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.
Breakthrough T1D profile picture
Kate Gerrard 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
B cell t cell black and white
Research
2 February 2026

What are B cells, and why do they matter in type 1 diabetes? New study highlights the importance of immune cell type

New research suggests that B cells play a major role in damaging protective immune cells called Tregs. Protecting Tregs could help protect insulin-producing cells in the early stages of T1D.

Read more
Image showing mother, daughter and father smiling at the camera.
Research
21 January 2026

UK study finds that childhood screening for type 1 diabetes could prevent thousands of emergencies 

A major UK study has shown that screening children for type 1 diabetes (T1D) can identify the condition in its earliest stages, before symptoms appear, offering families time, choices, and hope.

Read more
A girl with type 1 diabetes after a teplizumab injection
Research
12 January 2026

Teplizumab approved in Europe to delay onset of type 1 diabetes

The European Commission has approved Teizeild, the European brand name for the immunotherapy teplizumab, for use in people with stage 2 type 1 diabetes (T1D). This marks an important step forward in efforts to delay the progression of the condition.

Read more
Mum and daughter wearing Breakthrough T1D t-shirts and holding a flag in a park.
News
19 December 2025

2025: A Year of Breakthroughs for Type 1 Diabetes

Highlights from an extraordinary year in type 1 diabetes (T1D) research, treatment, advocacy and policy.