This is a pilot study to begin examining whether ustekinumab, a drug typically used for psoriasis, has the potential to reduce or eliminate the need for insulin injections in people with recently diagnosed Type 1 diabetes. “As one of the first clinical trials to target the immune cells that cause Type 1 diabetes, we are hopeful that this treatment will be a step towards finding a way to stop or slow the destruction of the body’s own insulin-producing cells.” Dr. Jan Dutz, Principal Investigator We are here to answer questions about diabetes, what this drug could mean for people with Type 1 diabetes, why we are looking at repurposing what seems like an unrelated medication, and anything else you’d like to ask us. http://www.bcdiabetes.ca/type1study/ Dr. Tom Elliott: Since 1992, Dr. Elliott has been a faculty member at UBC, where his current rank is Clinical Associate Professor. He was Co-Director of Undergraduate Medical Education for the UBC Division of Endocrinology from 1992 to 2012, and chaired the Endocrinology & Metabolism Society of BC, the professional body representing all BC endocrinologists and diabetes specialists, from 2008 to 2012. Also since 1992, Dr. Elliott has been on the active medical staff at Vancouver General Hospital, as well as conducting a busy private office practice in Endocrinology & Diabetology. Dr. Elliott is Director of Clinical Trials at BC Diabetes. He has authored more than 50 scientific papers and is actively engaged in 15 ongoing research projects. Dr. Ashish Marwaha Dr. Ashish Marwaha is a clinical pediatric academic who was appointed as a Radcliffe Travelling Fellow of University College, Oxford to pursue a PhD, in which he identified a novel subset of highly inflammatory immune cells (Th17) were present in children with new-onset type 1 diabetes (T1D) (Cutting Edge: Journal of Immunology, 2010). He has taken an active role in obtaining funding, designing, setting-up and running the current clinical trial of ustekinumab that will block the Th17 pathway in T1D.