Mary Loeken

Mary Loeken is an Investigator in the Section on Islet Cell and Regenerative Biology at the Joslin Diabetes Center and an Associate Professor in the Department of Medicine at Harvard Medical School. She holds a Ph.D. in Reproductive Endocrinology and is affiliated with Harvard University.

• B.A. in Biology from Gonzaga University
• Ph.D. in Reproductive Endocrinology from University of Maryland School of Medicine

Her research explores the molecular causes of diabetic embryopathy, focusing on how maternal hyperglycemia leads to congenital malformations like neural tube defects. Using a mouse model of diabetic pregnancy, she investigates biochemical pathways disrupted by glucose metabolism, gene regulation during neural tube closure, and apoptosis in embryonic development. Her lab has also developed mouse embryonic stem cell lines under physiological conditions to study metabolic and molecular responses to glucose exposure, aiming to advance detection and treatment of diabetes-related congenital defects.