We’re launching a new funding call to address the limited availability of stem cell-derived beta cells for research purposes.  

The aim is to facilitate more high-quality research into beta cell therapies, speeding up progress towards a cure for type 1 diabetes. 

To achieve this, we’ve partnered with the Advanced Regenerative Manufacturing Institute (ARMI), the US leading organisation in manufacturing cells, tissues and organs. 

Funding is available for UK-based researchers to test if stem cell-derived beta cells produced by ARMI can survive shipment from the US to the UK. And if they can, whether they work as expected in both lab studies and living organisms.   

We’re inviting UK experts with a track record of producing and testing stem cell-derived beta cells to apply for funding to test ARMI’s beta cells. Funding is available for up to three sites across the UK.  

Successful researchers will also have the opportunity to directly compare ARMI’s beta cells with their own lab-made beta cells. This may help them to improve their own production process and identify the most effective product for wider rollout. 

The hope is that it will enable the development of a reliable supply of high-quality, pre-made stem cell-derived beta cells for use by UK scientists. By saving researchers time and ensuring consistency across studies, this initiative is expected to accelerate the development of new beta cell replacement therapies. 

Apply for funding

Details about the call can be found here. You’ll need to submit your application by 31 January 2025. 

If you’re interested in applying, we strongly encourage you to attend our funding call webinar on 8 January 2025 at 14:00 GMT and reach out to the T1DGC Research Funding Team to discuss the opportunity further (smfgrandchallenge@diabetes.org.uk).  

The Advanced Regenerative Manufacturing Institute (ARMI | BioFabUSA) said:

“ARMI is proud to partner with the Type 1 Diabetes Grand Challenge to advance beta cell research. By providing high-quality, stem cell-derived beta cells for validation, we aim to accelerate breakthroughs in type 1 diabetes treatment and improve the scalability of regenerative therapies. This initiative represents a critical step in bridging global efforts to bring innovative solutions to patients.”

Professor Matthias Hebrok, Vice Chair of the Type 1 Diabetes Grand Challenge Scientific Advisory Panel, said:  

“Testing stem cell derived islets produced by a foundry for their functional properties upon being sent to the UK is critical to ensure high quality tissues will be available to accelerate research in type 1 diabetes.” 

The global quest to create better treatments and find ways to prevent and cure type 1 diabetes continued to gather pace in 2024. At the Type 1 Diabetes Grand Challenge, we kickstarted 10 pioneering research studies across the UK and globally, expanding our portfolio of funded science to 19 projects, involving 161 researchers in 47 institutions across 8 countries, and shared our mission with thousands affected by the condition.

Here, we round-up the highlights of the year.

Science fiction into fact

The Type 1 Diabetes Grand Challenge is taking the quest to cure type 1 diabetes to a new level by emboldening scientists to be innovative and disruptive, leading to totally new avenues of discovery. That’s why some of the projects funded in 2024 read like sci-fi storylines, from investigating insulin-producing brain cells to copying the immune evasion tactics used by ticks.

This year, we invested over £2 million into four new research projects to tackle the root causes of type 1 and replace the insulin-making beta cells lost in type 1. Four research teams are now hard at work on these innovative ideas, and others.

Dr Elizabeth Robertson, Director of Research at Diabetes UK, said: “These high-risk, high-reward, innovative projects exemplify the transformative potential of the research funded by the Type 1 Diabetes Grand Challenge. By driving forward bold, cutting-edge approaches, we’re stepping closer to revolutionising the way type 1 diabetes is treated and improving the lives of those affected by the condition.”

One of the newly funded researchers, Dr Craig Beall, summed up the ambition: “The moonshot we’re aiming for is a cure that frees people with type 1 diabetes from insulin injections and immunosuppression.”

Innovating insulin

For over a century, type 1 diabetes has been treated with insulin. It’s a life-saving treatment, but it’s also a very blunt instrument, unable adapt to the wide-ranging factors that affect blood glucose levels.

In August 2024, we invested over £2.7 million into six projects to develop ‘smart’ insulins that could transform the treatment of type 1. The six research teams are aiming to create next-generation insulins that can respond to changing blood glucose levels, ultrafast-acting insulins and a combination drug that can both raise and reduce glucose levels.

Rachel Connor, Director of Research Partnerships at Breakthrough T1D, said: “Managing glucose levels with insulin is really tough, and it’s time for science to find ways to lift that burden. By imagining a world where insulins can respond to changing glucose levels in real-time, we hope these six projects will help to create that new reality, relieving people with type 1 of the relentless demands that living with this condition places on them today.”

On tour with the Grand Challenge

People affected by type 1 diabetes are at the heart of the Grand Challenge. It was born out of Steve and Sally Morgan’s family experience of type 1, and we actively involve those living with type 1 diabetes at every stage of the research process — from shaping funding decisions to playing a crucial role in supporting researchers in delivering their projects.

So, in 2024, we took the Grand Challenge into the community, talking to thousands of people who understand the day-to-day struggle of type 1 and the importance of our mission to revolutionise treatments and find cures.

