Pediatrics

Research Overview

Type 1 diabetes is an autoimmune disease characterized by the T cell mediated destruction of insulin producing beta cells resulting in a life-long dependence on multiple daily insulin injections to avoid the long term complications of diabetes. Type 1 diabetes affects nearly 1 in every 300 people in the United States and the incidence is on the rise. Dr. Haller's research focuses on predicting, preventing, and reversing type 1 diabetes through a team approach that focuses on translating finding from the laboratory bench to the patient's bedside in a timely manner.

Dr. Haller is an active investigator in the NIH funded Type 1 Diabetes TrialNet, serving as the University of Florida principal investigator (PI)for the anti-CD20 studies and serving as the Chair of the Clinical Implementation Committee for The Environmental Determinants of Diabetes in Youth (TEDDY) study. Dr. Haller is also the PI of a novel study aimed at using autologous umbilical cord blood stem cells as a potential therapy for type 1 diabetes. In this study, children with recent onset type 1 diabetes receive an IV infusion of their own umbilical cord blood cells in order to determine of these cells can provide safe and meaningful immunomodulation that would protect remaining beta cells.

In addition, he is the PI of a pilot study which seeks to determine the potential of granulocyte colony stimulating factor (GCSF) to augment the autoimmune destruction of islets in patients with recent onset type 1 diabetes. Studies have already demonstrated that GCSF can prevent diabetes in animal models and these findings are now being tested in humans.

Dr. Haller has been awarded the Lawson Wilkins Clinical Scholar award, a JDRF innovative research grant, two NIH R21 awards, and a JDRF Early Career Clinically Oriented award to support his work in developing combination therapies for Type 1 diabetes. In 2008, Dr. Haller, and his colleagues Dr. Desmond Schatz and Dr. Mark Atkinson received the JDRF's highest award, the Mary Tyler Moore and S.Robert Levine Excellence in Clinical Research Award, for their team approach to developing therapies for type 1 diabetes.

About

Dr. Haller is currently an Assistant Professor of Pediatrics at the University of Florida. After completing his undergraduate education at Duke University, Dr. Haller returned to his birthplace of Gainesville, Florida where he completed medical school, residency training in pediatrics, and fellowship training in pediatric endocrinology. Dr. Haller first began working in Type 1 diabetes research during his first year of medical school and has since committed his academic career to developing safe and effective therapies for the prevention and reversal of Type 1 diabetes. Dr. Haller has published over 30 manuscripts and book chapters relating to type 1 diabetes.

Key Publications

Additional publications can be found in PubMed.

1. Haller, MJ, Winter, WE, DA Schatz. Autoimmune Polyglandular Syndromes. In: Pediatric Endocrinology (3rd edition). Mark Sperling (eds), Pg 770-787, 2008.
2. Haller, MJ, Rosenbloom, AR, and JH Silverstein. Type 1 Diabetes in Children and Adolescents. In: Pediatric Endocrinology. Fima Lifshitz (eds), Volume 1, 2006.
3. Haller, MJ, Atkinson M, and DA Schatz. Type 1 Diabetes Mellitus: Etiology, Presentation and Management. In: Pediatric Clinics of North America, Mark Sperling (eds), 52: 1553-1578, 2005.
4. Haller, MJ and DA Schatz. Screening for the Susceptibility to Type 1 Diabetes. In: Progress in Diabetes Research., Ashley Ford (eds), 2005.
5. Xue, S, CH Wasserfall, M Parker, TM Brusko, S McGrail, K McGrail, M Moore, M Campbell-Thompson, DA Schatz, MA Atkinson, and MJ Haller. Exendin-4 Therapy in New Onset Nod Mice Increases Regulatory T Cell Frequency. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences, In Press 2008.