Living with diabetes has been made easier with insulin pumps and medications. However, the risk of developing complications remains high, and a diagnosis of diabetic retinopathy, the most common diabetic complication can be scary and confusing.

Over the years, Dr Beli have made contributions into our understanding of the pathobiology of retinopathy by examining the role of inflammatory and progenitors cells. But most importantly, she has investigated the impact of diabetes on many daily oscillatory parameters, from microbiome rhythms, immune cell trafficking and retina's gene expression and found that intermittent fasting may be a good intervention to prevent diabetic retinopathy. In 2017 she was awarded the Advanced Postdoctoral Fellowship from JDRF and the JDRF transition award to start her independent work on how having diabetes impacts the circadian system.  

The current goal of the Beli laboratory is mainly the understanding of how circadian disruption impacts diabetic retinopathy.  We are focused in two main areas: 1) to undertsand how diabetes affects the retina pathways governing our circadian system and the individual cellular clock components of the retina and 2) to understand the impact of such disruption in the progression of diabetic retinopathy, using genetic, physiological and molecular approaches.  

Our short-term goal is to increase awareness of a dysfunctional circadian system in diabetes and provide evidence for its impact on the progression of the disease. 

Ultimately our long-term goal is to design interventions that will harsen modifiable environmental signals and behavioral patterns to protect from progression of diabetic retinopthy. Understanding the impact of diabetes on the rhythmic functions in the retina would also allow to design therapies targeting the circadian clock, chronotherapies and noninvasive lifestyle interventions for diabetic retinopathy.