Researchers in the Cedars Diabetes and Obesity Research Institute — led by its director, Richard Bergman, PhD — are examining the relationships between obesity, insulin resistance and diabetes. They are examining the mechanisms by which increased stored fat reduces the sensitivity of tissues, especially skeletal muscle and fat, to the hormone insulin. The researchers are studying why resistance to the hormone insulin predisposes individuals to diabetes mellitus, defined as increased blood glucose. Their goal is to identify compounds or procedures that can reduce obesity or that can suppress the linkage between obesity and insulin resistance, and between insulin resistance and Type 2 diabetes. The researchers are examining the mechanisms underlying beta cell failure and how failure of the pancreatic beta cells interacts with insulin resistance to cause diabetes. They are examining therapies for diabetes, including implanted devices to treat the disease, and including stem cell (regenerative medicine) approaches to compensate for reduced beta cell function. They are studying the importance of the gut-brain axis in glucose regulation, particularly with regard to the gut hormone GLP-1 and how signals in the abdominal portal vein are detected by specific sensors, and the role of these sensors in carbohydrate metabolism.