We’re excited to reveal the first research projects funded by the Type 1 Diabetes Grand Challenge. £5 million of funding will support a trio of exceptional scientists to develop new and improved treatments for type 1 diabetes and marks the start of a £50 million programme of research that will propel us towards a cure.

The Type 1 Diabetes Grand Challenge – a partnership between the Steve Morgan Foundation, Diabetes UK and JDRF – has been calling on scientists to submit research proposals to our Senior Research Fellowship, with the potential to transform our understanding of type 1 diabetes and how to cure it.

After a rigorous review process, bringing in expert insight from people with type 1 diabetes and world-renowned scientists, we’re delighted to award three new fellowships. The awards of between £1.5 and £2 million go to scientists in different corners of the UK, who will each solve different problems that could unlock life-changing new treatments for type 1. None of this would be possible without the Steve Morgan Foundation’s landmark £50 million investment.

The fellowships focus on two of the Grand Challenge’s research areas:

• Understanding the root causes of type 1 diabetes and how to stop the immune attack
• Developing treatments to replace or rescue insulin-making beta cells

Let’s meet our new Grand Challenge Fellows.

Breathing new life into beta cells

Dr James Cantley is a Senior Lecturer at the University of Dundee, with 20 years’ experience investigating how beta cells function.

His Type 1 Diabetes Senior Research Fellowship aims to develop new drugs to help people with type 1 diabetes grow back their own beta cells. This approach could avoid problems with the immune system rejecting transplanted ‘foreign’ donor or lab-made beta cells and allow the pancreas to produce its own insulin again.

Dr Cantley is particularly interested in how beta cells form in the womb, by a process called neogenesis. He will work to identify new drugs that could reactivate this process in the pancreas of adults.

Dr Cantley will study how well these potential new therapies regenerate beta cells in the lab. He will home in on the most promising ones and test these in mice with type 1 diabetes to check if the drugs can reduce the need for insulin.

Along with finding ways to trigger new beta cells to grow in the pancreas, Dr Cantley will also explore potential approaches to ‘clone’ beta cells from those that have been able to survive the immune attack. Promising results here could open the door for clinical trials to testing new treatments in people with type 1 diabetes.

Dr James Cantley said:

“Regenerating beta cells in the pancreas has the potential to revolutionise the treatment of type 1 diabetes, by replacing cells destroyed by the immune attack, and ultimately leading to stable blood sugar levels and a life free from insulin injections. However, there are many obstacles to developing successful therapeutic strategies.

“To overcome these, I have put together an ambitious, future-focused project and an outstanding international team of scientists which, with the support and funding from the Type 1 Diabetes Grand Challenge, will enable us to focus on our mission of identifying new strategies to drive beta cell regeneration in the pancreas. We are on the cusp of a new era of type 1 diabetes treatment, and I can’t wait to see where this research takes us.”

Find out more about James’ Senior Research Fellowship project.

‘Printing’ a safe haven for beta cells

Dr Victoria Salem is a diabetes consultant and scientist who runs a research laboratory in the Department of Bioengineering at Imperial College London. She is an expert in developing state-of-the-art imaging techniques to study how beta cells work.

Dr Salem joins the race for a cure for type 1 diabetes with her plans to develop a device that can be implanted into people with type 1 diabetes to deliver a new supply of beta cells.

Scientists can already create new beta cells in the lab from stem cells. But to survive and function well once they’re transplanted into people with type 1, the cells need:

• a constant supply of oxygen, nutrients and blood
• to be protected from the immune system’s attack

Dr Salem will innovate a new jelly-like protective barrier, within which clusters of beta cells will sit. The barrier will act as a shield to block attacking immune cells, while still letting in vital nutrients the beta cells need to survive.

Dr Salem will create this using a new technology called ‘Extrusion Bioprinting’. Imagine a colour inkjet printer – nozzles eject different coloured ink onto the paper, line by line, to build up a picture. The nozzles of the bioprinter contain jelly-like substances and a precise mix of cells which will ‘print’ the new beta cells inside their protective device.

She’ll test the implant in mice to build the evidence needed to take it into clinical trials with people with type 1 diabetes.

