Matthias Hebrok, PhD is Hurlbut-Johnson Distinguished Professor in Diabetes Research and Director of the Diabetes Center at the University of California, San Francisco. He received his Diploma degree in Cell Biology from the Albert-Ludwigs University, performed his PhD thesis at the Max-Planck-Institute, and conducted his postdoctoral research at HHMI at Harvard University. His laboratory has made seminal contributions to our understanding of how embryonic signals control the fetal development of the pancreas and its insulin-producing beta cells. His recent work has implemented the information gained from these studies to generate functional beta cells from human stem cell populations for cell therapy purposes. He is the recipient of several honors and awards, including the JDRF Scholar Award and the Gerold & Kayla Grodsky Award honoring outstanding scientific contributions to diabetes research. He advises academic Diabetes Centers in the US and serves on the SAB of several biotech and stem cell companies. Dr. Hebrok has served as the Chair of the NIH Cellular Aspects of Diabetes and Obesity (CADO) study section and was a Member of the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK) Diabetes Mellitus Interagency Coordinating Committee (DMICC). He currently is a Member of the Research Advisory Committee for the JDRF.