We were delighted to join DiabetesChat’s fifth virtual research event, and to attend the Talking About Diabetes (TAD) event in Liverpool. At TAD 2024, Liam Eaglestone, CEO of the Steve Morgan Foundation, and his son Jack, took to the stage to talk about their experiences of living with type 1. Liam said: “[Diabetes] Technology is great – but it is not a cure. The Grand Challenge is seeking that cure, by bringing together some of the best and brightest brains in the type 1 research community.”

We were joined at the Diabetes UK Professional Conference by seven Young Leaders from the Together Type 1 programme. These inspiring young advocates interviewed Grand Challenge researchers and shared their experiences of living with type 1 with scientists and healthcare professionals. And in November, some of the Grand Challenge team visited Northern Ireland to give the Together Type 1 Young Leaders there an update on the latest research developments.

Young Leader Elisa Featherstone said: “Hearing about this research programme made me consider, for the first time, the reality of not having type 1 diabetes for the rest of my life. A cure may be sooner than we think, and it may well be because of the Grand Challenge!”

Progress through collaboration

Collaboration is key to progress, a principle exemplified at our first Beta Cell and Root Causes symposium held in November 2024. The symposium brought together hundreds of researchers from different strands of the Grand Challenge and people living with type 1 diabetes.

Dr Mirjam Eiswirth, who lives with type 1 diabetes and wrote a summary of the symposium, said: “Personally, I am very excited about the progress we’ll make through these research projects. They have the potential to change the lives of millions of people with type 1 diabetes for the better.”

Simon Heller, Chair of the Scientific Advisory Panel, said: “We’re moving faster than I thought we would. The willingness of scientists to collaborate shows what can be achieved when we work together.”

At the symposium, the first recipients of Grand Challenge funding, our Senior Research Fellows Professor Sarah Richardson, Dr James Cantley and Dr Victoria Salem, highlighted the remarkable progress their projects have made over the past year. Early career researchers in Dr Cantley’s lab have taken pancreatic cells from mice and regrown them into beta cells – they will now search for drugs that can support this process. Professor Richardson’s team has found that small clusters of beta cells, common in young children, are more vulnerable to the autoimmune attack. Lastly, researchers in Dr Salem’s team is engineering a device that can protect lab-grown beta cells from the immune attack while providing nutrients via a blood supply. We’re excited to track the the trio’s progress in 2025!

Looking ahead with hope

The Type 1 Diabetes Grand Challenge will continue to build momentum in 2025. We’ll begin to see early outcomes from our first projects and will invest in more disruptive and collaborative science.

Building on the conversations sparked at the symposium, we look forward to the Grand Challenge advancing through collaborative working, and we’re excited to continue this progress at the Diabetes UK Professional Conference in February, where Grand Challenge researchers will share ideas and forge new connections.

As Sally and Steve Morgan said: “It’s about doing things differently, it’s about taking risks, but above all it’s about collaboration. Let’s work as a team.”

In November, we hosted our Beta Cell Therapy and Root Causes Symposium, uniting the rapidly growing Type 1 Diabetes Grand Challenge community. More than 100 researchers, people with lived experience of type 1 diabetes, and collaborators came together for the first time. It was a space to share progress and fresh ideas, and to explore new collaborative opportunities, leveraging the diverse expertise within the community. Importantly, we also got to hear how people affected by type 1 diabetes have been working with research teams to ensure the discoveries and treatments scientists pursue are grounded in their needs. 

Dr Mirjam Eiswirth, who lives with type 1 diabetes and leads the Patient and Public Involvement activities for Prof Shareen Forbes and Dr Lisa White’s project, was one of our speakers. Here, she shares her thoughts on the symposium. 

“£50 million – that’s the incredible amount of money that the Steve Morgan Foundation has dedicated to the Type 1 Diabetes Grand Challenge towards the race for a cure. It’s a marathon, not a sprint, but as we heard at the Symposium – we’re well on track.”

Mirjam speaking at the symposium

A meeting of minds 

107 experts from 27 institutes across 8 countries and nations gathered in London for the first time to focus on two of the Grand Challenge’s strands: 

1. Root causes of type 1 diabetes: what is it that makes the immune system attack the pancreas, and how can we stop this?
2. Replacing beta cells: once the beta cells have been destroyed, how can we replace them with new, functioning ones to give the body a chance to make insulin again?

Can we restore insulin production in the body? 

We heard about innovative approaches Grand Challenge researchers are exploring to make beta cell transplants better, more efficient, and have fewer side effects. Or to even help existing healthy pancreatic cells morph into beta cells, so that the body can produce its own insulin again. Because, as Sarah Gatward, one of the experts by experience, so neatly put it: “Nothing can control blood glucose better than beta cells.” 

Could we stop type 1 diabetes from developing? 

The second key theme was understanding what happens in the body that makes it turn against itself and destroy beta cells in type 1 diabetes. If we could stop this immune attack early and protect the beta cells, we could potentially stop type 1 diabetes from developing at all.  