Dr Victoria Salem said:

“There are so many hurdles to creating a successful cell-transplant for people with type 1 diabetes. We can only crack this by working together – building fruitful collaborations across disciplines and the Grand Challenge is providing the boost we need to mobilise the best scientists in the UK towards this cause!

“I will lead a team of outstanding researchers, and international collaborators, to engineer improved beta cell replacement technologies.

“The dream for a cell cased cure for type 1 diabetes is now tantalisingly close – I’m so excited and honoured to be a part of this journey.”

Find out more about Victoria’s Senior Research Fellowship project.

Protecting the pancreas in type 1 diabetes

Professor Sarah Richardson is an Associate Professor in Cellular Biomedicine at the University of Exeter, who has spent 16 years studying rare pancreas samples from people with type 1 diabetes.

As one of our new Type 1 Diabetes Senior Research Fellows, Professor Richardson will probe how and why a person’s immune system destroys their own beta cells and how this process may differ between people with type 1 diabetes.

She will study the pancreas in minute detail, using powerful microscopes to tease apart differences between people with type 1 in how their immune system attacks and destroys beta cells. With this knowledge, scientists will be able to work on creating an armoury of new treatments that target different lines of the immune system’s attack, so everyone affected by type 1 can be matched to the best treatment for them.

Prof Richardson will also explore how beta cells can fight back against the immune attack and why beta cells in some people with type 1 can survive for many years after their diagnosis. She’ll investigate a protective layer that surround beta cells, called the basement membrane, to understand more about when and how it develops. She’ll also identify molecules made by beta cells that can fortify them against the immune attack and explore if we could help beta cells make more of them.

These new insights could be used to develop new cell replacement treatments, designed to shield the new beta cells from the immune system.

Professor Sarah Richardson said:

“As a scientist, one of the things that interests me about diabetes is the way it affects people in extremely different ways. My fellowship will explore how the early development of the pancreas may influence the form of type 1 diabetes a person develops. Ultimately, this will help us tailor existing and emerging therapies to the individual, maximising the benefits for people with type 1 diabetes.

“I also aim to develop a better understanding of how beta cells can protect themselves from the immune attack, which not only holds huge promise for improving beta cell replacement strategies but has the potential to bring us closer to a cure.”

Find out more about Sarah’s Senior Research Fellowship project.

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

“We are thrilled to introduce the first scientists who will be spearheading the Grand Challenge’s mission to deliver transformational new treatments and bring fresh hope of a cure for everyone living with type 1 diabetes.”

“The exceptional new Type 1 Diabetes Senior Research Fellows are all tackling this challenge in inventive and collaborative ways, at the forefront of cutting-edge science. We can’t wait to watch them develop into global research leaders of the future and see how their discoveries will drive radical change for people with type 1 diabetes.”

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

“We are delighted that the Type 1 Diabetes Grand Challenge is getting off to such strong start, providing three Senior Research Fellowships. The ambitious research projects will accelerate us towards much needed cures for type 1 diabetes, driving change for people who live with type 1 diabetes.

“Each Senior Research Fellow is bringing their skills and creativity to specific challenges in tackling type 1 diabetes, from the destructive dance of the immune system and beta cells that drives type 1 diabetes, to the challenges of regrowing beta cells in the body, or developing new ways to help transplanted cells survive in the body. We’re excited to see how these emerging leaders will drive progress as part of the worldwide community of scientists dedicated to curing type 1 diabetes.”

We’ll keep you updated with the progress of these exciting projects, as our Fellows start their research and kick off the Grand Challenge’s race to find new treatments and ultimately a cure.

We’re excited to reveal the first research projects funded by the Type 1 Diabetes Grand Challenge. £5 million of funding will support a trio of exceptional scientists to develop new and improved treatments for type 1 diabetes and marks the start of a £50 million programme of research that will propel us towards a cure.

The Type 1 Diabetes Grand Challenge – a partnership between the Steve Morgan Foundation, Diabetes UK and JDRF – has been calling on scientists to submit research proposals to our Senior Research Fellowship, with the potential to transform our understanding of type 1 diabetes and how to cure it.

After a rigorous review process, bringing in expert insight from people with type 1 diabetes and world-renowned scientists, we’re delighted to award three new fellowships. The awards of between £1.5 and £2 million go to scientists in different corners of the UK, who will each solve different problems that could unlock life-changing new treatments for type 1. None of this would be possible without the Steve Morgan Foundation’s landmark £50 million investment.

