News

$10M worth of new funding for diabetes research announced by Federal Government

JDRF
JDRF
January 14, 2022

Friday, January 14, 2022 

JDRF and other diabetes organisations have welcomed the Federal Government’s announcement of $10 million over four years to establish the Australian Centre for Accelerating Diabetes Innovations (ACADI) at the University of Melbourne. The Centre will help turn vital medical research into better prevention, diagnosis and treatment for patients with all types of diabetes. The funding will be delivered through the Targeted Translation Research Accelerator initiative (TTRA), part of the Medical Research Future Fund (MRFF). 

This is promising news for the diabetes community further highlighting the Federal Government’s support for diabetes research and reflecting the impressive work done by JDRF advocates along with other organisations within the diabetes community to raise awareness about the importance of research funding.  

Key research areas for ACADI will include projects addressing diabetic kidney disease, peripheral neuropathy, diabetic foot syndrome, and short-term complications of hypoglycaemia, hyperglycaemic hyperosmolar syndrome (HHS) and ketoacidosis. 

“JDRF is grateful to the Federal Government and Health Minister Hon. Greg Hunt for this funding that will support critical areas of research focusing on serious complications of diabetes and give hope to people living with this disease by providing better outcomes”, said JDRF CEO Mike Wilson OAM. 

“I’d also like to extend our congratulations to A/Prof Elif Ekinci as the Centre Director for ACADI and one of Australia’s foremost researchers in diabetes. JDRF’s relationship with A/Prof Ekinci includes when she was part of the JDRF Future Leaders Program and it is a very proud moment to witness her leading this research centre and continuing the tradition of training the next generation of future leaders, creating a hub to exchange new ideas and promote innovation in diabetes research.” 

The ACADI project will be delivered by MTP Connect, a not-for-profit organisation which aims to accelerate the rate of progress and commercial availability of new treatments and technologies. JDRF will work closely with all stakeholders to ensure the needs of the T1D community are represented and continue to align with the research. 

JDRF