The Type 1 Diabetes Grand Challenge has opened two new funding calls. We’re calling for ambitious and innovative proposals that will accelerate research into the root causes of type 1 or treatments to replace insulin-making beta cells, and move us closer to a cure.

Over the next five years, we’re investing £50 million into three research areas identified as having the greatest potential to lead to life-changing new treatments and ultimately a cure for type 1 diabetes.

Today sees the opening of two new funding calls in the Grand Challenge’s beta cell therapies and root causes of type 1 research streams. We’ll be offering up to £3 million per award to the most promising research programmes led by teams of exceptional scientists and innovators.

Diabetes UK and JDRF have worked with the Grand Challenge Scientific Advisory Panels – comprising some of the world’s most eminent type 1 diabetes scientists – to shape the two new funding calls.

Beta Cell Therapies call

We want to back burgeoning beta cell therapy ideas and ensure these treatments make a difference to people with type 1 diabetes sooner. Research proposals should focus on translational beta cell replacement or regeneration research to fast-track these treatments into the clinic. We’ll support programmes costing up to £3 million over a period of 3-5 years.

Apply for funding

If you’re a researcher and want to learn more about the Beta Cell Therapies call, sign up to our webinar on March 15th.

Root Causes of Type 1 call

We want to strike at the root of the problem in type 1 diabetes – the immune system attack. Research proposals should focus on new treatments to avert the immune attack on the pancreas in people with or at risk of type 1 diabetes. We’ll support programmes costing up to £2 million over a period of up to two years.

Apply for funding

We’re encouraging the best and brightest diabetes researchers to apply, and for experts from other fields and people affected by type 1 diabetes to get involved, to bring new thinking and innovation into the Type 1 Diabetes Grand Challenge.

Researchers will be able to shape their ideas and submit a brief overview of their research plan during April 2023. We’ll then invite the very best applicants to submit a full, visionary research proposal. Diabetes UK and JDRF will work with research experts and people affected by type 1 diabetes to put the applications through a rigorous review process to ensure we fund only the highest quality and transformational research. We expect to announce which projects will be funded in the Autumn.

Professor Matthias Hebrok, Vice Chair of the Scientific Advisory Panel on beta cell therapies, said:

“Beta cell therapies have the potential to be life-changing for people with type 1 diabetes – helping them to produce their own insulin again – and prospects for the future are very exciting.

“The Grand Challenge is supporting scientists to innovate techniques that radically improve how beta cells are grown in the lab and help them to survive and thrive after transplantation into patients.

“With this funding call, researchers in the UK have the chance to focus on bringing this cutting-edge research into the clinic at pace.”

Professor Chantal Mathieu, Vice Chair of the Scientific Advisory Panel on root causes of type 1 diabetes, said:

“I am super excited that we will have now the opportunity to address the root causes of type 1 diabetes. Only by better understanding the condition, in particular how the immune system and the beta cell dance their lethal dance, will we ever be able to prevent and cure this condition.”

What’s next for the Type 1 Diabetes Grand Challenge?

Over the next five years we will continue to invest the £50 million into research that will propel us towards new treatments and a cure for type 1 diabetes. This year we’ll be opening a second beta cell therapy funding call focussed on enabling high-risk research ideas and helping the UK’s beta cell research community to grow and thrive.

The Scientific Advisory Panel on novel insulins is organising a symposium to discuss new developments and concepts, bringing together scientists already in the field and inspiring further innovators to apply their skills in developing better insulins for people with type 1 diabetes.

Details about these opportunities will be available later this year.

The Type 1 Diabetes Grand Challenge is turbo-charging the race to find new treatments and ultimately a cure for type 1 diabetes. The partnership has now successfully appointed 17 leading international scientists to advise on its £50 million investment into type 1 diabetes research. 

To help us to deliver this ambitious programme, the 17 experts are advising on the scientific scope and optimum funding mechanisms for the Type 1 Diabetes Grand Challenge over the 5-year partnership. 

The experts join one of three independent Scientific Advisory Panels, each advising on one of the Grand Challenge research areas previously identified as carrying the most potential to improve the lives of people with type 1 diabetes and propel us towards a cure. 