The fellowships focus on two of the Grand Challenge’s research areas:

• Understanding the root causes of type 1 diabetes and how to stop the immune attack
• Developing treatments to replace or rescue insulin-making beta cells

Let’s meet our new Grand Challenge Fellows.

Breathing new life into beta cells

Dr James Cantley is a Senior Lecturer at the University of Dundee, with 20 years’ experience investigating how beta cells function.

His Type 1 Diabetes Senior Research Fellowship aims to develop new drugs to help people with type 1 diabetes grow back their own beta cells. This approach could avoid problems with the immune system rejecting transplanted ‘foreign’ donor or lab-made beta cells and allow the pancreas to produce its own insulin again.

Dr Cantley is particularly interested in how beta cells form in the womb, by a process called neogenesis. He will work to identify new drugs that could reactivate this process in the pancreas of adults.

Dr Cantley will study how well these potential new therapies regenerate beta cells in the lab. He will home in on the most promising ones and test these in mice with type 1 diabetes to check if the drugs can reduce the need for insulin.

Along with finding ways to trigger new beta cells to grow in the pancreas, Dr Cantley will also explore potential approaches to ‘clone’ beta cells from those that have been able to survive the immune attack. Promising results here could open the door for clinical trials to testing new treatments in people with type 1 diabetes.

Dr James Cantley said:

“Regenerating beta cells in the pancreas has the potential to revolutionise the treatment of type 1 diabetes, by replacing cells destroyed by the immune attack, and ultimately leading to stable blood sugar levels and a life free from insulin injections. However, there are many obstacles to developing successful therapeutic strategies.

“To overcome these, I have put together an ambitious, future-focused project and an outstanding international team of scientists which, with the support and funding from the Type 1 Diabetes Grand Challenge, will enable us to focus on our mission of identifying new strategies to drive beta cell regeneration in the pancreas. We are on the cusp of a new era of type 1 diabetes treatment, and I can’t wait to see where this research takes us.”

Find out more about James’ Senior Research Fellowship project.

‘Printing’ a safe haven for beta cells

Dr Victoria Salem is a diabetes consultant and scientist who runs a research laboratory in the Department of Bioengineering at Imperial College London. She is an expert in developing state-of-the-art imaging techniques to study how beta cells work.

Dr Salem joins the race for a cure for type 1 diabetes with her plans to develop a device that can be implanted into people with type 1 diabetes to deliver a new supply of beta cells.

Scientists can already create new beta cells in the lab from stem cells. But to survive and function well once they’re transplanted into people with type 1, the cells need:

• a constant supply of oxygen, nutrients and blood
• to be protected from the immune system’s attack

Dr Salem will innovate a new jelly-like protective barrier, within which clusters of beta cells will sit. The barrier will act as a shield to block attacking immune cells, while still letting in vital nutrients the beta cells need to survive.

Dr Salem will create this using a new technology called ‘Extrusion Bioprinting’. Imagine a colour inkjet printer – nozzles eject different coloured ink onto the paper, line by line, to build up a picture. The nozzles of the bioprinter contain jelly-like substances and a precise mix of cells which will ‘print’ the new beta cells inside their protective device.

She’ll test the implant in mice to build the evidence needed to take it into clinical trials with people with type 1 diabetes.

Dr Victoria Salem said:

“There are so many hurdles to creating a successful cell-transplant for people with type 1 diabetes. We can only crack this by working together – building fruitful collaborations across disciplines and the Grand Challenge is providing the boost we need to mobilise the best scientists in the UK towards this cause!

“I will lead a team of outstanding researchers, and international collaborators, to engineer improved beta cell replacement technologies.

“The dream for a cell cased cure for type 1 diabetes is now tantalisingly close – I’m so excited and honoured to be a part of this journey.”

Find out more about Victoria’s Senior Research Fellowship project.

Protecting the pancreas in type 1 diabetes

Professor Sarah Richardson is an Associate Professor in Cellular Biomedicine at the University of Exeter, who has spent 16 years studying rare pancreas samples from people with type 1 diabetes.

