Our research projects

People living with diabetes are invited to attend routine eye screening appointments to protect their eye health. However, eye drops used during these visits can be uncomfortable and irritating and put people off attending. Professor Scanlon is testing whether a new camera can avoid the need for eye drops in Asian and African-Caribbean people. This research could protect more people from different ethnicities against diabetes-related eye damage. 

Diabetic retinopathy is a common complication of diabetes that can lead to vision loss. People who have had this condition for more than five years may be at higher risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease. Dr Karis Little aims to better understand the connection between these two conditions by studying the systems in the brain and eye that remove waste. Better understanding what retinopathy and Alzheimer’s disease have in common could provide insights into how retinopathy develops and help identify new treatments.

Severe insulin resistance is a key feature of a rare form of diabetes, caused by genetic changes which affects the structure of the insulin receptor. Dr Gemma Brierley will explore whether antibodies can be redesigned to improve the function of the insulin receptor. This research could improve our understanding of how a rare form of diabetes develops and and lead to life-saving new treatments. 

Insulin-making beta cells respond differently to stress in women and men. Dr Aileen King wants to understand why this is, and if treatments tailored to men and women could treat both type 1 and type 2 diabetes more effectively. 

Beta cells have the job of making insulin, but when they’re overworked in people living with type 2 diabetes, they start to burn out. Professor Nigel Irwin is exploring a new treatment that hopes to help beta cells recharge, so they carry on making enough insulin to keep blood sugar levels on an even keel.

Weight gain is an important risk factor for type 2 diabetes. A lot of research studies focus on what’s happening inside fat cells to try and explain why insulin no longer works properly. Dr Kang now plans to study what’s happening just outside fat cells to find more answers and a better understanding about the link between weight gain and type 2 diabetes. 

Scientists think that gestational diabetes could be split into two main subtypes. Dr Sara White will find out if measurements of babies from ultrasound scans could be used to identify which subtype of gestational diabetes a woman has. This could help doctors to tailor and improve care, potentially reducing the risk of pregnancy complications for hundreds of thousands of women in the UK every year.

The current test for gestational diabetes can be inaccurate, expensive, inconvenient, and unappealing for many women. Professor Claire Meek wants to develop a new test that could tackle these problems. A better test could help more women with gestational diabetes to get an easier diagnosis, as well as the support they need as they go through pregnancy. 

People with diabetes are at an increased risk of health problems as they age. But doctors don’t usually monitor how older people with diabetes are ageing physically. Professor Bain now wants to develop an Artificial Intelligence (AI) programme that measures the physical ability levels of older people with type 2 diabetes. This could help to better understand the diverse needs of older people with diabetes and use this to make care more personalised.