The emphasis of Dr.Russ`s research is on understanding the underlying molecular and cellular mechanisms resulting in autoimmune type 1 diabetes (T1D) in humans, with a focus on the insulin-producing beta cells. During his career, Dr. Russ successfully worked on different aspects of T1D, which led to several original and important contributions to the fields of beta-, thymus- and stem cell- biology. After completing his Diploma thesis in Heidelberg/Germany, Dr. Russ obtained his Ph.D. from Sackler School of Medicine at Tel Aviv University/Israel followed by postdoctoral work at the Diabetes Center at the University of California- San Francisco. Thereafter he established his independent research program at the Barbara Davis Center for Diabetes at UC- Anschutz Medical Campus. His lab employs state of the art human stem cell technology and primary human cell culture with genome engineering approaches to model and eventually treat patients suffering from diabetes. Dr.Russ`s long term goal is to find a cure for patients suffering from diabetes, maintain a productive and extramural funded research program, train and enable the next generation of scientists focused on T1D research; and take responsibility for developing and/or maintaining a cutting-edge diabetes research program.