Evening Lecture: Turning A New Leaf In Medicine - Craig Beall

About

*Turning A New Leaf In Medicine: Stem-Cell Therapies For Diabetes And Brain Health*

Part of the DEI's 2025-26 series of evening lectures, responding to the theme of "A New Leaf"

Join us for a drinks reception from 6pm. The lecture will start at 6.30pm and afterwards there'll be time for questions.

Stem-cell science is transforming the way we think about health, ageing, and the future of medicine. This lecture explores how innovative cell-based therapies could allow us to "turn a new leaf" in treating two of today's most pressing health challenges: type 1 diabetes and dementia.

Recent advances in regenerative medicine suggest that brain-derived stem cells could be helpful to protect pancreatic β-cells during transplantation but also reshape how we understand resilience in human biology. This approach could provide more durable therapies for people with type 1 diabetes, while simultaneously offering new insights into protecting brain health in ageing populations. By reimagining how we use and understand living cells, stem-cell technologies open the door to treatments that regenerate, protect, and redefine what is possible in human medicine.

Professor Craig Beall is an Associate Professor at the University of Exeter, whose research focuses on developing novel stem-cell therapies for type 1 diabetes. Funded by the Type 1 Diabetes Grand Challenge, his work investigates how brain cells may help to protect insulin-producing β-cells from immune attack. Alongside this, his wider research explores how stem-cell approaches can deepen our understanding of the brain, with the potential to inform future dementia therapies. His writing has been published in The Conversation, The Independent and ScienceAlert. He is a member of the British Associate of Science Writers.