Dr Lowri Allen, Cardiff University
Title: Relative maternal protection against type 1 diabetes
Speaker
Dr Lowri Allen, Cardiff University, Wales, United Kingdom
Abstract
Type 1 diabetes is a multifactorial disease with a strong genetic component. Individuals with an affected first-degree relative are at 8-15 times higher risk of type 1 diabetes as compared with the background population. However, the risk is lower (around half) if the affected first-degree relative is the mother rather than the father or sibling. Whilst this phenomenon of so called relative maternal protection against type 1 diabetes in offspring is well established in the field of type 1 diabetes, the mechanism underpinning this phenomenon is not understood. I will present an overview of the research I have undertaken during my PhD, which aims to further our understanding of the extent of this relative maternal protection, and to gain novel insights into the underlying mechanism.
Host: Viktor Ahlqvist