Grand Challenge teams told us about the innovative ways they’re hoping to do this, and some of the challenges to tackle along the way. We’d need to catch people early on the path to type 1 diabetes, which means we need good ways to screen for it. And we’d need to make sure we only stop the specific immune reaction at the root of type 1 diabetes, rather than suppressing the whole immune system. 

Putting people with lived experience at the centre of the Grand Challenge 

The Type 1 Diabetes Grand Challenge models the collaborative and disruptive spirit it champions: By including people with the lived experience from the get-go and every step on the way.  

Several experts by experience, including myself, gave updates on the different ways we’re getting involved, including reviewing research proposals, as patient and public involvement co-investigators, and as sounding boards when it comes to the applicability of any novel therapy the scientists develop. Because we can ask those uncomfortable “so what” questions or say, “this therapy only makes sense to me if it helps me for more than a year or two – it needs to be a proper cure”. 

For the researchers in the room, hearing more about our involvement, perspectives, and why they matter was invaluable. Dr Craig Beall, lead researcher, said:  “Hearing the voices of experts by experience was inspirational and at times emotional.” 

Anonymous feedback also reflected this: 

Expert by experience: “I felt I was able to help inform researchers and others of what their research means to those living with type 1 diabetes and I feel confident that my input has been taken on board and will be used to influence what they do and how they present their research. ” 

Early-career researcher: “I met several experts by experience and it really hammered home the importance of our research. I was astounded by the incredible role experts by experience played in shaping grant applications and steering research objectives.” 

Experts by experience talking about involving people living with type 1 diabetes at the symposium

Many perspectives, lively debates 

Senior researchers, early career researchers, and not least people with lived experience of type 1 diabetes shared their thoughts, hopes and projects related to the Grand Challenge. What unites us all is the vision of creating a world where diabetes can do no harm – and to be creative, think out of the box, work collaboratively, and work swiftly. 

One researcher summed it up: “It felt like a community, which was great.” 

Delegates chatting at the symposium

Looking ahead 

Personally, I am very excited about the progress we’ll make through these research projects. They have the potential to change the lives of millions of people with type 1 diabetes for the better.  A cure is still years, if not decades away – the journey to breakthroughs is a long and complex one. We need to move from discoveries in the lab, to testing new treatments with people in clinical trials, to ensuring widespread access to cures. But it’s a path filled with incredible moments of innovation and hope.  And I find myself just as excited for the journey as the destination.  

Researchers, practitioners and experts by experience working closely together, driven by shared ambition, can really make a difference. 

We’re investing over £2 million into four new research projects exploring creative approaches to improve beta cell therapies and tackle immune system dysfunction in type 1 diabetes. 

The latest batch of cutting-edge projects are now underway thanks to funding from the Grand Challenge. This investment will help research teams across the UK to test their original and potentially groundbreaking ideas on ways to improve the function and survival of insulin-producing beta cells and keep the type 1 immune attack at bay. Together, these pioneering projects offer new hope to improve the lives of people with type 1 diabetes. 

Tiny molecules with big potential

Dr Aida Martinez-Sanchez, Dr Prashant Srivastava and their team at Imperial College London, along with Dr Teresa Rodriguez-Calvo at Helmholtz Zentrum Munich, will study how microRNAs – tiny molecules in our cells that switch different genes on and off and change how the cell works – affect the function and survival of beta cells. 

Dr Aida Martinez-Sanchez said:

“The complex methodologies we’re developing have the potential to form the basis of future research in other important aspects of beta cell biology, such as how to reduce the risk of transplant rejection, or delay or prevent beta cell destruction in type 1 diabetes.”

Read more about the team’s project.

Insulin on the brain to outsmart type 1

At the University of Exeter, a team led by Dr Craig Beall and Dr Thomas Piers will explore whether a type of brain cell that produces insulin can be used to develop long-lasting, effective beta cell therapies for type 1 diabetes which are resistant to the type 1 immune attack. 

Dr Craig Beall said: 

“The moonshot we’re aiming for is a cure that frees people with type 1 diabetes from insulin injections and immunosuppression, and this is the next step in that journey.”

Read more about the team’s project.

Developing drugs from bugs – how do beta cells tick?

Tick saliva contains peptides that helps to hide them from their victims’ immune systems. Researchers at the University of Oxford led by Professor Shoumo Bhattacharya and Professor David Hodson will harness these immune system evading peptides to develop beta cell therapies that are protected from the type 1 immune attack. This could transform the way the condition is treated by helping people to make their own insulin again without the need for immunosuppressive drugs.

Professor Shoumo Bhattacharya said:  

“Our lab is looking to nature for new ways to treat inflammatory diseases. We aim to develop tick-inspired treatments to help people with type 1 diabetes, which could improve the success of beta cell transplants.”

Read more about the team’s project.

Could an existing medicine reverse the steps that lead to type 1 diabetes?

Professor Eoin McKinney and his team at the University of Cambridge will use genetic insights and powerful machine learning technology to identify and test new drug candidates for type 1 diabetes. The team has created detailed maps of immune cell changes in people at high risk of type 1, identifying specific genetic patterns, called signatures, that are only seen in those who develop the condition. Using these signatures, they now aim to understand the abnormal immune signals that lead to type 1 diabetes and find drugs to counter them, with the aim of preventing the condition from progressing. 