As one of our new Type 1 Diabetes Senior Research Fellows, Professor Richardson will probe how and why a person’s immune system destroys their own beta cells and how this process may differ between people with type 1 diabetes.

She will study the pancreas in minute detail, using powerful microscopes to tease apart differences between people with type 1 in how their immune system attacks and destroys beta cells. With this knowledge, scientists will be able to work on creating an armoury of new treatments that target different lines of the immune system’s attack, so everyone affected by type 1 can be matched to the best treatment for them.

Prof Richardson will also explore how beta cells can fight back against the immune attack and why beta cells in some people with type 1 can survive for many years after their diagnosis. She’ll investigate a protective layer that surround beta cells, called the basement membrane, to understand more about when and how it develops. She’ll also identify molecules made by beta cells that can fortify them against the immune attack and explore if we could help beta cells make more of them.

These new insights could be used to develop new cell replacement treatments, designed to shield the new beta cells from the immune system.

Professor Sarah Richardson said:

“As a scientist, one of the things that interests me about diabetes is the way it affects people in extremely different ways. My fellowship will explore how the early development of the pancreas may influence the form of type 1 diabetes a person develops. Ultimately, this will help us tailor existing and emerging therapies to the individual, maximising the benefits for people with type 1 diabetes.

“I also aim to develop a better understanding of how beta cells can protect themselves from the immune attack, which not only holds huge promise for improving beta cell replacement strategies but has the potential to bring us closer to a cure.”

Find out more about Sarah’s Senior Research Fellowship project.

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

“We are thrilled to introduce the first scientists who will be spearheading the Grand Challenge’s mission to deliver transformational new treatments and bring fresh hope of a cure for everyone living with type 1 diabetes.”

“The exceptional new Type 1 Diabetes Senior Research Fellows are all tackling this challenge in inventive and collaborative ways, at the forefront of cutting-edge science. We can’t wait to watch them develop into global research leaders of the future and see how their discoveries will drive radical change for people with type 1 diabetes.”

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

“We are delighted that the Type 1 Diabetes Grand Challenge is getting off to such strong start, providing three Senior Research Fellowships. The ambitious research projects will accelerate us towards much needed cures for type 1 diabetes, driving change for people who live with type 1 diabetes.

“Each Senior Research Fellow is bringing their skills and creativity to specific challenges in tackling type 1 diabetes, from the destructive dance of the immune system and beta cells that drives type 1 diabetes, to the challenges of regrowing beta cells in the body, or developing new ways to help transplanted cells survive in the body. We’re excited to see how these emerging leaders will drive progress as part of the worldwide community of scientists dedicated to curing type 1 diabetes.”

We’ll keep you updated with the progress of these exciting projects, as our Fellows start their research and kick off the Grand Challenge’s race to find new treatments and ultimately a cure.

Professor Simon Heller is chair of all three scientific advisory panels in the Type 1 Diabetes Grand Challenge, covering beta cells, novel insulins and root causes of type 1 diabetes. Along with the leading experts who sit on these panels, Simon will help to steer the direction of the Grand Challenge to make sure our funding is invested in the right places, with the biggest potential to change the lives of people with type 1 diabetes. He is also Professor of Clinical Diabetes at the University of Sheffield and a world-renowned scientist, whose research has led the way in transforming our understanding of hypoglycaemia.

Why did you want to get involved with the Type 1 Diabetes Grand Challenge?

Simon: “It was a huge honour to be asked to assist in determining how this huge amount of funding could best be used to benefit type 1 diabetes research in the UK. It’s important to me to do my best to see our research move more quickly towards a cure for people with type 1.”

How do you think the Type 1 Diabetes Grand Challenge will be a game-changer for type 1 diabetes research?

“I hope that the Type 1 Diabetes Grand Challenge will allow the UK to play a major part in moving the research landscape closer to a cure. It will hopefully enable us to do something much more rapidly than we otherwise would be able to.”

What would a cure for type 1 diabetes look like to you?

“A cure would be removing the burden of day-to-day self-management of type 1 diabetes. In particular, it would allow people with the condition to live a life of spontaneity and doing activities which those of us without diabetes often take for granted.”

How did you get into the field of type 1 diabetes research?

