Our resource hub is home to a wealth of articles, stories and videos about managing and living with type 1 diabetes.
Place your order for our free information packs that support adults and children who have been recently diagnosed.
Our researchers are working on different ways to develop a cure for type 1 diabetes - from growing insulin-producing beta cells in labs to hacking the immune system.
Learn about the technologies that can deliver insulin automatically when needed. And discover the next generation of insulins that are currently being developed.
You could win a cash prize of up to £25,000 when you play the Breakthrough T1D lottery. As well as the chance to win great prizes, you’ll also help fund our research to find a cure for type 1 diabetes.
Join us on Tuesday 4 June for an exclusive drinks reception and panel event featuring some of the UK’s top former and current sports professionals living with type 1 diabetes.
Find out about the latest progress in type 1 diabetes research, learn more about our ongoing partnerships or see what our celebrity ambassadors are up to.
Join the type 1 diabetes community and come together, raising awareness and vital funds for T1D. Every pound raised directly supports us to fund our life-changing research.
We provide a wealth of information and free resources to help you support and empower your patients or students.
Take our free course for schools to learn more about supporting pupils with type 1 diabetes in educational settings.
JDRF has now rebranded to Breakthrough T1D. Our name has changed, our mission has not.
Home > About Breakthrough T1D UK & our impact > Our research
One day, we will create a world without type 1 diabetes. Until that day, your support is vital for our international research to cure, treat and prevent type 1.
We fund international research that will cure, treat and prevent type 1 diabetes and its complications. We focus on investing in research that will transform the lives of people with type 1 diabetes – improving treatments today until we find a cure.
Over 400 active research studies are being funded by Breakthrough T1D UK around the world
Breakthrough T1D UK-funded research is currently taking place in 21 countries
At any one time, Breakthrough T1D UK is funding around 20 research projects in the UK
Discover how we’re working to cure, treat and prevent type 1 diabetes
Our researchers are working on lots of different ways to develop a cure for type 1 diabetes, from growing insulin-producing beta cells in labs to hacking the immune system to stop it attacking beta cells.
We’re improving lives by developing new ways to treat type 1 diabetes, until we find a cure. Our treatment research includes advancing technologies to help people with type 1 manage their blood glucose levels, creating new and improved types of insulin, and tackling diabetes complications.
Our prevention research aims to fix the problems with the immune system that lie at the heart of the condition. We’re also supporting screening projects to find people in the earliest stages of developing type 1 and delay their need for insulin injections.
The US FDA recently approved a drug that can delay the onset of type 1 diabetes for up to three years, called teplizumab. This success wouldn’t have happened without 30 years of Breakthrough T1D UK funding research.
Since 2006, we have funded research to develop and test hybrid closed loop (HCL) technology, which links people's insulin pump to their continuous glucose monitor. Now, HCL is set to become available to many people on the NHS.
For over 20 years, we funded Professor Doug Melton to grow stem cells into insulin-producing beta cells. Doug now works at Vertex Pharmaceuticals, who are running a clinical trial transplanting Doug’s lab-grown beta cells into people with type 1.
Dr Tom Wylie’s pioneering research project investigating the psychological impact of type 1 diabetes (T1D), in partnership with the Daphne Jackson Trust. The study, entitled Retrospective Longitudinal Analysis of Diabetes' psychological impact to stratify risk (RELOAD), will explore whether it is possible to identify people who may need mental health support following a T1D diagnosis.
Dr Kathleen Gillespie and her team are researching how signalling molecules help coordinate immune cell attacks on the pancreas, contributing to T1D development.
Dr Kathleen Gillespie and her team will investigate whether existing tests could help predict how quickly a person in the early stages of T1D will progress.
Dr Matthew Anson is studying whether hybrid closed loop technology, also known as an artificial pancreas, affects the worsening of diabetic eye disease.
Dr Samet Sahin is developing a simple tool to allow healthcare professionals to quickly and easily check someone’s C-peptide levels, a measure of how much insulin they are releasing.
Dr Thomas George Hill is studying a type of pancreatic islet cell, called a delta cell, which he thinks could be targeted with a treatment to help prevent low blood glucose in type 1 diabetes.
Dr Rebecca Dewhurst-Trigg is investigating how supportive cells called mesenchymal stromal cells may help protect insulin-making beta cells from being destroyed in type 1 diabetes.
Dr Richard Pulsford is developing a visual tool for people with type 1 diabetes that predicts the likelihood of their blood glucose going too low during exercise
Learn about clinical trials, how to get involved in the different kinds of type 1 diabetes research and view current opportunities.
Dr Rachel Besser, Consultant and Research Lead at Oxfordshire Children’s Diabetes Service, and researcher at the University of Oxford, on how teplizumab being approved in the US benefits children in the UK.
Globally, we have invested over £2 billion in research to date and are currently funding more than 400 research projects and 19 clinical trials. Breakthrough T1D UK has several funding opportunities available that address our mission to cure, treat and prevent type 1 diabetes.
Read our top takeaways from the ‘Recruiting to medical research programmes and trials – how can we be smarter and more equitable?’ webinar.
Novo Nordisk will stop producing Levemir insulin next year but there are plans in place to help you transition to an alternative.
Researchers funded by Breakthrough T1D in the US have published promising new data that could help to improve islet transplantation for people with T1D.
A new paper co-authored by Breakthrough T1D, Diabetes UK, and Kidney Research UK has identified six themes to tackle diabetic kidney disease.
We work with researchers and partner organisations to make sure we can improve life with type 1 diabetes as quickly as possible. Learn about the research we do in partnership with other organisations.
Discover how we work with other organisations to help us make every penny we receive from our amazing supporters go even further to help people with type 1.
Learn about how we're partnering with other autoimmune research funders, pooling our resources to help prevent and cure a range of autoimmune conditions, including type 1 diabetes.
The Type 1 Diabetes Grand Challenge is a partnership between the Steve Morgan Foundation, Diabetes UK and Breakthrough T1D UK. We are united by our ambition to cure type 1 diabetes.
Don’t miss out on the latest research, inspiring stories, tech news, upcoming events, and handy information on living well with type 1. Join us now and receive it all straight to your inbox.
It’s thanks to your dedication that we have funded great progress in type 1 cure, treatment and prevention research. Help us to continue our vital research.