Professor Eoin McKinney said:

“By selecting candidate treatments rationally based on a match with type 1 data, we will stand the best possible chance of finding a safe and effective approach to stop the condition with real impact for patients everywhere.”

Read more about the team’s project.

Dr Elizabeth Robertson, Director of Research at Diabetes UK, said:

“These high-risk, high-reward, innovative projects exemplify the transformative potential of the research funded by the Type 1 Diabetes Grand Challenge. By driving forward bold, cutting-edge approaches, we’re stepping closer to revolutionising the way type 1 diabetes is treated and improving the lives of those affected by the condition.”

Rachel Connor, Director of Research Partnerships at Breakthrough T1D UK, said:

“With these new projects the Type 1 Diabetes Grand Challenges is now funding a total of 19 innovative research studies, all driving us closer to transforming life for people type 1 diabetes. Each project takes a unique approach to the three challenges in type 1 diabetes that we’re tackling: replacing beta cells, uncovering the root causes of type 1, and developing the next generation of insulins.”

A new study, published in Nature, has demonstrated that in animal models, a newly developed form of insulin can switch on and off in response to changing blood glucose levels, effectively lowering high glucose levels without causing dangerous hypos.  

The new insulin, named NNC2215 was developed by an international team involving companies based in Denmark, the UK, and the Czech Republic as well as the University of Bristol. It features a sophisticated molecular ‘switch’ mechanism made of two parts: a ring-shaped structure and a molecule with a similar shape to glucose called a glucoside. When blood sugar levels are low, the glucoside binds to the ring, keeping the insulin in an inactive, or ‘off’ state to prevent further lowering of blood sugar. As blood glucose rises, the glucoside is replaced by glucose itself, triggering the insulin to shift its shape and become active, helping bring blood sugar levels down to safer ranges. 

‘Smart’ insulins such as this one have the potential to be truly transformative in the management of type 1 diabetes. Unlike traditional insulin, which needs to be carefully dosed to avoid hypoglycemia, a ‘smart insulin’ would only activate when needed, making it a safer and more efficient treatment.  

New types of insulin like NNC2215 could lead to a significant improvement in quality of life for people living with type 1 diabetes, helping to reduce the constant burden of managing blood sugar levels. 

Researchers who developed NNC2215 found it to be as effective as human insulin at lowering blood glucose in rats and pigs. No timeline has been given for the next steps in developing this product or for clinical trials in people with diabetes, but this is a significant step forward in the search for more advanced and reliable treatments for diabetes. This proof of concept highlights how clever chemistry could unlock entirely new options for people with type 1 diabetes. 

Dr Tim Heise, Vice Chair of our novel insulins Scientific Advisory Panel, said:

“This elegant study shows that it is feasible to quickly switch insulin action on and off depending on prevailing glucose levels, and to minimise the risk of hypoglycaemia in pigs.

“While this study certainly is important progress, many more steps will have to follow to establish glucose-sensitive insulins as treatment for people with diabetes. Nevertheless, I am confident that the intense research in glucose-sensitive insulins including the developments funded by the Type 1 Diabetes Grand Challenge programme will manage to achieve this goal.”

Rachel Connor, Director of Research Partnerships at Breakthrough T1D in the UK, said:

“It’s exciting to see data on a new form of insulin that can change its structure to switch activity on and off as glucose levels change. This shows us that a future where people with  diabetes no longer need to worry about hypos as a result of insulin therapy could be within reach.”

Dr Elizabeth Robertson, Director of Research at Diabetes UK, said:

“This research represents a significant step forward in the global effort to develop the next generation of “smart” insulins. The hope is that these will ease the constant challenge of managing blood sugar highs and lows, and improve the physical and mental health of millions of people worldwide with diabetes who rely on insulin therapy. We’re excited to part of this endeavour through our Type 1 Diabetes Grand Challenge programme.”

The Type 1 Diabetes Grand Challenge is currently funding six research projects aimed at developing new types of insulin. The goal of the  research programme is to eventually offer a range of personalised treatment options for people with type 1 diabetes, tailoring therapies to meet each patient’s unique needs. This exciting progress in insulin innovation brings us one step closer to that vision. 

Treatments that target the immune system, known as immunotherapies, are emerging to tackle type 1 diabetes. In this blog, we explain what they are and their potential to make a life-changing difference for some people affected by type 1 diabetes. We also introduce two research projects that we’re funding in the UK that are looking at interesting immunotherapy approaches.

The trouble with treatment

Type 1 diabetes occurs when the immune system destroys the insulin-producing beta cells in the pancreas. For over a century, the treatment of type 1 diabetes has centred on replacing the insulin the person can no longer produce. But lifelong insulin treatment can only address the symptoms and keep complications of type 1 diabetes at bay. It doesn’t address the underlying root cause of the condition.

Teplizumab – what’s the big deal?

