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.
Our volunteers generously give us their time, skills and experience to tell people about our work, and to help us raise vital funds for research into better treatments and ultimately a cure for T1D.
Our ambitious new roadmap is aimed at driving significant advancements in type 1 diabetes research, treatment, and care.
Your donation helps support people living with type 1 diabetes and funds the best treatment and cure 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.
Home > Knowledge & support > Resource hub > “Mum, I promise I’m going to do something to fix type 1.”
I first learned about diabetes in school. I remember being surprised that we’ve known about type 1 diabetes for over a hundred years, yet patients must still give themselves insulin to survive. I was curious about why that might be, even though I was only 15 at the time and didn’t have diabetes.
I already had an interest in medical research when I found myself in hospital aged 17 diagnosed with type 1. I remember sitting in that hospital bed with my mum. She was very sad about it and didn’t understand. She said: “Why have you got it? Why do people get it?” And I said: “Well, why not me? I’m interested in this, and I promise I’m going to do something to fix it.” From that moment I dedicated my career to becoming a scientific researcher.
It started with one promise to my mum. She isn’t a scientist, so I had to help her understand. I’m incredibly invested in showing that science isn’t complex and inaccessible. Advocating for people with type 1 is also hugely important to me and making those without diabetes aware of this invisible disability. I want people to understand that, while type 1 doesn’t hold us back, I’m always thinking about a hundred different diabetes-related things.
It’s difficult to understand what it’s like to have type 1. That’s why getting patients’ perspectives is crucial. It helps guide research questions. The people with the disease you’re trying to cure are the best people to ask what they want from the science.
I think being a researcher with type 1 diabetes gives me a different perspective. I have a different view on life and what’s important – specifically, what’s important within research. It helps me interpret data differently. When I analyse data from continuous glucose monitors, the readings are more than just numbers to me. I can feel what the patient is experiencing and the quality of life that goes along with it.
My favourite fact is that when someone without type 1 even just looks at food, it triggers their pancreas to start making insulin. It won’t release this insulin until the person eats, but their body makes it so that it’s ready for when their blood glucose rises. The body is absolutely amazing.
Without research, we wouldn’t even have insulin. We wouldn’t be alive. I believe people with type 1 should care about the research that impacts them. I understand people with type 1 may get frustrated hearing a cure is on the horizon, but we must remember that science doesn’t happen in a day. So, continually funding research gives us the potential to keep improving the lives of people with type 1 and ultimately cure it.
I’m moving to Canada to work in the Alberta Diabetes Institute, which hosts many researchers funded by Breakthrough T1D UK. There I’ll be trying to understand what the best level of functioning is for the insulin-producing cells and how best to measure it. This is really important to understand for when we research ways to treat or even prevent type 1 diabetes. During my PhD, my supervisors were funded by Breakthrough T1D UK, and I helped with their projects. I also work on data that is Breakthrough T1D UK-funded, so Breakthrough T1D UK is vital for my research.
Although it would be amazing to have a cure that makes me no longer have type 1, it’s a huge part of who I am. While it doesn’t define me, my whole life is now dedicated to type 1 diabetes research. It guided me down the route I am on and my career. I’m really thankful for it.
Mollie Hillis, Senior Research Communications Officer at Breakthrough T1D, shares her story of how she fell in love with science, and how her career was made possible by the women before her.
When menopause symptoms appeared, Sally Walker, 51, had already spent most of her life managing type 1 diabetes.
Living with type 1 diabetes as a busy teenager can be a constant balancing act but using a hybrid closed‑loop system has transformed how Eden Valk approaches school, exercise and even sleep. Here she tells us more about how this technology fits into her life.
We caught up with new mum Manisha to find out how hybrid closed loop technology has supported her post-partum journey.
