Prof. Dr. E.J.P. (Eelco) de Koning

As a professor of diabetology and an internist-endocrinologist, I work in both the Endocrinology and Nephrology/Transplantation departments at Leiden University Medical Center (LUMC). My focus in patient care is on people with diabetes mellitus, particularly diabetes caused by the loss of insulin-producing cells (such as type 1 diabetes, T1D). I am involved in pancreas and islet transplantation for a small group of people with severe diabetes where functional cure can be achieved. I coordinate the national islet transplantation program, performed only at the LUMC, which includes both allogeneic islet transplantation (from deceased organ donors) and autologous transplantation (using a patient’s own islets when the pancreas must be removed due to a benign condition).
My research focuses on islet biology, stem cells, and islet transplantation to enable functional cure for a much larger group of people with T1D. Starting in 2025, I will lead the Cure One T1D research center at the LUMC to accelerate this work.

After returning from the Joslin Diabetes Center in Boston, where I gained experience in islet isolation, transplantation, and research into regeneration and pancreatic progenitor cells, I established the “Islet Group” at Leiden University Medical Center (LUMC) in 2006. This group initially focused on human islet biology, islet transplantation, and pancreatic organoids. In recent years, we’ve increasingly focused on generating new islets from pluripotent stem cells. This could provide an unlimited source of islets, potentially enabling treatment of many more people with type 1 diabetes.
This research fits well with the LUMC’s role as a center for regenerative medicine. Since the immune system plays a key role in transplantation, T1D development, and islet damage, we are bringing together expertise in immunology and transplantation in a new T1D research center. I will lead this center, “Cure One,” starting July 1, 2025.