In November 2022, drug regulators in the US approved the use of a medicine called teplizumab. The news was greeted with huge excitement by experts, who described it as ‘monumental’ for type 1 diabetes. But what’s so special about it?

Teplizumab is the first approved drug to tackle the root of the problem. In a landmark clinical trial, a two-week course of teplizumab was found to slow the immune attack on beta cells and preserve insulin production for an average of three years in people with early-stage or presymptomatic type 1 diabetes. At this point type 1 hasn’t fully developed – the immune attack has begun but there are still enough beta cells to produce some insulin, and the symptoms of type 1 haven’t yet developed.

Delaying the development of type 1 diabetes means more years without insulin injections, constant blood sugar monitoring and carb counting. It can also reduce the risk of developing diabetes complications.

And this is just the start.

How do immunotherapies work?

Medicines that work by interacting with parts of the immune system – known as immunotherapies – have enormous promise for the prevention, treatment and maybe even cure of type 1 diabetes.

Our immune system works by identifying invaders in our bodies – such as bacteria and viruses – and ‘sounding the alarm’ to launch an attack. In this process, immune cells called killer T cells are taught to recognise and destroy the invader.

In people with type 1 diabetes, their immune system mistakenly attacks their own insulin-producing beta cells. Meanwhile, the peacemakers of the immune system – called regulatory T cells, or Tregs – are underpowered against the barrage. Teplizumab works by attaching to a protein on the surface of killer T cells. This stops the T cell from recognising beta cells, effectively hiding them from the immune system to evade attack.

Many more immunotherapies for type 1 diabetes are in the pipeline. Some work in a similar way to teplizumab, whiles others take a different approach, including:

• breaking the vicious cycle of inflammation in the pancreas that usually helps to sustain an immune attack
• boosting Tregs, the natural protectors that can deactivate killer T cells but are in short supply in type 1 diabetes
• neutralising the signals, called autoantibodies, that label beta cells as targets for attack.

The Type 1 Diabetes Grand Challenge is funding research into different immunotherapy strategies.

Interleukin-2 (IL-2): Boosting the Tregs

One Grand Challenge project is investigating a way to power up the peacekeeping force of Treg cells, to limit the immune attack on beta cells.

A protein called interleukin-2 (IL-2) is an important nutrient for Tregs and has been tested in clinical trials in people with type 1 diabetes before. The results have been promising but inconsistent..

However, Dr James Pearson has a theory that may explain why the results vary. His team have shown in mice that numbers of Tregs rise and fall in a daily pattern. And he thinks that synching IL-2 treatment with the natural Treg cycle could be crucial for success.

Dr Pearson said: “We’ve seen that there’s a time in mice, in the evening, when the number of Treg cells is at its lowest point in the 24-hour cycle. We think that might be the best time to give IL-2 therapy, because you’re then boosting them back up to a higher level to try to limit activation of the damaging killer T cells.”

They’re testing this theory in blood samples taken in the morning and the evening from volunteers with type 1 diabetes.

IL-2 is already known to be a safe treatment in children and adults. So, if the results from Dr Pearson’s study show a clear potential benefit to timed therapy, then a trial in people with type 1 diabetes could take place.

Abatacept and IL-2 – more than the sum of their parts?

Dr Danijela Tatovic’s Grand Challenge project is also exploring IL-2’s potential, in combination with another immunotherapy called abatacept.

Abatacept is currently used to treat rheumatoid arthritis, another autoimmune condition. It’s been trialled in people with type 1 diabetes where it’s been shown to be able to stop killer T cells attacking beta cells. However, it also weakens the helpful Tregs, which limits its usefulness.

Dr Tatovic is running a small clinical trial in people with type 1. One group will receive abatacept and another group will receive abatacept in combination with IL-2 at different doses and timings. After two months, the research team will see how the different types of immune cells are responding in each group.

Once they’ve established the best combinations of the two drugs, the team can design a larger trial to find out whether the therapy can protect beta cells from destruction and prevent or slow the progression of type 1 diabetes.

Getting closer to a cure

The discovery of insulin in 1921 has enabled countless people to survive and thrive with type 1 diabetes. The approval of teplizumab in the US one hundred years later represents the start of a new era of medicine for people living with and at risk of type 1 diabetes. Immunotherapies hold incredible potential for preventing, slowing down and stopping the destruction of beta cells by the immune system.

The Type 1 Diabetes Grand Challenge is also funding research to accelerate progress towards treatments that replace or regenerate the beta cells destroyed by the immune system. And – by combining immunotherapy with promising beta cell therapies – there’s a growing chance of a cure for people who may have never imagined it was possible.

People with type 1 diabetes are at the heart of the Type 1 Diabetes Grand Challenge. Their experiences are woven into everything we do, from the design to delivery to dissemination of research.

We spoke to Amelia Skachill Burke, a glass artist from Wales and mum of Ruby who lives with type 1, who works closely with Professor David Hodson, Dr Ildem Akerman, and Dr Johannes Broichhagen’s team, drawing on her family’s experience of the condition, to make sure their research is relevant and accessible to people with type 1 diabetes.

