Contact
Joana Almaca, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor of Medicine
Batchelor Building
1580 NW 10th avenue
Room #607
Miami, FL, 33136
Research ongoing in the Almaça’s lab focuses on understanding the role of blood vessels in pancreatic islet biology.
Research Projects
Pancreatic islets are highly vascularized endocrine mini-organs that secrete glucoregulatory hormones - insulin and glucagon - into the bloodstream. In my lab, we are currently (a) characterizing the cellular and molecular mechanisms that control islet blood perfusion, (b) determining the impact of this vascular control on plasma levels of islet hormones, and (3) whether changes in the islet vasculature contribute to diabetes pathogenesis.