Jason Gaglia, MD, MMSc

Principal Investigator

Dr. Gaglia’s research has been focused on immunology and type 1 diabetes. His accomplishments include cloning the immune regulatory molecule TIM-3, being a member of the National Institutes of Health Clinical Islet Transplant Program, and leading a clinical trial demonstrating the feasibility of using magnetic resonance imaging to measure inflammation in the pancreas with the development of type 1 diabetes.

Maria Koen, NP-C, CDE

Research NP/Sub-Investigator

Maria Koen is a Family Nurse Practitioner and Certified Diabetes Educator who has specialized in the care of patients with diabetes since 2001. Her clinical and research interest areas include management of Type 1 diabetes, advanced technologies including pump therapy and CGM systems and modalities aimed at prevention of diabetes.  In her role as a clinical research nurse practitioner, she conducts research focused on improvement in glycemic control and/or preservation of beta cell function in individuals with Type 1 diabetes. 

Christina Astley, MD, ScD

Sub-Investigator

Christina is a physician-scientist at Boston Children's Hospital with research interests in the drivers of type 1 diabetes remission and dysglycemia (supported by a K23 from the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases), as well as causal inference methods for understanding the origins of complex diseases. Her background is in pediatric endocrinology (MD from the Harvard-MIT Division of Health Sciences and Technology at Harvard Medical School, Residency and Fellowship at Boston Children's Hospital) as well as mathematical modeling and epidemiology (ScD from the Harvard School of Public Health). She is currently an Instructor in Pediatrics at Harvard Medical School, an Attending in Endocrinology at Boston Children's Hospital, and Affiliate Faculty of the Joslin Diabetes Center. 

Hannah Na, BA

Clinical Research Coordinator

Hannah is one of the Clinical Research Coordinator’s on Dr. Gaglia’s immunobiology research team at the Joslin Diabetes Center. She received her Bachelor of Arts degree in Computer Science with a minor in Molecular Biology from Bowdoin College in 2022. Hannah joined the TrialNet team in March of 2022, where she has been working on a variety of clinical trials studying type 1 diabetes in children and adults. Hannah was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes in 2016 and has previously worked in various diabetes research labs and as a camp counselor at the Joslin summer camp.

David Kim, BS

Clinical Research Coordinator

David is one of the Clinical Research Coordinator’s on Dr. Gaglia’s immunobiology research team at the Joslin Diabetes Center. He graduated from Boston College in 2021 with a Bachelor of Science degree in biology. Throughout his undergraduate experience, he worked under Dr. Emrah Altindis to study the effects of Parabacteroides distasonis on the gut microbiome in hopes to define a potential link between Type 1 Diabetes pathogenesis and the gut microbiota. His interest in immunobiology continues to inspire his work with TrialNet.