Type 1 diabetes in the family

Amelia’s daughter Ruby was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes when she was nine.

Amelia said: “I had some awareness of the condition because we have a family history, but it crept up on us all. After Ruby was diagnosed, it took a few years for us as a family to get a handle on it and her insulin regimes.

“She’s now 16 and gets amazing support from her school and ever-improving diabetes technology like hybrid closed-loop systems. But insulin and technology aren’t cures for type 1.”

Stepping towards science

Amelia said: “I heard about the Type 1 Diabetes Grand Challenge from Professor David Hodson. I approached him about two years ago when I was applying for grant funding from the Arts Council Wales, for my artwork. I wanted to do some background research for my art – to look at islet cells, gain information, gain imagery, things to work from to make glassware inspired by type 1 diabetes.

“He showed me around his offices and labs, and he and the team were so accommodating. We had a lot of conversations, and then he spoke to me about the Grand Challenge. He asked if I wanted to be involved as a PPI (patient and public involvement) co-applicant, and I was more than happy to do anything I can to help.”

Professor David Hodson said:

“Amelia has vast lived experience of type 1 diabetes, but is also a very kind, compassionate, and talented individual. It’s important for us to have someone like Amelia on the research team, to ensure that all aspects of the studies are relatable and relevant to those living with type 1 diabetes.”

From research to reality

Much of the research funded by the Grand Challenge is shaped, supported, and shared by people like Amelia, whose lived experience of type 1 diabetes through Ruby is completely invaluable to our scientists.

Amelia said: “I’m not from a science background, so the goal of my role is to give a realistic view of the research. To make sure the information is accessible to anyone wanting to know what’s being done to help type 1 diabetes.

“Scientific terms need to be well-explained. And when there’s a potential solution or a breakthrough, what’s the real impact it could have on the day-to-day life of someone with type 1?”

Amelia Skachill Burke gives a talk about how she represents beta cells in her art

Bringing science to the studio

Amelia combines her interest in science with her passion of glass art, drawing inspiration from her experiences and the world around her.

Amelia said: “My daughter inspires me. She’s struggled so much with her diabetes and we’ve all struggled together. But we’ve always done it as a family – we never wanted her to feel alone or overwhelmed by it. So anything we could do to support Ruby is what we’ve always done. When the opportunity came for me to bring medicine and art together, it just felt like a no-brainer. I’m inspired by scientific imagery, but at the heart it’s Ruby that inspires me all the way through.

“I think art and research work together – the art explains the research and gives people a visual representation of what’s happening in the world. I’m currently working on a glass interpretation of a pancreas – the pancreas is a very important organ with lots of functions, but only 2% of it is actually made up of beta cells.

“These infinitesimally tiny cells have a huge impact on everyone’s everyday life – they’re like gold dust, and I’m playing with the idea of using gold dust to try to explain the significance of them in my glass art.”

More of Amelia’s artwork

Research through the looking glass

Working closely with Grand Challenge researchers puts Amelia at the cutting edge of type 1 diabetes research. Amelia said: “My hope for the future is a cure. Prof Hodson’s team and lots of other scientists are working on this at a beta cell level, and it would be amazing if we can find a solution where people with type 1 don’t have to rely on technology or insulin. Something that makes their lives easier, whether it comes in the form of medicine or not.

“I’m planning to run some glass workshops as well with kids and teenagers with type 1, to try to expand and explain my artwork and type 1 diabetes research. Anything we can do to shed more light on the condition and research, spread awareness, and support everyone living with type 1 diabetes.”

Professor David Hodson said:

“It’s been an amazing experience to see Amelia turn our microscope images into colourful and tactile artwork installations, which simultaneously represent the beauty and challenges of type 1 diabetes.”

Find out more about our community of people with type 1 who are involved with the Grand Challenge.

Glass art in the kiln

We are funding six new research projects worth over £2.7 million through the novel insulins challenge to transform type 1 diabetes treatment. This vital funding will accelerate the development of insulins that more closely mimic how a healthy pancreas works, which could improve the lives of people living with type 1 diabetes.

Developing novel insulins

Today’s announcement grants over £2.7 million to six new international research projects focused on developing next-generation insulins, also known as novel insulins. This crucial research, conducted at universities in the United States, Australia, and China, aims to design insulins that act faster and more precisely, relieving some of the burden of managing type 1 diabetes and reducing the risk of long-term complications.

People with type 1 diabetes can’t make their own insulin, so they must give themselves synthetic insulin several times each day to survive. But insulin is far from a cure for type 1 diabetes, and new forms of insulin are urgently needed.

Why do we need new insulins?

Blood glucose levels are affected by many factors including food intake, exercise, stress, other hormones, and even the weather. This complexity means that even with the most advanced technology available, many people with type 1 diabetes fluctuate between high and low glucose levels, resulting in short and long-term physical health issues. The relentless struggle to stabilise blood glucose with existing insulins can also be a significant mental burden for people living with type 1 diabetes.

