preventing, and curing type 1 diabetes. His earliest efforts focused on the use of autoantibodies, both anti-insulin and anti-glutamic acid decarboxylase (GAD), for that purpose. He was also amongst the first to describe cellular immune responses against GAD in both humans and the NOD mouse model of type 1 diabetes. He has extensively utilized NOD mice as a means to identify agents that could be translated to studies seeking to prevent or reverse type 1 diabetes but at the same time, has stated that such efforts need be approached with caution. His publication in the journal Nature Medicine noting the nearly 200 ways to prevent diabetes in that animal model elicited mixed responses from the research community. Atkinson was one of the first to propose “combination therapies” to prevent or reverse the disease, as well as the repurposing of existing treatments and agents already approved for other diseases and conditions. Atkinson has led or contributed to clinical trials utilizing several types of interventions to stop the progression of or reverse type 1 diabetes, including prophylactic insulin, GAD, cord blood, cord blood plus Omega-3 FA, granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (GCSF), and anti-thymocyte globulin (ATG) plus GCSF. Atkinson is currently leading an NIH funded clinical research trial aiming to assess immune function during different stages of type 1 diabetes. The goal is to learn more about the genetics and immune function of blood cells, diet, and viruses and how they relate to the progression of T1D. Atkinson is also active in studies assessing the human intestinal microbiome, pancreatic pathology, human pancreatic weight and beta cell development, as well as improving methods of data management. nPOD Atkinson is the Executive Director for the Network for Pancreatic Organ donors with Diabetes (nPOD) program, the world's largest "open access" biobank of human tissues from persons with or at varying levels of risk for type 1 diabetes. nPOD is funded by JDRF and The Leona M. and Harry B. Helmsley Charitable Trust. Through nPOD, Atkinson and other collaborators support research utilizing transplant-grade human tissues obtained from organ donors, including pancreas, spleen, whole blood, serum, lymph nodes, pancreatic lymph nodes, thymus, skin and bone marrow. The goal is to better understand the causes of type 1 diabetes and identify potential approaches to curing the disease. Atkinson has directed nPOD since its founding in 2007, it has and continued to support over 250 different investigators in some 200 research