“When I arrived at the Queens Medical Centre in Nottingham as a trainee registrar, I was intending to be a cardiologist. But a six-month placement in a diabetes team changed that. The legendary diabetes researcher Robert Tattersall (who discovered MODY and introduced the world to self-monitoring blood glucose levels) was my boss. He was a wonderful teacher who taught me to listen to people with diabetes and learn for myself how much it asked of people in terms of self-management. He also showed me that it wasn’t the healthcare professionals who made the biggest impact on managing type 1, but instead how much the person themselves could learn and implement about this very complex condition. Robert inspired me to become a researcher and showed me what an interesting and important specialty diabetes is.”

What has been your career highlight so far?

“It’s hard to narrow it down. One highlight is bringing the DAFNE training course – which helps people with type 1 lead a healthy life – from Germany to the UK’s NHS. Another key achievement was discovering that repeated hypos lead to impaired awareness of hypoglycaemia and increased risk of hypoglycaemia. I feel fortunate that I have been involved in research which has made a difference to the lives of people with type 1.”

Tell us something we don’t know about diabetes or the pancreas

“When I was preparing a talk on hypoglycaemia, I learnt that the first definition of 1 unit of insulin was the amount of insulin which could cause an epileptic seizure in a rabbit. This is because over a hundred years ago when insulin was discovered, there was no way of measuring insulin amounts. I read this fact in a wonderful book by Michael Bliss titled The Discovery of Insulin.”

What are you currently working on?

“My main research project at the moment is working with researchers from the USA, UK and Australia on a large research trial. The study is testing what the most effective way of restoring the warnings for hypoglycaemia in people with type 1 who have lost them.”

What skills do you need to have to be a great researcher?

“From working with great researchers, I’ve learnt that they need to be curious, creative and persistent. The best clinical researchers listen to people with lived experience to ensure they address important questions.”

What do you like doing when you’re not working on research?

“I spend my spare time travelling to interesting places, reading, and listening to music – particularly opera. I also love spending time with my family and my three grandkids. Less rewarding in recent years has been my love for Tottenham Hotspur FC.”

What would you be doing if you weren’t a researcher?

“I can’t think of any other careers as rewarding as supporting patients. I’d be very happy just doing clinical work alone.”

Professor Simon Heller is chair of all three scientific advisory panels in the Type 1 Diabetes Grand Challenge, covering beta cells, novel insulins and root causes of type 1 diabetes. Along with the leading experts who sit on these panels, Simon will help to steer the direction of the Grand Challenge to make sure our funding is invested in the right places, with the biggest potential to change the lives of people with type 1 diabetes. He is also Professor of Clinical Diabetes at the University of Sheffield and a world-renowned scientist, whose research has led the way in transforming our understanding of hypoglycaemia.

Why did you want to get involved with the Type 1 Diabetes Grand Challenge?

Simon: “It was a huge honour to be asked to assist in determining how this huge amount of funding could best be used to benefit type 1 diabetes research in the UK. It’s important to me to do my best to see our research move more quickly towards a cure for people with type 1.”

How do you think the Type 1 Diabetes Grand Challenge will be a game-changer for type 1 diabetes research?

“I hope that the Type 1 Diabetes Grand Challenge will allow the UK to play a major part in moving the research landscape closer to a cure. It will hopefully enable us to do something much more rapidly than we otherwise would be able to.”

What would a cure for type 1 diabetes look like to you?

“A cure would be removing the burden of day-to-day self-management of type 1 diabetes. In particular, it would allow people with the condition to live a life of spontaneity and doing activities which those of us without diabetes often take for granted.”

How did you get into the field of type 1 diabetes research?

“When I arrived at the Queens Medical Centre in Nottingham as a trainee registrar, I was intending to be a cardiologist. But a six-month placement in a diabetes team changed that. The legendary diabetes researcher Robert Tattersall (who discovered MODY and introduced the world to self-monitoring blood glucose levels) was my boss. He was a wonderful teacher who taught me to listen to people with diabetes and learn for myself how much it asked of people in terms of self-management. He also showed me that it wasn’t the healthcare professionals who made the biggest impact on managing type 1, but instead how much the person themselves could learn and implement about this very complex condition. Robert inspired me to become a researcher and showed me what an interesting and important specialty diabetes is.”

