Feyza Engin, Ph.D., joined the University of Wisconsin-Madison, School of Medicine and Public Health in October 2014 and is currently an Associate Professor in the Department of Biomolecular Chemistry. She is an affiliate faculty in Department of Cell and Regenerative Biology, and Endocrinology, Metabolism and Obesity Division of Department of Medicine.

Dr. Engin obtained her Pharmacy and Master’s degrees from Istanbul University School of Pharmacy. She received her Ph.D. degree in Genetics at Baylor College of Medicine with Dr. Brendan Lee, where she demonstrated for the first time that Notch signaling regulates both the terminal differentiation of osteoblasts and osteoblast-dependent osteoclast activity during skeletal development, and that dysregulation of these programs leads to bone disorders including osteoporosis, osteosclerosis and osteosarcomas.

Following completion of her graduate studies, she joined the laboratory of Dr. Gökhan Hotamisligil at Harvard University for her postdoctoral studies. There she demonstrated that endoplasmic reticulum stress and the aberrant unfolded protein responses in pancreatic β-cells play a critical role in the progression of autoimmune diabetes and mitigating endoplasmic reticulum stress pharmacologically can prevent type 1 diabetes in preclinical animal models.

In her laboratory, Dr. Engin and her team investigate how cellular stress shapes tissue homeostasis and immune responses, with a particular focus on stress-induced cell-to-cell communication. Dr. Engin is especially interested in defining how stressed and senescent β cells influence both innate and adaptive immunity to initiate and sustain the autoimmune responses that drive T1D. By uncovering the molecular mechanisms linking β-cell stress to immune dysfunction, her laboratory aims to identify new therapeutic strategies to preserve β-cell function and prevent or delay the development of T1D.

Honors & Awards

2028                 Lead organizer, Keystone Symposium “Islet Biology in Health and Disease”

2026                  H.I. Romnes Faculty Fellowship Award

2025 - 2027Co-Chair, American Diabetes Association (ADA) Scientific Sessions Meeting Planning Committee

2023                  Vilas Associate Award

2021                   Invited speaker, joint NIH NIDDK and Canadian Institute of Health Research (CIHR)-INMD Heterogeneity of Diabetes Symposium (The 100th anniversary of the discovery of Insulin)

2018                   Pathway to Stop Diabetes, Accelerator Award Finalist, American Diabetes Association        

2016                   Shaw Scientist Award

2016                   Rising Star in Diabetes, (HeIDi Award) nominee, Novo Nordisk - Helmholtz Diabetes Center

2014                   Career Development Award, Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation                                      

2014                   Research Scientist Development Award (K01), NIH NIDDK                                                          

2012                   Travel Award, Harvard School of Public Health

2011 - 2012         Vice President, Harvard School of Public Health, Postdoctoral Association

2010 - 2011          Publicity Chair, Harvard School of Public Health, Postdoctoral Association                                        

2007                   Young Investigator Award, American Society of Bone and Mineral Research           

2005                   Second Place Platform Presenter, Baylor College of Medicine                                                              

2001                    Travel Award, Istanbul University Research Fund