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.
Dr Elizabeth Robertson, Director of Research at Diabetes UK, said:
“This new fellowship sees the Type 1 Diabetes Grand Challenge off to a flying start. The funding will allow independent scientists to focus on research that shows a clear line of sight to improving the lives of people living with type 1 diabetes.
“We’re excited to be able to support the research community to come up with innovative ideas and kick off the race towards a cure for type 1 diabetes.”
Rachel Connor, Director of Research Partnerships at JDRF, said:
“We believe in the power of research to one day lift the burden of living with type 1 diabetes, and alongside our partners in the Type 1 Diabetes Grand Challenge we are proud to launch this Senior Fellowship to enable researchers to pursue new ideas to transform lives for people with type 1 diabetes.
“We can't wait to see how this opportunity will deliver in supporting the cutting edge research that the Type 1 Diabetes Grand Challenge has set out to inspire.”
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.