What has been your career highlight so far?

“It’s hard to narrow it down. One highlight is bringing the DAFNE training course – which helps people with type 1 lead a healthy life – from Germany to the UK’s NHS. Another key achievement was discovering that repeated hypos lead to impaired awareness of hypoglycaemia and increased risk of hypoglycaemia. I feel fortunate that I have been involved in research which has made a difference to the lives of people with type 1.”

Tell us something we don’t know about diabetes or the pancreas

“When I was preparing a talk on hypoglycaemia, I learnt that the first definition of 1 unit of insulin was the amount of insulin which could cause an epileptic seizure in a rabbit. This is because over a hundred years ago when insulin was discovered, there was no way of measuring insulin amounts. I read this fact in a wonderful book by Michael Bliss titled The Discovery of Insulin.”

What are you currently working on?

“My main research project at the moment is working with researchers from the USA, UK and Australia on a large research trial. The study is testing what the most effective way of restoring the warnings for hypoglycaemia in people with type 1 who have lost them.”

What skills do you need to have to be a great researcher?

“From working with great researchers, I’ve learnt that they need to be curious, creative and persistent. The best clinical researchers listen to people with lived experience to ensure they address important questions.”

What do you like doing when you’re not working on research?

“I spend my spare time travelling to interesting places, reading, and listening to music – particularly opera. I also love spending time with my family and my three grandkids. Less rewarding in recent years has been my love for Tottenham Hotspur FC.”

What would you be doing if you weren’t a researcher?

“I can’t think of any other careers as rewarding as supporting patients. I’d be very happy just doing clinical work alone.”

Professor Simon Heller is chair of all three scientific advisory panels in the Type 1 Diabetes Grand Challenge, covering beta cells, novel insulins and root causes of type 1 diabetes. Along with the leading experts who sit on these panels, Simon will help to steer the direction of the Grand Challenge to make sure our funding is invested in the right places, with the biggest potential to change the lives of people with type 1 diabetes. He is also Professor of Clinical Diabetes at the University of Sheffield and a world-renowned scientist, whose research has led the way in transforming our understanding of hypoglycaemia.

Why did you want to get involved with the Type 1 Diabetes Grand Challenge?

Simon: “It was a huge honour to be asked to assist in determining how this huge amount of funding could best be used to benefit type 1 diabetes research in the UK. It’s important to me to do my best to see our research move more quickly towards a cure for people with type 1.”

How do you think the Type 1 Diabetes Grand Challenge will be a game-changer for type 1 diabetes research?

“I hope that the Type 1 Diabetes Grand Challenge will allow the UK to play a major part in moving the research landscape closer to a cure. It will hopefully enable us to do something much more rapidly than we otherwise would be able to.”

What would a cure for type 1 diabetes look like to you?

“A cure would be removing the burden of day-to-day self-management of type 1 diabetes. In particular, it would allow people with the condition to live a life of spontaneity and doing activities which those of us without diabetes often take for granted.”

How did you get into the field of type 1 diabetes research?

“When I arrived at the Queens Medical Centre in Nottingham as a trainee registrar, I was intending to be a cardiologist. But a six-month placement in a diabetes team changed that. The legendary diabetes researcher Robert Tattersall (who discovered MODY and introduced the world to self-monitoring blood glucose levels) was my boss. He was a wonderful teacher who taught me to listen to people with diabetes and learn for myself how much it asked of people in terms of self-management. He also showed me that it wasn’t the healthcare professionals who made the biggest impact on managing type 1, but instead how much the person themselves could learn and implement about this very complex condition. Robert inspired me to become a researcher and showed me what an interesting and important specialty diabetes is.”

What has been your career highlight so far?

“It’s hard to narrow it down. One highlight is bringing the DAFNE training course – which helps people with type 1 lead a healthy life – from Germany to the UK’s NHS. Another key achievement was discovering that repeated hypos lead to impaired awareness of hypoglycaemia and increased risk of hypoglycaemia. I feel fortunate that I have been involved in research which has made a difference to the lives of people with type 1.”

