Type 1 Diabetes Research
JDRF funds research that addresses every aspect of type 1 diabetes, from prevention to treatment to a cure.
The mission that drives JDRF is finding a cure for type 1 diabetes and its complications through the support of research.
In the last four decades, we have funded more than US$1.5 billion in type 1 diabetes research across 19 countries, making us the world's leading non-government funder and advocate for type 1 diabetes science.
By creating and leveraging partnerships between government, research and business, JDRF helps to take diabetes science to where it is needed most — people living with type 1 diabetes.
We are focused on improving the lives of people with diabetes today and in the future so our research support is directed towards the best science that leads to better treatment as well as the most important science leading to a cure.
JDRF funded research is focused on two main areas:
Cure Therapies
- Beta Cell Therapies - to restore the body's ability to make insulin through the regeneration or replacement of insulin-producing cells
- Immune Therapies - to stop the immune system's attack on insulin-producing beta cells, which causes type 1 diabetes
Treatment Therapies
- Glucose Control - to improve blood glucose control while avoiding dangerous highs and lows in people at all stages of type 1 diabetes
- Complications Therapies - to prevent and reverse the devastating long-term complications that can accompany diabetes, including diseases of the eyes, nerves, and kidneys
All funds raised by JDRF are coordinated on a global level for optimum results. Research projects undergo a detailed review by international medical and lay review committees to ensure they contribute to a cure, no matter where they are or what field they are in.
JDRF's Professional Advisory Panel judges the scientific merit of the request for support, including the approach, the qualifications of the investigator and the relevance to type 1 diabetes.
The Lay Review Panel, which is typically made up of volunteers who have been affected by type 1 diabetes, decides whether a piece of research will ultimately help people with type 1 diabetes and while also assesses how quickly it can be translated into a real-life application.
The worldwide nature of our research program actively encourages collaboration, not just between JDRF funded researchers, but with researchers representing other conditions and medical research organisations as well.
To find out about JDRF's latest type 1 diabetes research sign up to our monthly type 1 diabetes newsletter.
You can also find out about our latest developments at the research news section of our website.
You can contribute to type 1 diabetes research
To help JDRF find a cure for type 1 diabetes, you can donate to type 1 diabetes research online. No matter how large or small, your gift will help JDRF continue to move research from the laboratory through to a clinical reality for the 122,300 Australians currently living with type 1 diabetes.