Skip to main content

Type 1 Diabetes Grand Challenge launches first research call

We are delighted to announce that we have opened our first funding round, calling scientists to submit research proposals that could be transformational for people with type 1 diabetes.
JDRF logo placeholder for author profile picture
Kate Lawton 23 June 2022

Steve and Sally Morgan in a JDRF-funded lab

Following the exciting announcement in April about a new partnership between the Steve Morgan Foundation, Diabetes UK and JDRF to invest £50m into game-changing type 1 diabetes research, we have opened our first funding round, calling scientists to submit research proposals that could be transformational for people with type 1 diabetes.

First-class research cannot happen without first class researchers. Diabetes UK and JDRF are committed to nurturing the diabetes research leaders of the future, so for the first research call we have worked together to develop a new senior fellowship programme.

Supporting the best research minds

Fellowships are awards for individual researchers that support them to develop their careers, build their own research teams, and make diabetes research their life’s work.

The new Type 1 Diabetes Senior Research Fellowship will allow exceptional researchers, with a track-record of impactful research, to become world leaders in their field and lead the race for new treatments and a cure for type 1 diabetes.

The fellowship will award scientists up to £1.5 million to research:

These areas, along with novel insulins, were identified as carrying the most potential to improve the lives of people with type 1 diabetes and propel us towards a cure.

Rachel Connor, Director of Research Partnerships at JDRF, said:

“We believe in the power of research to one day lift the burden of living with type 1 diabetes, and alongside our partners in the Type 1 Diabetes Grand Challenge we are proud to launch this Senior Fellowship to enable researchers to pursue new ideas to transform lives for people with type 1 diabetes.

We can’t wait to see how this opportunity will deliver in supporting the cutting edge research that the Type 1 Diabetes Grand Challenge has set out to inspire.”

The research community will have until September 2022 to shape their ideas and apply for the fellowship. Diabetes UK and JDRF will then work with research experts and people living with or affected by type 1 diabetes to review the applications. They will select those submitted by researchers with exceptional track-records and that involve the highest quality science, with the greatest chance of benefiting people with type 1 diabetes. We expect to announce the final funding decisions in early 2023 and will keep you updated.

This fellowship will be administered by Diabetes UK on behalf of the Type 1 Diabetes Grand Challenge Partnership.

If you’re a diabetes researcher, find out more information about the call and application process.

Related news

Read more
Professor Richard Oram in the Research, Innovation, Learning and Development (RILD) building at the University of Exeter.
7 March 2024

New biochip launches that detects genetic risk of type 1 diabetes

A new test by Randox, developed with JDRF-funded researchers at the University of Exeter, is the first in the world to use genetics to quickly identify who is at high risk of developing type 1 diabetes.

Read more
A graphic of a DNA double helix with a piece being removed demonstrating genetic engineering.
Cure research
21 February 2024

Primate with type 1 diabetes becomes insulin-independent after receiving gene-edited cells without immunosuppression

A transplant of stem cells grown into pancreatic islets has allowed a primate with type 1 to make its own insulin again.

Read more
A profile photo of type 1 diabetes prevention researcher, Professor Claire Meek.
Prevention research
13 February 2024

JDRF and Helmsley Trust funding leads global research push to prevent type 1 diabetes

JDRF and the Helmsley Charitable Trust have announced over £1.5 million in joint funding for five international researchers – including one UK-based researcher – to access unique data sources and unravel how type 1 diabetes develops, with the goal of preventing the condition.

Read more
A small container containing three tablets of a novel glucose-responsive oral insulin.
29 January 2024

Early research shows glucose-responsive insulin tablets are safe and effective in animals

Researchers have developed a new oral insulin that travels in an inactive state to the liver and is only activated by rising blood glucose levels.