The San Raffaele Scientific Institute is pleased to announce that Fondazione Italiana Diabete, which has been operating since 2009 with the aim of accelerating the path toward a definitive cure for type 1 diabetes, has provided funding to support a new, innovative research study aimed at developing a novel cellular therapy for type 1 diabetes (T1D).

The funding, amounting to 50,000 euros, will enable our Institute to initiate a research program involving a collaborative effort between the Transplant immunology lab and the Experimental Hematology Unit (Prof Chiara Bonini), and will be conducted by Dr. Paolo Monti, the winner of the grant.

The project

The project focuses on developing a new cellular therapy for T1D based on regulatory T cells (Tregs), a subset of immune cells responsible for controlling autoimmune responses.

The primary role of Tregs is to monitor and suppress other immune cells, preventing them from mistakenly attacking the body’s own healthy cells. When the immune system becomes self-aggressive, regulatory T cells intervene to dampen or slow the immune response, thereby preventing the onset of autoimmune diseases.

Immunotherapy of T1D using polyclonal Tregs has already been proven feasible and safe but with some limitations in terms of Treg life-span and effectiveness. Monti’s group had already developed a novel Treg expansion protocol to improve performances (life-span and persistence) of Treg once infused in patients, but with this last project proposal, their aim is to impart Treg specificity for the beta cell antigen GAD65.

By combining the new expansion protocol and antigen specificity, Dr. Monti aims now to substantially improve the therapeutic effectiveness of Treg for a successful immunotherapy of T1D. In order to pursue this goal, the study aims to generate GAD65 specific Treg with improved life-span and persistence (IL-7/IL-15 expansion) for Treg therapy.

About Dr. Paolo Monti

Dr. Monti conducts research in the fields of type 1 diabetes, cellular transplantation, and cellular therapies, with the aim of controlling immune responses and restoring tolerance in both autoimmunity and transplant settings.

After earning a degree in Biological Sciences from the University of Milan, Dr. Monti obtained a PhD in Molecular Medicine from Vita-Salute San Raffaele University. He then gained international experience, working at the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute di Melbourne (Australia) and as a postdoctoral fellow at the Center for Regenerative Therapies in Dresden (Germany). In 2011, Dr. Monti returned to Italy to join San Raffaele, and a few years later, in 2015, he was awarded a Career Development Award della Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation, which allowed him to establish his own laboratory at our Institute.

Published on: 16/12/2025