JDRF - Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation

Research for a healthier happier life and one day, a cure.

The JDRF community has helped us to support more than 60 Australian research projects in 2011. These projects have one important thing in common – they are all helping move us closer to a better life and a cure for people with type 1 diabetes.

All this, and more, could not happen without the support of you, and the rest of the JDRF community. You can help us achieve more essential type 1 diabetes research.

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There are many reasons why people jump out of a plane. Some people jump when they reach a milestone, some jump as a team building activity and others jump to face their fear. Now you have the opportunity to Jump to Cure Diabetes with JDRF.

Imagine the feeling when you and your tandem instructor step out of the plane’s door 14,000 feet above the ground … and freefall for 60 seconds at 250km per hour … before pulling the parachute cord … and floating to the ground with views over the local area. Still not convinced? Have a look at Liz Daly who Jumped to Cure Diabetes in 2011 and see the thrill she experienced.

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JDRF congratulates Gwennyth Baker on being a finalist for the 2012 Victorian Senior Australian of the Year award.

Since 1986 when her son Andrew was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes, Gwennyth has tirelessly assisted JDRF in pursuing our vision of a world without type 1 diabetes and has helped raise vital funds and awareness for diabetes research. With over 122,000 Australians currently living with the disease and more diagnosed every day, Gwennyth’s impact has and will affect past, present and future generations.

In the past 25 years, Gwennyth has been involved in every aspect of JDRF including: management of people and projects; running fundraising and awareness raising events; and creating programs that supported the type 1 diabetes community from the point of diagnosis. Gwennyth has volunteered up to 35 hours a week for 25 years with the consistency of a staff member and the determination of a passionate volunteer.

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JDRF is fundraising for the holiday season, and here’s how you can help! By becoming part of Team Cure Diabetes and simply adding JDRF into your holiday greetings this year you are able to make an impact on JDRF’s ability to fund research whilst also personalising your seasons’ greetings:

Christmas and Holiday Cards – Send a traditional message with one of the many designs available. Charity Greeting Cards will donate 40cents from each card ordered + an additional 5% if you place your order by 26th November!

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The international arm of the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF) has partnered with US company InnoCentive to launch an USD$100,000 ‘Challenge’ for new ideas that may lead to the formulation of a drug that would remove or reduce the need for injections for people with type 1 diabetes.

InnoCentive finds new ways to solve technological and scientific problems using crowdsourcing and open innovation. The idea is to use the web to build connections between R&D problems or ‘Challenges’ and ‘Solvers’, who are creative people that might work or study in different industries or fields, or perhaps in other countries.

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The Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation is thrilled to share our 2009/10 Annual Report, available online now.

This Report aims to capture the spirit of hope for a cure for type 1 diabetes as well as the full range of JDRF’s activities.

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Prime Minister Kevin Rudd yesterday committed to match a $500,000 funding contribution made by President of the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF) in Australia, Dr Susan Alberti AO. He also committed to additional matching government funding for JDRF to a total of $5 million into the future.

One hundred JDRF Youth Ambassadors aged 3 to 32, all with type 1 diabetes, converged on Parliament House to personally ask for government funding for type 1 diabetes research and a Clinical Trials Network (CTN).

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Strap on the helmet and pull on the lycra – the Ride to Cure Diabetes is on again in January 2010. JDRF’s annual cycling event covers the best of the picturesque Barossa Valley with three courses of 35, 80 or 160kms.

Last year the Ride to Cure Diabetes raised over $1.3 million in critical funds for Australian research in type 1 diabetes. Those results are expected to be matched in 2010, with up to 350 Riders expected to don helmets and lycra to support the cause.

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Put simply, the hygiene hypothesis refers to the idea that our decreasing interaction with infectious bugs and germs may leave result in some people becoming more susceptible to autoimmune attacks. As the term suggests, it is a hypothesis or idea that has been investigated by diabetes researchers since the early 1990’s.

Over time, scientists have broken the hypothesis down into two primary parts. The first involves our declining relationships with certain types of bacteria. A nice big colony of friendly gut bacteria helps keep our immune system in check. As our diets and lifestyles change, we are losing our healthy tummies and increasing our risk of developing autoimmune diseases.

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Breakthrough research by a Sydney-based research team has shown that the amount of dietary fibre in the diet plays a fundamental role in keeping the immune system healthy and autoimmune diseases, such as type 1 diabetes at bay.

The role of nutrition and gut health in the development of autoimmune disease is an exciting new field of investigation. Researchers initially targeted this area to understand why autoimmune diseases such as type 1 diabetes were so prevalent in western countries.

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