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Funded projects
Find out more about the projects we’re funding to propel us towards better treatments and cures for type 1 diabetes
19
ground-breaking research projects underway
161
brilliant researchers and collaborators teaming up to tackle type 1
47
institutes supporting cutting-edge science
8
countries around the world where research is taking place
Beta Cell Therapy Programme Grant
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Beta cells: replace, protect, regenerate
The team’s project aims to pioneer new approaches to make better beta cells ready for transplantation, protect the beta cells from an immune attack, and to regrow beta cells inside the pancreas.
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Making transplanted beta cells feel at home
This project aims to unlock the full potential of transplants of insulin-making beta cells, by innovating ways to keep cells safe from harm once they’re transplanted into someone with type 1 diabetes.
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Unleashing the benefits of beta cell transplants
This project aims to explore better and more innovative ways to transplant islets, clusters of pancreas cells, into people with type 1 diabetes to enable them to make their own insulin.
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Bolstering beta cells ready for transplantation
This project aims to run state-of-the-art experiments and find ways to improve methods to engineer new beta cells in the lab, so they act and react more like real human beta cells.
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Tiny molecules with big potential for type 1
This project aims to investigate how tiny molecules called microRNAs change the function of insulin-making beta cells.
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How do beta cells tick?
This project will take inspiration from tick saliva to develop a defence mechanism for beta cells transplanted into people with type 1 diabetes.
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Insulin on the brain
This project will explore whether a type of cell found in the brain can help beta cells to make more insulin while hiding them from the immune system’s attack.
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Building a trans-Atlantic pipeline of beta cells to speed up research
Four research teams across the UK are testing if beta cells produced in the US by the Advanced Regenerative Manufacturing Institute can survive being shipped to the UK and still work properly in research studies.
Root Causes Programme Grant
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Combination therapy could help protect insulin-producing beta cells
Dr Danijela Tatovic’s project aims to test a combination of two therapies, both already licensed to treat other autoimmune conditions, to see if together, they can help protect surviving beta cells and delay progression of type 1 diabetes.
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Does timing matter for therapies to prevent beta cell destruction?
Dr James Pearson’s project aims to test whether a new medicine, that slows the destruction of beta cells in people with type 1 diabetes, is more effective if administered at a particular time of day.
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Could an existing medicine reverse the steps that lead to type 1 diabetes?
Professor Eoin McKinney and his team at University of Cambridge have discovered ‘signatures’ of immune cell changes seen only in people who later develop type 1 diabetes. In this Type 1 Diabetes Grand Challenge project, they will search for existing medicines that can rewrite this signature to prevent type 1 diabetes.
Novel Insulins Innovation Incubator
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Ultrafast insulin inspired by snails
The team’s project will develop and test an ultrafast-acting insulin that’s only active when needed and could reduce the risk of blood glucose highs and lows in people with type 1 diabetes.
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A novel mixture of insulin and glucagon
The team’s project will develop and test a novel protein molecule that combines insulin and glucagon to help reduce the burden of blood glucose highs and lows for people living with type 1 diabetes.
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Smart glucose-responsive insulin reservoirs
The team’s project will develop and test a ‘smart insulin’ delivery system, comprising an injectable glucose-responsive reservoir, allowing blood glucose levels to be managed in real-time.
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A stable pool of insulin released in response to glucose
The team are designing novel insulins that respond immediately to rising blood glucose levels. In this project they will test a new kind of insulin that can be used either daily or weekly. Once injected, it forms a reservoir of insulin under the skin that is released in response to increasing blood glucose levels.
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‘Smarter’ insulin to manage blood glucose levels
The team’s project aims to develop an even smarter insulin that can precisely manage blood glucose like a healthy pancreas.
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Small Nano Sugar: a new glucose-responsive insulin delivery system
The team’s project will will work to bring a new insulin delivery system. based on advanced nanotechnology, closer to clinical trials.
Senior Research Fellowships
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Breathing new life into beta cells
Dr James Cantley’s project aims to identify, develop and test new treatments to grow new beta cells, and encourage surviving beta cells to replicate directly in the pancreases of people with type 1 diabetes.
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‘Printing’ a safe haven for beta cells
Dr Victoria Salem’s project aims to develop a device that can be implanted into people with type 1 diabetes to deliver a new supply of beta cells.
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Protecting the pancreas
Professor Sarah Richardson’s project aims to investigate how and why the immune system destroys beta cells in type 1 diabetes, and how the process may differ between people with the condition.
Putting people affected by type 1 diabetes at the heart of research.
The Type 1 Diabetes Grand Challenge brings together scientists and the type 1 community to drive forward progress in areas that matter most to people with type 1.
