Quinn P. Peterson

Quinn P. Peterson, Ph.D., is an Assistant Professor of Physiology at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota. He holds dual administrative appointments as Senior Associate Consultant I-Research in the Department of Physiology & Biomedical Engineering and in the Division of Endocrinology, Diabetes, Metabolism, and Nutrition within the Department of Internal Medicine. His research is centered at the intersection of regenerative medicine and diabetes therapy.

• Institution: Mayo Clinic
• School: College of Medicine and Science
• Department: Department of Physiology & Biomedical Engineering
• Research Center: Center for Regenerative Biotherapeutics

Dr. Peterson earned his Ph.D. in Biochemistry from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and completed a prestigious postdoctoral fellowship at Harvard University, supported by the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF). He is a former member of the NIH’s Human Islet Research Network (2014–2017).

His research focuses on building human islets as a cell replacement therapy for type 1 diabetes. Key areas include:

• Directed differentiation of stem cells into pancreatic alpha and beta cells
• Bottom-up engineering of functional islet organoids
• Small molecule screening for novel diabetes therapeutics
• Transplantation studies to develop clinical cell therapies

His publication record includes high-impact studies in Cell, Nature, Nature Medicine, and Nature Communications. These works demonstrate a consistent trajectory toward understanding and engineering functional human islet cells, with implications for both type 1 and type 2 diabetes treatment. His recent work expands into regulatory science, cryopreservation, and microfluidic platforms for stem cell applications.

Scientific awards and recognitions include:

• JDRF Postdoctoral Fellowship (2011–2014)
• Biochemistry Trust of Urbana Award, University of Illinois (2013)
• Member, Human Islet Research Network, NIH (2014–2017)

Dr. Peterson leads an active research lab contributing to drug discovery, islet regeneration, and translational regenerative biotherapeutics. His work is supported by institutional and collaborative grants, though specific funding details are not listed. He collaborates extensively with leaders in stem cell and diabetes research, including Douglas Melton’s group at Harvard. He is involved in clinical trial research and postdoctoral training programs at Mayo Clinic, contributing to the development of future scientists in regenerative medicine.

His lab is part of the Center for Regenerative Biotherapeutics’ Islet Regeneration Program, where multidisciplinary teams work on advancing stem cell-derived islets toward clinical application. The lab leverages 3D culture systems, tissue engineering, and functional screening platforms to develop scalable and transplantable islet cell products.