Sharon Baumel-Alterzon Lab

Our lab focuses on deciphering the impact of redox regulation in insulin-producing pancreatic beta-cells under both physiological and pathophysiological conditions. Our overarching goal is to uncover the molecular mechanisms by which oxidative stress regulates β-cell growth, survival, and function, with the aim of identifying therapeutic strategies to replenish and protect functional beta-cell mass in diabetes. 

• Saunders E.F, Schultz K.R, Lowe I, Anderson A. L, Bikkumalla V. S, Soto D., Tran N.Y, Baumel-Alterzon S, Knight J. D, Shearn C.T. Rapid Protein Carbonylation and Decreased Insulin Secretion Induced by Inflammatory Oxidative Stress Compounds. Free Radic. Biol. Med. 2026 242:320-332.
• Ling A, Schultz K.R, Knight J. D, Shearn C.T, Baumel-Alterzon S. Scars of oxidative stress: protein carbonylation and beta cell dysfunction in diabetes. Front. in Endocrinol. 2025 16:1722623.
• Heidery F, Lambertini L, Tse I, Dodda S, Garcia-Ocaña A, Scott K. D, Baumel-Alterzon S. NRF2 Deficiency Leads to Inadequate Beta Cell Adaptation during Pregnancy and Gestational Diabetes. Redox Biol 2025 24:81:103566.
• Baumel-Alterzon S, Katz S. L, Lambertini L, Tse I, Heidery F, Garcia-Ocaña A, Scott K. D. NRF2 Is Required for Neonatal Mouse Beta-Cell Growth by Maintaining Redox Balance and Promoting Mitochondrial Biogenesis and Function. Diabetologia 2024 67(3):547-560 (Featured on cover page).
• Katz LS, Brill G, Zhang P, Kumar A, Baumel-Alterzon S, Honig LB, Gómez-Banoy N, Karakose E, Tanase M, Doridot L, Alvarsson A, Davenport B, Wang P, Lambertini L, Stanley SA, Homann D, Stewart AF, Lo JC, Herman MA, Garcia-Ocaña A, Scott DK. Maladaptive Positive Feedback Production of ChREBPβ Underlies Glucotoxic Beta-Cell Failure. Nat Commun. 2022 30;13(1):4423.
• Baumel-Alterzon S, Scott K. D. Regulation of Pdx1 by Oxidative Stress and NRF2 in Pancreatic Beta-Cells. Front Endocrinol. 2022. 15;13:1011187.
• Baumel-Alterzon S, Katz S. L, Brill G, Jean-Pierre C, Li Y, Biswal S, Garcia-Ocaña A, Scott K. D. NRF2 Regulates Beta-Cell Mass BY Suppressing Beta-Cell Death and Promoting Beta-Cell Proliferation. Diabetes 2022 1;71(5):989-1011.
• Andrei, S.R., Bosma, K.J., Smith, A.A., Katz, L.S., Dunn, J.C., Ricciardi, V.F., Ramirez, M.A., Baumel-Alterzon, S., Pace, W.A., Thomas, D.C., Overway, E.M., Wolf, E.M., Kimple, M.E., Sheng, Q., Scott, D.K., Breyer, R.M., and Gannon, M. 2021. Pharmacological Blockade of the EP3 Prostaglandin E2 Receptor Promotes Beta-Cell Mass and Identity in the Setting of Diabetes. Mol Metab. 2021 54:101347.
• Baumel-Alterzon S, Katz S. L, Brill G, Garcia-Ocaña A, Scott K. D. Nrf2: The Master and Captain of Beta Cell Fate. Trends Endocrinol Metab. 2021. 32:7-19.
• Katz S. L, Baumel-Alterzon S, Scott K. D, Herman A. M. Adaptive and Maladaptive Roles for ChREBP in the Liver and Pancreatic Islets. J Biol Chem. 2021. 296:100623.
• *Rosselot C, *Baumel-Alterzon S, Li Y, Brill G, Lambertini L, S. Katz L, Lu G, Garcia-Ocaña A, Scott K. D. The Many Lives of Myc in the Pancreatic Beta-Cell. J Biol Chem. 2020. 296:100122. *Co-first authors.
• Molgora B, Mukherjee S, Baumel-Alterzon S, Santiago F, Muratore K, Sisk A; Mercer F, Johnson P. J. Trichomonas vaginalis Adherence Phenotypes and Extracellular Vesicles Impact Parasite Survival in a Novel In Vivo Mice Model. PLOS Negl. Trop. Dis. 2023 17(10):e0011693.
• Shahi P, Vanunu S, Avrahami A, Nagaraja S, Baumel-Alterzon S, Hertz R, Trebicz-Geffen M, and Ankri S. N-acetyl Ornithine Deacetylase Moonlighting Activity is Involved in the Adaptation of Entamoeba histolytica to Nitrosative Stress. Sci Rep. 2016. 3;6:36323.
• Shahi P, Trebicz-Geffen M, Nagajara S, Baumel-Alterzon S, Hertz R, Ankri S. Proteomic Identification of Oxidized Proteins in Entamoeba histolytica by Resin-Assisted Capture; Insights into the Role of Arginase in Resistance to Oxidative Stress. Plos Negl. Trop. Dis. 2015. 10(1): e0004340.
• Baumel-Alterzon S, Ankri S. Entamoeba histolytica Adaptation to Glucose Starvation: a Matter of Life and Death. Curr Opin Microbiol 2014. 20:139-45.
• Baumel-Alterzon S, Weber C, Guillén N, Ankri S. Identification of Dihydropyrimidine Dehydrogenase as a Virulence Factor Essential for the Survival of Entamoeba histolytica in Glucose-Poor Environments. Cell Microbiol. 2012. 15(1):130-44.