Glucose-responsive ‘smart’ insulins

Four of these newly funded projects involve scientists creating and testing novel insulin formulations that can respond to changing blood glucose levels, known as glucose responsive insulins (GRIs). The concept of glucose responsive insulins is that the drug only becomes active when there is a certain amount of glucose in the blood to prevent hyperglycaemia (high blood glucose) and becomes inactive again when levels drop below a certain point, avoiding hypoglycaemia (low blood glucose).

Ultrafast acting insulin

Researchers running a fifth research project are developing a new ultrafast, short-acting insulin. Even with the fastest insulins that are currently available, there is still a delay between the drug being administered and the point it starts to act on glucose in the blood. This can result in blood glucose rising to unsafe levels before insulin can act to lower it. Faster insulins are also needed to improve the function of insulin pumps and hybrid closed loop technology, a system that relies on the stored insulin responding in real-time to changing blood glucose levels.

Combining insulin and glucagon

The final research project is focused on designing a protein that combines insulin with another hormone, glucagon. Unlike insulin, which helps remove glucose from the blood, glucagon stimulates the liver to release more glucose when levels in the blood run low. Having both hormones included in one formulation could keep blood glucose levels stable by working to prevent high and low blood glucose levels.

Dr Tim Heise, Vice Chair of our Novel Insulins Scientific Advisory Panel, said:

“Even with the currently available modern insulins, people living with type 1 diabetes have to put lots of effort into managing their diabetes every day to find a good balance between acceptable glycaemic control on the one hand and avoiding hypoglycaemia on the other. The funded six new research projects address major shortcomings in insulin therapy.

Glucose-responsive (so-called ‘smart’) insulins are regarded as the holy grail of insulin as they would come as close to a cure for type 1 diabetes as any drug therapy could. A truly rapid short-acting insulin might make it finally possible to progress from hybrid to fully closed loop systems, allowing a technological ‘cure’ for insulin-treated people with diabetes. Potentially minimising the risk of hypoglycaemia through an insulin-glucagon combination would ease one of the major concerns associated with insulin therapy today. Therefore, these research projects, if successful might do no less than heralding a new era in insulin therapy.”

Professor Simon Heller, Chair of our Scientific Advisory Panel, said:

“This unique funding is transforming the ability of global scientists to join forces to tackle type 1 diabetes. It enables researchers to set up new collaborations and to test innovative ideas which may lead to a step change in finding a cure for type 1 diabetes.”

Rachel Connor, Director of Research Partnerships at JDRF UK, said:

“With this funding programme we have challenged scientists around the world to drive forward new ideas in insulin design to combat the relentless burden of managing type 1 diabetes.

While insulin has been saving lives for over a hundred years now, and previous research has driven important changes for people with type 1, it is still not good enough – managing glucose levels with insulin is really tough, and it’s time for science to find ways to lift that burden.

By imagining a world where insulins can respond to changing glucose levels in real-time, we hope these six projects will help to create that new reality, relieving people with type 1 of the relentless demands that living with this condition places on them today.”

Dr Elizabeth Robertson, Director of Research at Diabetes UK, said:

“This much needed funding boost has the potential to revolutionise type 1 diabetes treatment. By supporting these groundbreaking research projects, we are aiming to develop new insulins that more closely mimic the body’s natural responses to changing blood sugar levels. This could significantly reduce the daily challenges of managing type 1 diabetes, and improve both the physical and mental health of those living with the condition. We are hopeful that this research will lead to life-changing advancements in type 1 diabetes care.”

In May, we were out and about at type 1 diabetes community events. First, the virtual peer support platform DiabetesChat held a Grand Challenge special, then members of the Steve Morgan Foundation led a session at the annual Talking About Diabetes event.

DiabetesChat Grand Challenge special

DiabetesChat’s fifth research event was all about the Type 1 Diabetes Grand Challenge. Liam Eaglestone, CEO of the Steve Morgan Foundation (SMF), kicked off with a short presentation about SMF and their £50 million investment in type 1 diabetes research. He explained how the Grand Challenge is disrupting the research landscape and accelerating us towards treatments and cures for type 1.

Panel Discussion

DiabetesChat co-host Mary Murphy chaired a panel discussion between the three Senior Research Fellows, Professor Sarah Richardson, Dr James Cantley and Dr Victoria Salem. Mary asked the researchers questions about the Grand Challenge, including how the partnership is supporting research into future therapies and cures for type 1.

Dr Salem said: “The Grand Challenge has given us the freedom to think disruptively and bring in new ideas from other fields.”

Dr Cantley answered: “This type of research is mission driven, allowing us to take risks to move the field forward, improving lives and finding cures.”

Professor Richardson said: “We are supporting the next generation of researchers and establishing the research infrastructure here in the UK. With fresh brains in the mix, the future is bright!”

Research presentations

Each researcher spoke about their research and the audience were able to ask questions. Dr Cantley explained how he is developing new treatments for type 1, Professor Richardson took us through her research into type 1 immunology, and Dr Salem described how she is creating a protective device for lab-grown beta cells.

Watch the recording of the Grand Challenge DiabetesChat.

