Our research projects

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. 

Our cells have engines, called mitochondria, which power them. In insulin-making cells, the mitochondria tell the cells how and when to release insulin. When blood sugar levels are high, for example when someone has type 2 diabetes, this process stops working properly. Dr Aida Martinez-Sanchez wants to investigate why this happens by studying how the gene Mtfp1 plays a part how beta cell mitochondria behave. Understanding this could help researchers to develop better treatments that may stop type 2 diabetes from progressing.

There are a number of inherited genetic conditions causing very low body fat stores. One of these is congenital generalised lipodystrophy type 2 which can also lead to type 2 diabetes. Dr McIlroy’s shown that gene therapy can treat this condition so he’s now going to study it in more detail. He’s hoping this knowledge will lead to better treatments for type 2 diabetes. 

Type 1 diabetes develops when a person’s immune system attacks and destroys their insulin-making beta cells. Dr Leete will study pancreas samples from people with type 1 diabetes to figure out why the immune system turns on beta cells, and how this process may differ between people, especially those diagnosed at different ages. In the future this could lead to more personalised treatments to delay or prevent type 1 diabetes.

The brain has an important role in measuring and controlling blood sugar levels. In people with diabetes this can go wrong when the brain chooses a level that’s too high. Dr Clemence Blouet wants to find out if there’s a way of developing new treatments that can reprogramme the brain to keep blood sugar at safer levels.

The use of antipsychotics in children has increased dramatically in recent decades. In adults, these drugs are linked with a greater risk of developing type 2 diabetes. But we don’t know how they affect type 2 risk in children and young people. Dr Lau will study NHS medical records from those treated with antipsychotics and will search for risk factors of type 2 in this group. This could give us better ways to help prevent type 2 diabetes in children who take antipsychotics.

Lower levels of vitamin C have been linked with obesity and an increased risk of developing type 2 diabetes. Professor Jon Whitehead will explore how vitamin C gets into fats cells and if more vitamin C inside these cells helps insulin to work better. Understanding this could help us find out if vitamin C supplements could become a new strategy to help treat type 2 diabetes in the future.