$35 million for type 1 diabetes research

The Australian Government has announced $35 million to advance research in type 1 (juvenile) diabetes over five years. Funding for the Special Research Initiative for Type 1 Juvenile Diabetes was announced yesterday by Minister for Education Christopher Pyne and Minister for Health Peter Dutton.

A life-long autoimmune disease, type 1 diabetes is one of the most common chronic diseases in children but can be diagnosed at any age. Dutton noted that it affects “122,000 Australians, with around 20,000 of those children”.

Young advocates from the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF) had been asking politicians to fund an expansion of JDRF’s Type 1 Diabetes Clinical Research Network (T1DCRN) as part of the Promise to Remember Me campaign. The advocates and their families contacted politicians via letters, phone calls, tweets and meetings sharing their stories and explaining the risks of life with type 1 diabetes.

In 2012, the Coalition made an election commitment to support the T1DCRN with $35 million over five years. This promise - the largest ever single commitment to type 1 diabetes in Australia - is now being delivered by the Australian Research Council (ARC).

“This funding will allow the development of a national collaborative research network and research program that will work towards finding a cure for type 1 juvenile diabetes,” Pyne said.

The initiative, led by the JDRF, will support and promote the most promising emerging researchers and research projects in type 1 diabetes. It will build research teams from multiple research disciplines to answer the most important type 1 diabetes research questions, bringing Australia closer to finding to a cure for type 1 juvenile diabetes and its complications.

“The $35 million will significantly increase the excellence of type 1 diabetes research in Australia and also reshape how the research system works and connects,” said JDRF CEO Mike Wilson. “Ultimately, it provides JDRF with an increased ability to positively impact the lives of people with type 1 diabetes - which is why JDRF exists.”

The T1DCRN was initially launched by JDRF in 2011 through a $5 million grant from the Australian Government and currently funds 12 projects and a number of other grants across Australia. Over the coming months, the new initiative will be inviting research applications for cutting-edge research projects along with applications for research capacity building.

“Australia has a proven record of progress in this difficult area of research,” said Pyne. “This initiative will build Australia’s capacity in type 1 juvenile diabetes research and position our researchers for national and international collaboration, delivery, adoption and investment.”