The Norton Islet Cell Research & Transplant Program is the only program in Kentucky offering on-site islet cell isolation, transplantation and research — advancing new treatment options for patients with chronic pancreatitis and, in the future, Type 1 diabetes.
Established in 2024 within Wendy Novak Diabetes Institute, part of Norton Healthcare and Norton Children’s, the program is led by Balamurugan N. Appakalai, Ph.D., also known as Dr. Bala, a leading researcher in islet cell transplants.
Two cornerstone facilities, a dedicated islet cell research laboratory and a Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP) islet cell transplant production laboratory, were made possible by more than $2 million in grants from the Norton Children’s Hospital Foundation, supported by generous community donations and lead gifts from the James and Judith K. Dimon Foundation and the Lift a Life Novak Family Foundation.
Islet cell isolation is the process of separating insulin-producing islet cells from a donor or patient pancreas so they can be used for transplantation and/or research.
Norton Healthcare opened the Norton Islet Cell Research Laboratory dedicated to Dr. Bala’s islet cell research activities in October 2024. The islet cell transplant production lab opened in 2025 and became an official member of the National Institutes of Health-supported Integrated Islet Distribution Program (IIDP).
This is an elite network of only 10 sites in the United States dedicated to providing high-quality human islet cells to advance diabetes research.
Learn more about distribution of human islet cells and non-islet biomaterials.
Chronic pancreatitis is a devastating disease that often progresses to diabetes and long-term insulin dependence.
To address this critical regional need, Norton Healthcare is establishing the only total pancreatectomy with islet cell autotransplantation (TPIAT) program in Kentucky. This complex therapy will offer patients the opportunity to preserve their own islet function following pancreas removal.
The program brings together specialists in surgery, endocrinology, gastroenterology, pain management, care coordination, laboratory operations and administrative leadership to build a seamless patient-care pathway for this highly specialized treatment.
While establishing an islet cell laboratory and transplant capabilities represents a major milestone, it is only Phase 1 of a broader vision for islet-based therapies.
The technical, regulatory and clinical operational infrastructure is the platform on which a full donor allogeneic islet transplantation program for patients with Type 1 diabetes can be built in the future. This next phase holds extraordinary potential.
The ambition of Wendy Novak Diabetes Institute is not simply to introduce a new procedure, but to position itself and the islet cell program as a national leader in cellular therapies for diabetes. This program is being built both to participate in the future of diabetes care as well as prepare to shape it.
For more information or to express interest in supporting this transformative care, visit HelpNortonChildrens.com or call (502) 446-4483 (GIVE).
The Norton Islet Cell Research & Transplant Program is made possible by more than $2 million in grants from the Norton Children’s Hospital Foundation.