Our research projects

Insulin-making beta cells are powered by energy factories within the cells, called mitochondria. Dr De Franco will look at the genes from babies who have too high or too low blood sugar levels to find genetic changes that alter how mitochondria power beta cells. This could give us a better idea about how mitochondria help to keep blood sugar levels normal and could lead to new and improved treatments for diabetes.  

Established in 2011, ADDRESS-2 is a database of information from of people newly diagnosed with type 1 diabetes who have agreed to be involved in research. This new funding will continue to support the program and allow the team recruit more people. The team will work with the type 1 diabetes Immunotherapy Consortium to increase the number of people recruited into immunotherapy trials. These trials aim to find new ways to prevent, or cure, type 1 diabetes.

Researching fat cells provides a chance to better understand the link between insulin resistance and type 2 diabetes. A substance in the blood called ADMA changes how fat cells work. Dr Salt is going to compare ADMA in fat cells of humans and mice to understand why this happens. This could open the door to new ways of preventing or treating type 2 diabetes. 

Living with diabetes can increase the risk of kidney disease, which in turn increases the risk of heart disease. Professor Luigi Gnudi has found a new protein that can tune signalling molecules to protect kidney cells and blood vessels. Understanding how the protein does this could help researchers to develop new treatments that can heal damaged kidney cells and also lower the risk of heart and blood vessel problems for people living with diabetes. 

Gestational diabetes is a type of diabetes that can develop during pregnancy. It can increase the risk of both mum and baby developing type 2 diabetes in the future. Dr Sarah Chapple wants to know if a chemical found in broccoli, called sulforaphane, could help the pancreas to work better during pregnancy. This will help us understand if sulforaphane holds promise to treat people with or at risk of gestational diabetes, and to lower the risk of type 2 diabetes for mums and their children. 

Type 1 diabetes develops when the immune system attacks and destroys insulin-making beta cells. Dr Mark Russell and his team will test existing drugs that could help hide and protect beta cells from attack. This could lead to a new way to slow down type 1 diabetes, giving people more time with their own insulin and a better quality of life. 

Cilia are tiny, hair-like structures that help cells communicate. Dr Nalia Haq is studying whether cilia problems in insulin-making beta cells contribute to the development of type 1 diabetes,  or result from it. Her findings could help us better understand the root causes of type 1 diabetes, and point to targets for new treatments to slow or prevent it.

Autoantibodies are proteins made by the immune system that signal it has begun to attack the pancreas. People who have two or more types of autoantibodies will almost certainly go on to fully develop type 1 diabetes in their lifetime. Dr Rachel Besser wants to make a list of everyone in the UK who has autoantibodies, called the UK islet autoantibody registry. The aim is to monitor how they progress through the early stages of type 1 diabetes, connect them with clinical trials of new treatments designed to slow down this progression, and understand how best to support them within the NHS.

Obesity and type 2 diabetes can both harm the kidneys. Dr Li Kang has discovered a group of molecules that may be involved in this process. She will now investigate whether blocking these molecules could help protect the kidneys from damage in people living with obesity and type 2 diabetes.