Raghu Mirmira, M.D., Ph.D., received a B.A. in chemistry, a Ph.D. in molecular biology, and an M.D. from the University of Chicago. In 2000, he joined the faculty at the University of Virginia as an assistant professor in the Division of Endocrinology and Metabolism. Prior to coming to UVa, he did his residency at the University of California, San Francisco, where he also held various clinical and research positions.

The Mirmira laboratory is interested in understanding the molecular mechanisms that are relevant to the formation of islet cells within the pancreas. The primary focus of the lab is to study transcription factors (TFs), which can be thought of as "master switches" that regulate the rate of transcription of a variety of genes that are involved in developmental processes. In the long term, the laboratory is involved in looking at ways to cure diabetes by converting potential precursor cells into insulin-producing beta [islet] cells by "genetic reprogramming."