Dr. Ipp is Professor of Medicine and Head of the Section of Diabetes and Metabolism. His primary research interest has been the physiology of hormone secretion in the islets of Langerhans. Current goals of the lab are studies of early beta cell dysfunction. One focus of this effort is work at a basic and clinical level on oscillatory phenomena involved in the secretion of insulin and the regulation of carbohydrate metabolism. Another is the study of islet dysfunction in subjects at-risk for type 2 diabetes mellitus and applying genetic approaches to identify these individuals. This includes clinical studies in which families and sib pairs with type 2 diabetes are collected. Also patients representing unique clinical subtypes of type 2 diabetes are phenotyped in detail and candidate genes explored. Possible genetic and phenotypic overlap between type 1 and type 2 diabetes is also being evaluated. Other clinical studies include the development of improved methods for the evaluation of insulinomas and other hypoglycemic disorders.