Juan Diez

Scientist/Consultant with 20+ years’ experience in Biomedical Research, including Cell Biology, Diabetes and Cancer, and more than 30 publications authored. Consultant with a proven track record of helping clients navigate the complexity of the federal funding grant system by providing project validation, scientific assessment and team coordination.

Research

• Coordination and planning of a clinical trial to test new transplantation site for cell replacement therapy.
• Establishment of a new facility core to isolate human pancreatic islets in order to provide human islets for research and clinical intervention.
• Setting up a preclinical model based on NHP to study pancreatic islet biology. Pioneering the autologous transplantation of pancreatic islets into the anterior chamber of the eye in NHP, and monitoring their engraftment and survival in vivo using confocal microscopy.
• Leading a human pancreas development project to determine the mechanisms by which endocrine cells cluster and form the mature morphology of human islet
• Writing manuscripts, grant applications, scientific reports and white papers.
• Generation of pancreatic progenitor cells from human embryonic stem cells in vitro.
• Characterization of islet formation during human pancreas development.
• Longitudinal imaging of islet organogenesis in vivo using mouse embryonic pancreas transplanted into the anterior chamber of the eye.
• Establishment of the eye model as an optimal platform to study tumor initiation, using imaging techniques.
• Writing successful grant applications (R01-NIH, Stanley J. Glasser Research Award and American Cancer Society Institutional grant).

Education

• Ph.D Universidad Autónoma de Madrid (1989 — 1994)
• BS Universidad del PaÃs Vasco/Euskal Herriko Unibertsitatea (1983 — 1988)

Companies

• Associate Research Scientist Gateway Institute for Brain Research (2021)
• Senior Innovation Consultant Inspiralia (2019 — 2021)
• Scientific Writer Inspiralia (2018 — 2021)
• Assistant Research Scientist Rumbaugh-Goodwin Institute for Cancer Research. Nova Southeastern University (2018 — 2019)
• Senior Research Fellow Nanyang Technological University (2013 — 2017)
• Adjunct Professor Broward College (2012 — 2012)
• Research Assistant Professor University of Miami (2005 — 2012)
• Ramon y Cajal Investigator Cancer Research Institute (2002 — 2005)
• Postdoctoral Associate Diabetes Research Institute, University of Miami (1999 — 2001)