News - Type 1 Diabetes Grand Challenge

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Grand Challenge Symposium 2025: Momentum accelerates as progress becomes reality

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Group photograph of attendees of the Type 1 Diabetes Grand Challenge symposium 2025

December 10, 2025

Grand Challenge Symposium 2025: Momentum accelerates as progress becomes reality

Nearly 200 delegates from nine countries came together for this year’s Type 1 Diabetes Grand Challenge Symposium. A gathering that not only provided updates on the world-leading science funded by the programme but also demonstrated just how much the Type 1 Diabetes Grand Challenge community has grown in just over three years. If last year’s event was filled with anticipation and ambitious possibility, this year’s was defined by confidence, progress, and palpable momentum. Across every session, the message was clear: The Grand Challenge is delivering impact, and the pace is accelerating.

A lifetime shaped by research, now shaping research

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Sarah with her husband Neil on a trip we did around New England

November 14, 2025

A lifetime shaped by research, now shaping research

Sarah Gatward’s earliest experiences with type 1 diabetes have sparked a lifetime of curiosity and involvement in life-changing research. More than 50 years on, she’s helping others to get involved, to make the Type 1 Diabetes Grand Challenge as impactful as possible for people living with type 1.

New clues to why type 1 diabetes is more aggressive in young children

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November 13, 2025

New clues to why type 1 diabetes is more aggressive in young children

Professor Sarah Richardson and her team have made a major breakthrough in understanding why type 1 diabetes is more aggressive in young children, revealing that nearly all their insulin-producing beta cells are destroyed before they can mature. The new insights could pave the way for new strategies to prevent or delay type 1 diabetes and, in time, contribute to a cure.

Early research on “smart” insulin brings hope for safer type 1 diabetes management

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October 6, 2025

Early research on “smart” insulin brings hope for safer type 1 diabetes management

Researchers funded by the Type 1 Diabetes Grand Challenge have developed a new insulin–glucagon molecule, which could reduce dangerous drops in blood glucose, known as hypoglycaemia. For people living with type 1 diabetes, where hypoglycaemia is a constant risk, this breakthrough has the potential to make daily management safer and more reliable.

Funding boost enables UK researchers to access European type 1 diabetes cell therapy collaboration

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Researchers in lab coats looking at a screen together in their lab

September 23, 2025

Funding boost enables UK researchers to access European type 1 diabetes cell therapy collaboration

UK researchers will be able to collaborate with European experts on a major funding initiative to develop cell therapies for type 1 diabetes, thanks to funding from the Type 1 Diabetes Grand Challenge in partnership with UK Research and Innovation (UKRI).

Designing the future of type 1 diabetes treatment with smart insulins

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Matt Webber at the Grand Challenge dinner in Glasgow, there's a Grand Challenge branded banner behind him

September 10, 2025

Designing the future of type 1 diabetes treatment with smart insulins

We spoke with Professor Matt Webber, a Type 1 Diabetes Grand Challenge researcher who’s leading the development of next-generation insulins.

The Grand Challenge partners with the NIHR to establish a UK-wide Type 1 Diabetes Cell Therapy Clinical Trials Network

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August 4, 2025

The Grand Challenge partners with the NIHR to establish a UK-wide Type 1 Diabetes Cell Therapy Clinical Trials Network

We’re excited to announce that we’re investing £5 million over the next five years to establish a UK-wide Type 1 Diabetes Cell Therapy Clinical Trials Network, in partnership with the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR).

The innovation injection: the cross-disciplinary push to cure type 1 diabetes

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Grand Challenge researcher working in a lab setting

July 14, 2025

The innovation injection: the cross-disciplinary push to cure type 1 diabetes

The Type 1 Diabetes Grand Challenge is bringing diverse skills and fresh perspectives into type 1 research. Here we explain why new ways of thinking are vital and meet some of the researchers from other scientific fields who have joined the type 1 research community.

Despite what you learned at school, insulin isn’t just made in the pancreas

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June 16, 2025

Despite what you learned at school, insulin isn’t just made in the pancreas

Hear from our researcher, Dr Craig Beall, about the brain insulin production – what we’ve discovered so far, and what’s more to understand.

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.

How to get involved