Maria Koulmanda, MSc., PhD is the Director of Non-Human Primate Research at Beth Israel Lahey Health and an Associate Professor of Medicine and Surgery at Harvard Medical School in Boston, MA, USA. After graduating from Melbourne University Maria worked in the academic milieu at the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute, Australia and Department of Surgery at Cambridge University, UK. As a Transplant Immunologist her principle research interest is the basis and treatment of Type 1 diabetes mellites (T1DM) and pancreatic islet transplantation tolerance in both small and large animal models. She has led studies in which self-tolerance to pancreatic islets was successfully restored in animal models of T1DM treated with Power Mix, alpha 1-anti-trypsin or anti-TNF-alpha. She is the author/co-author of more than 100 scientific publications, reviews and patents with focus on transplant tolerance and T1DM treatments. She previously served as the President of the Cell Transplant and Regenerative Medicine Society (CTRMS)from 2013-2015 and is currently the secretary and treasurer of the CTRMS. She is also a member of several national and International societies, including the International Transplant Society, the American Society of Transplantation and The Transplant Society of Australia and New Zealand.