Type 2 diabetes (T2D) increases with age with the majority of patients being above the fifth decade of life. These data underline the importance of studying how aging contributes to the reduced beta cell mass and dysfunctional insulin secretion found in T2D. However, the specific contribution of beta cell aging and senescence to diabetes has not been studied. Beta cells progress through different life stages, and, with age, the older subpopulation of cells becomes enriched. This enrichment has led us to identify specific markers of beta cell aging whose expression we have validated in mouse and human pancreas. We would like to further understand this process and its contribution to the development of T2D by exploring the expression of these markers in the pancreas of patients with T2D and lean and obese non-diabetic age-matched controls.