Our current advocacy campaign: funding for type 1 diabetes research
We’re asking for $50 million for the next phase of the Type 1 Diabetes Clinical Research Network.
JDRF Australia’s message: We want to create a world without type 1 diabetes (T1D). We won’t stop until we achieve our goal, and we know that research holds the key.
What we need to get there: To make this possible, we’re asking for $50 million for the next stage of the JDRF Australia Type 1 Diabetes Clinical Research Network (CRN), a Federally funded network that is the main supporter of T1D research in Australia.
The Albanese Government’s recent $6.5 million commitment in the May 2024 Budget is a welcome first step, ensuring research activity can continue for the coming year. But the full commitment is essential for the CRN to deliver to its full potential and change lives for the T1D community.
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The breakthroughs made possible through the CRN
JDRF’s CRN has been in operation for a decade, significantly accelerating progress. Here are just a few examples of what the CRN has made possible.
- World-leading research into whether continuous glucose monitors work. They do, and we’ve now seen them become subsidised for every Australian diagnosed with T1D.
- The ENDIA study, which is looking to answer the question of what environmental factors may trigger the development of T1D.
- The establishment of a cutting-edge prevention screening pilot program that tests children for early-stage T1D before symptoms begin.
- Innovative methods testing how insulin-producing beta cells lost during T1D can be replaced. This would mean that people with T1D can make their own insulin once again.
JDRF’s amazing advocates have been a key driver of these breakthroughs, helping to achieve Government investment in the CRN in 2010, 2014, 2019, and 2024, making sure that leading researchers could continue their work.
We’re now on the brink of many more life-changing breakthroughs in treatment and technology, yet for these to be realised in full, we must secure an additional $50 million in funding for the CRN.
What’s next?
With further funding, the next phase of the CRN will be able to accelerate three areas of research that we know will drive us closer to a world without T1D and deliver real, impactful change for the community.
Prevention
We want to build on the progress of existing prevention research, such as expanding our understanding of which environmental exposures can trigger the onset of T1D, rolling out a general population screening program to ensure every Australian child at risk of developing T1D is detected before symptoms begin, and developing therapies that can stop T1D in its tracks.
Precision
We will invest in precision medicine research to create a future where we can provide the right treatment to the right person at the right time. This would mean moving away from a ‘one size fits all’ approach, so everyone with T1D can have access to the best health care.
Progress
We will not stop until we find a cure, and that means pushing new therapies through clinical trials, looking at exciting research areas like stem cells, and providing career support to the best and brightest T1D researchers to keep them in the field.
Learn more about research funded through the CRN.
Learn more about becoming an advocate.
Videos: learn more about how research holds the key
Meet Dr Kirstine Bell, Principal Research Fellow, Charles Perkins Centre, University of Sydney, and lead of the Australian Type 1 Diabetes National Screening Pilot, and JDRF advocate Giselle, 14, who lives with T1D.
Dr Bell and Giselle talk about the future of T1D research, JDRF’s T1D Clinical Research Network (T1DCRN) and the need for ongoing support from the Federal Government, and the importance of a national T1D screening program.
Meet Professor Ranjeny Thomas, Professor of Rheumatology at the University of Queensland’s Frazer Institute, and JDRF advocate Zeph, 11, who lives with T1D.
They discuss upcoming breakthroughs in T1D research and the critical role that research plays in finding cures for over 130,000 Australians.
Meet Professor Simon Barry, a Professorial Research Fellow at the University of Adelaide, and JDRF advocate, Ethan, 13, who lives with T1D.
They provide insights into the cutting-edge technology being utilised in our labs, and the pivotal role of JDRF’s T1D Clinical Research Network (T1DCRN) in advancing important breakthroughs.