Response from the community

Over five hundred people tuned in to the event live, with almost 2,000 watching the recording. One audience member said: “Sarah’s slides with the artwork has made me understand my T1D after almost 60 years of diagnosis. Next life, I want to be a researcher!” Another said: “Amazing insight and I’ve gained a lot of knowledge tonight about my T1D and what the future might hold.”

Tom Dean, who hosts DiabetesChat said: “It was a fabulous, interesting and informative evening and the feedback we have received from the community has been very positive. It has given people hope and great anticipation for a healthier future for us all.”

SMF at Talking About Diabetes

The Type 1 Diabetes Grand Challenge had a big presence at this year’s Talking About Diabetes (TAD) event in Liverpool, with members of Diabetes UK, JDRF UK and SMF all in attendance, both on and off the stage.

Photo of Liam (left) and Jack (right), courtesy of Marc Lungley.

Liam and Jack Eaglestone

Liam and his son Jack were diagnosed with type 1 diabetes just one year apart. The pair gave a joint talk at this year’s TAD event where they praised the advances in technology and those championing access to it. Both Liam and Jack use hybrid closed loop systems to manage their type 1. They shared how the system has helped stabilise their blood glucose levels, reduce diabetes burnout and improve their sleep.

Jack said: “I used to have to take around one day a week off school because my blood glucose levels were so unstable. I would have repeated hypos which made me fall unconscious, high ketones and vomiting. Then, hybrid closed loop made that all disappear. It was like a miracle.”

Liam added: “Technology is great – but it is not a cure. The Grand Challenge is seeking that cure, by bringing together some of the best and brightest brains in the type 1 research community.”

A message from Steve and Sally Morgan

Steve and Sally Morgan couldn’t be at TAD in person, so they shared a video sharing their personal connection to type 1 through Sally’s son, Hugo, which led to the SMF’s transformational £50 million investment in type 1 diabetes research.

Watch the video from the Morgans below.

David Mitchell lives with type 1 diabetes and is a member of the expert funding panel guiding the projects we will fund through the Novel Insulins challenge. Here, he explains his volunteer role on the panel, the importance of involving people with lived experience in research, and what he learnt from the experience.

The Grand Challenge has committed £15 million of funding for researchers to design the next generation of insulins to make managing type 1 diabetes less challenging. To ensure we fund the most promising projects that offer the most potential benefit for people with type 1, we asked researchers to pitch their project ideas to a panel of experts. In this blog, David shares his experience of being a lived experience member of this panel.

Novel insulins pitches

It was a privilege being part of the international panel of experts for the Novel Insulins Innovation Incubator, reviewing grant applications of up to £500,000. It was fascinating to hear the exciting ideas that the researchers presented to us. All the research ideas had a lot of viability behind them already – my role was to provide a lived experience voice to help maximise the projects’ impact on people with type 1.

Insights on living with type 1

I gave the researchers perspective on the day-to-day things I experience with type 1. While some aspects are relatively well understood, I can relay little quirks to people who don’t live with the condition. For example, I asked the researchers pitching their projects to explain how their new ideas for insulin would consider the varying levels of daily activities not just between individuals but in the same person on different days.

Some of the applicants provided more detail than others on how they would factor exercise into their designs, which helped us evaluate the projects. Encouraging the researchers and other panel members to think about the daily reality of life with type 1 and how that affects science is why it is so important to involve people with lived experience in research right from the start.

Drawing inspiration from other industries

This volunteer role is very different from my career working at a financial technology (fintech) company. In that industry, we approach things from a different position to traditional corporate companies, so I’ve been able to suggest alternative ways of doing things. For example, we bring people together in big ‘hackathon’ events, which foster collaborative problem-solving over a short space of time. There’s no reason this concept couldn’t be taken into the research lab. This made me feel like, as well as relaying my experiences, I was also adding value to the development of the science.

Giving hope to people with type 1

As a member of the panel, I learnt a lot about type 1 diabetes research. I heard how insulin treatment could be enhanced to take away the need to constantly pump more insulin in and could be simplified to just one injection a day or even a week. Throughout the day, I learnt about different ideas for insulins that reduce the risk of hypos – a reality people with type 1 like me have to deal with.

When you live with the daily grind of constant insulin injections and glucose monitoring, the possibility that these insulins could be developed and allow you to forget about type 1 for the day is fabulous. Some trials of novel insulins are ongoing in animals. Learning that research is happening at this level gives me hope this could translate to something meaningful for humans.

The Grand Challenge approaches research differently

The amount of money the Grand Challenge is investing in type 1 diabetes research is fantastic. Being a panel member opened my eyes to how this injection of funding will lead to amazing research and accelerate developments. The substantial funding means scientists aren’t just working on a concept, it’s taking those ideas forward to unlock real progress and new treatments. It also attracts the interest of top experts from around the world to build on their amazing existing work.

I saw how the approach the Grand Challenge takes is different to typical research funding, which can be a long process. The Grand Challenge is structured to ensure that research ideas are turned into real action and meaningful change as soon as possible, while maintaining the scientific rigor.