Tell us something we don’t know about diabetes or the pancreas

“When I was preparing a talk on hypoglycaemia, I learnt that the first definition of 1 unit of insulin was the amount of insulin which could cause an epileptic seizure in a rabbit. This is because over a hundred years ago when insulin was discovered, there was no way of measuring insulin amounts. I read this fact in a wonderful book by Michael Bliss titled The Discovery of Insulin.”

What are you currently working on?

“My main research project at the moment is working with researchers from the USA, UK and Australia on a large research trial. The study is testing what the most effective way of restoring the warnings for hypoglycaemia in people with type 1 who have lost them.”

What skills do you need to have to be a great researcher?

“From working with great researchers, I’ve learnt that they need to be curious, creative and persistent. The best clinical researchers listen to people with lived experience to ensure they address important questions.”

What do you like doing when you’re not working on research?

“I spend my spare time travelling to interesting places, reading, and listening to music – particularly opera. I also love spending time with my family and my three grandkids. Less rewarding in recent years has been my love for Tottenham Hotspur FC.”

What would you be doing if you weren’t a researcher?

“I can’t think of any other careers as rewarding as supporting patients. I’d be very happy just doing clinical work alone.”

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.

“We want to help bring about change for the whole type 1 community,” explains Steve. “The community is a tight family made up of those who have type 1 and those who care for them. The Type 1 Diabetes Grand Challenge aims to find better solutions for everyone.”

Steve and Sally were introduced to the type 1 community and the relentless daily management of the condition when Sally’s son Hugo was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes at the age of seven.

“Hugo was diagnosed whilst we were on holiday in Antigua,” says Sally. “Despite having all the tell-tale signs: sudden weight loss, lethargy, excessive drinking etc. we had not comprehended how seriously poorly he was. As with any recent diagnosis understanding how to manage Hugo’s diabetes was a huge learning curve, both practically and mentally.”

Steve adds: “The diagnosis was a shock but we quickly got on the case – we weren’t going to take it lying down! Following his diagnosis in July, he went onto a pump in September. We’re constantly looking at new technologies and asking if we should be looking at smart pens, different sensors and more.”

While technology plays an important part in the management of Hugo’s type 1, Steve and Sally believe in the power of research to bring about better treatments, and eventually a cure.

Steve and Sally were introduced to JDRF and the world of type 1 research when Hugo was being cared for by the Countess of Chester Hospital. Sally explains: “Hugo was given a KIDSAC that contained Rufus the bear. That bear especially helped Hugo, he would frequently use it to practice injections and explain his condition to teachers and classmates. Philanthropy is important to us, so I decided to do some due diligence into JDRF as a charity. We liked what we learned and 12 months after Hugo’s diagnosis we approached the charity about making a meaningful donation.”

Steve and Sally have a long history of philanthropic giving. In 2001 Steve founded the Steve Morgan Foundation to support projects that help children and families, people with physical or learning disabilities, the elderly, or those that are socially disadvantaged in North Wales, Merseyside and Cheshire. Since its launch, the Foundation has committed assets of £300 million for charities and supported over 2,000 grants, which have benefitted over 3 million people.

“Four years ago, we donated £3m to JDRF,” says Steve. “We wanted it to go directly into research. We followed through with subsequent grants. We’ve never, ever just sat back and written cheques. We don’t want what we donate to end up being swallowed up by the administration costs, we want it to go directly to where it’s needed. In this case to finding a cure for Type I diabetes.”

The latest donation of £50 million to Diabetes UK and JDRF will be directed into three main avenues of research. Over the next five years the partnership will challenge scientists to come up with pioneering research ideas focusing on new insulins, treatments to stop the immune system’s attack on insulin-making beta cells and treatments to rescue and replace beta cells.

“When we told Hugo about the £50m donation, he just burst into tears and gave Steve a great big hug,” says Sally. “It shows the size of what he has to deal with on a day-to-day basis due to his type 1 diabetes. The donation is for everyone living with type 1, it gives hope.”

The scale of the donation and ambitions of the Type 1 Diabetes Grand Challenge will allow the partnership to make bigger strides forward in the search for more effective treatments and eventually a cure, giving everyone with type 1 hope that in the future type 1 diabetes won’t be the continuous burden that it currently is.

“It would be in our wildest dreams to get a cure at the end of these five years,” says Steve. “If nothing else it will bring forward that day.”