Our research projects

In many types of diabetes, insulin-producing beta cells in the pancreas become stressed and damaged. Professor Terence Herbert has found that a group of molecules called RNA binding proteins (RBPs) may play an important role in helping beta cells survive this stress. In this project, his PhD student will explore how these proteins work and whether they could help protect beta cells and to prevent or slow the progress of diabetes.

People from Black African and Caribbean and South Asian backgrounds are at a higher risk of developing type 2 diabetes and some of its complications than White people. Professor Daniel Cuthbertson will look at differences in body fat stores and insulin response among people from these ethnic groups to uncover biological factors that can contribute to the development of type 2. This could lead to tailored support and treatments to prevent and manage type 2 diabetes based on your ethnicity.

People with diabetes are at risk of many complications because high blood sugar levels can damage their tiny blood vessels. Even though every person develops complications differently, there are no personalised treatments. Dr Zampetaki will test a new technology, which makes copies of a person’s blood vessels in the lab, to see which drugs best prevent blood vessel damage for them. This could help to personalise care to each individual with diabetes and accelerate the development of new complications treatments. 

Access to diabetes technology isn’t the same for everyone living with type 1. Prof May Ng wants to explore how ethnicity and where people live can affect whether children and young people use tech. Finding and addressing unfair gaps in accessing tech will help all young people to manage their diabetes better, no matter their background. 

Pregnant women with diabetes have a higher chance of their babies being born with heart problems. Dr Chivers is researching the factors that can cause this and also better ways of working out which babies are at greatest risk. In the future, this could help give better care to pregnant women with diabetes and their babies. 

Mitochondria are important in powering our cells. Mitochondria that don’t work properly are usually replaced by new ones. But in diabetes this system doesn’t work properly and this can lead to sight loss. Dr Romero is working to understand how this happens and whether a new treatment to help mitochondria could stop eye damage. 

Weight loss surgery can be a really effective way to lose weight and treat type 2 diabetes. But we don’t understand much about the impact of surgery on pregnancy. Professor Tricia Tan wants to figure out if one particular type of weight loss surgery is linked to a smoother pregnancy and birth. She’ll also look for better ways of diagnosing gestational diabetes in women who’ve had weight loss surgery. The findings could lead to safer pregnancies in women living with obesity, type 2 or gestational diabetes and healthier babies.

Diabetes stigma is a serious problem and can have serious effects on people with diabetes’ physical and mental health. Professor Nick Oliver will look at the causes of type 1 diabetes stigma, explore how many people in the UK experience it and the impact it can have. Understanding the roots of type 1 diabetes stigma and how it evolves over time, could help to develop novel ways to manage or tackle it.

Type 1 diabetes distress is very common, and can make living with the condition incredibly difficult. But we currently don’t have an effective treatment for it in the UK. Prof Jackie Sturt wants to develop and test a programme, called D-stress, designed to prevent, detect and manage diabetes distress. This vital research could help more people with type 1 diabetes to get the emotional support they need to live more happily with the condition.

Immunotherapies work by retraining the immune system, and scientists hope they could stop or prevent the immune attack behind Type 1 diabetes. They’re testing different immunotherapies right now, but we need to speed up progress. Professor Colin Dayan will expand a network of immunotherapy research teams and improve the clinical trials process to help make these treatments available for people with Type 1 as soon as possible.