Board of Directors

Charles (C.C.) is Board Chair/ President of the Diabetes Research Connection and is a Research Scientist who has helped define the molecular mechanisms of human embryonic stem cell differentiation from pluripotency toward pancreatic endoderm.

Nigel is Vice President of the Diabetes Research Connection and is a UCSD professor of Pathology whose research is focused on therapies for diabetic neuropathy and neuropathic pain.

David, lawyer and entrepreneur, has had type 1 diabetes for over 60 years, and also has several family members and friends with the disease. He is a founder of the Diabetes Research Connection and currently serves as the Chief Financial Officer. David has been a tireless advocate and donor for diabetes research.

Vincenzo is a physician scientist who has dedicated his entire career to the study of a special class of proteins, referred to as “cell adhesion molecules”, that regulate cell-to-cell interactions in virtually all tissues in the body, including pancreatic islets. A major goal of his lab is to understand the function of these proteins as biochemical signals of cell-to-cell communication in stem cell-derived islet progenitors, in developing and in mature β-cells.

Alberto is a founder of the Diabetes Research Connection and serves on the Scientific Review Committee. He is Medical Director at San Diego Scripps/Whittier Diabetes Institute and Professor Emeritus of Pediatrics at UCSD Medical School.

Paige is an Industrial Designer and entrepreneur. She has been living with type 1 diabetes for nearly 30 years.

Felise is a licensed Clinical Psychologist retired from her private practice in La Jolla. She is a past President of Del Mar Community Connections and Past President of the San Diego Psychological Association. She has been living with type 1 diabetes for 57 years.

Amy’s son was diagnosed with T1D when he was 5 years old. She served on the Board of Directors and various committees for the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF) Chicago chapter for 10 years and was a contributing writer to Insulin Free Times. This is her second term on the DRC Board, and she has served as the Lay Person Review Committee Chair since DRC’s inception

Steve is the Partner and Former Intellectual Property Practice Group Leader at Sheppard, Mullin. He is also a trial lawyer with a focus on patent litigation. He is active on a number of professional, community, and charitable organizations including Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF), San Diego Chapter where he was a board member from 2008-2014. Steve’s niece was diagnosed with T1D twenty years ago.

Eric, an internationalist and business entrepreneur, is committed to finding better treatments and a cure for T1D.  His son Taylor was diagnosed with T1D as a child.  Eric is active in a number of T1D organizations, including most recently as board chair of the La Jolla Institute for Immunology.