Written by Ginger Vieira on January 12, 2021 â Fact checked by Maria Gifford
Dr. Denise Faustman. Photo by Rick Friedman/Getty Images
Denise Faustman, MD, PhD, is known in many circles as one of the most controversial figures in type 1 diabetes (T1D) cure research. Sheâs raised millions of dollars and waves of hope with her work but has also been effectively shunned by the research community. Yet she barrels forward with her innovative vaccine-based approach to a cure, never letting naysayers deter her.
This is her story.
Motivated as a child
Born in Royal Oak, Michigan, Dr. Faustman now leads the Immunobiology Laboratory at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) and Harvard Medical School in Boston.