• Root causes of type 1 diabetes Panel, led by Professor Chantal Mathieu, and joined by Professor Jay Skyler, Professor Mark Atkinson, Professor Anette-Gabriele Ziegler and Professor Roberto Mallone. 
• Beta cell replacement Panel, led by Professor Matthias Hebrok, and joined by Jorge Ferrer, Professor Doug Melton, Professor Lorenzo Piemonti, Professor Lori  Sussel and Professor Qizhi Tang 
• Novel insulins Panel, led by Dr Tim Heise and joined by Dr David Kelley, Professor John Buse, Dr Reinhard Becker and Dr Diane McCarthy. 

All three Panels are Chaired by Professor Simon Heller, a world-renowned diabetes specialist. 

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

“We are honored to have so many of the world’s most distinguished diabetes researchers advising the Type 1 Diabetes Grand Challenge. Their expertise will help to ensure that every penny of the Steve Morgan Foundation’s £50 million gift is invested in bold, innovative research with the greatest potential to improve the lives of people with type 1 diabetes. 

“We’re delighted to see the global research community united in their support of the Type 1 Diabetes Grand Challenge and look forward to seeing new, exciting research focusing on accelerating progress towards a cure for type 1 diabetes get underway next year”

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

“We’re delighted to welcome so many globally renowned scientists, who are already giving us the benefit of their insight and expertise as we shape this Grand Challenge. They are ensuring the research we support through this game-changing partnership will best meet the needs of people living with type 1. The calibre of membership we’ve been able to attract to the new panels is testament to how thrilling the new research, supported by the partnership, will be.” 

Following the exciting announcement in April about a new partnership between the Steve Morgan Foundation, Diabetes UK and JDRF to invest £50m into game-changing type 1 diabetes research, we have opened our first funding round. We’re calling on scientists to submit research proposals that could be transformational for people with type 1 diabetes.

First-class research cannot happen without first class researchers. Diabetes UK and JDRF are committed to nurturing the diabetes research leaders of the future, so for the first research call we have worked together to develop a new senior fellowship programme.

Supporting the best research minds

Fellowships are awards for individual researchers that support them to develop their careers, build their own research teams, and make diabetes research their life’s work.

The new Type 1 Diabetes Senior Research Fellowship will allow exceptional researchers, with a track-record of impactful research, to become world leaders in their field and lead the race for new treatments and a cure for type 1 diabetes.

The fellowship will award scientists up to £1.5 million to research:

• the root causes of type 1 diabetes, and/or
• treatments to replace or rescue insulin-making beta cells in people with type 1 diabetes

These areas, along with novel insulins, were identified as carrying the most potential to improve the lives of people with type 1 diabetes and propel us towards a cure.

The research community will have until September 2022 to shape their ideas and apply for the fellowship. Diabetes UK and JDRF will then work with research experts and people living with or affected by type 1 diabetes to review the applications. They will select those submitted by researchers with exceptional track-records and that involve the highest quality science, with the greatest chance of benefiting people with type 1 diabetes. We expect to announce the final funding decisions in early 2023 and will keep you updated.

This fellowship will be administered by Diabetes UK on behalf of the Type 1 Diabetes Grand Challenge Partnership.

If you’re a diabetes researcher, find out more information about the call and application process.

Following the exciting announcement in April about a new partnership between the Steve Morgan Foundation, Diabetes UK and JDRF to invest £50m into game-changing type 1 diabetes research, we have opened our first funding round. We’re calling on scientists to submit research proposals that could be transformational for people with type 1 diabetes.

First-class research cannot happen without first class researchers. Diabetes UK and JDRF are committed to nurturing the diabetes research leaders of the future, so for the first research call we have worked together to develop a new senior fellowship programme.

Supporting the best research minds

Fellowships are awards for individual researchers that support them to develop their careers, build their own research teams, and make diabetes research their life’s work.

The new Type 1 Diabetes Senior Research Fellowship will allow exceptional researchers, with a track-record of impactful research, to become world leaders in their field and lead the race for new treatments and a cure for type 1 diabetes.

The fellowship will award scientists up to £1.5 million to research:

• the root causes of type 1 diabetes, and/or
• treatments to replace or rescue insulin-making beta cells in people with type 1 diabetes

These areas, along with novel insulins, were identified as carrying the most potential to improve the lives of people with type 1 diabetes and propel us towards a cure.