Diabetes research can’t happen without the help of people living with diabetes.

You can play a vital role by taking part in a research study or trial.

Scientists need your help to prevent diabetes, find new treatments, improve care, and ultimately, stop diabetes in its tracks.

But before new treatments can benefit people living with diabetes, they must be carefully tested to work out if they're safe, what the side effects are and whether they're better than treatments we already have. By volunteering to take part, you could play a crucial part in the fight for a world where diabetes can do no harm.

You can get involved in research at any time, but did you know many clinical trials testing new treatments to stop Type 1 diabetes in its tracks can only recruit people within the first six months of their diagnosis?

  • ADDRESS-2 is meeting the challenge and recruiting people with Type 1 diabetes to clinical trials pioneering new immunotherapies to slow or stop Type 1 in its tracks.
  • The Type 1 diabetes Immunotherapy Consortium (T1D UK) brings together researchers from across the UK to run trials that develop and test new immunotherapies.
  • TrialNet is an international network of leading academic institutions, scientists and healthcare teams dedicated to the prevention of Type 1 diabetes, by working with both people living with Type 1 diabetes and their families.

Whether it's trying a new treatment, or filling out a questionnaire, research breakthroughs can only happen with your support. 

We've answered some common questions about taking part in diabetes research - including who can get involved, the types of studies available, and what the benefits and potential risks are.

Take a look at opportunities for getting involved here. Some you can take part in from home, while others will involve visiting a research clinic. If something catches your eye, get in touch with the study team to find out more. Without you, research can't move forward.

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The ELSA study - screening children for type 1 diabetes

Subtitle:
EarLy Surveillance for Autoimmune diabetes
Institution:
University of Birmingham
Location:
UK wide
Tags:
Clinical trial Connect with researchers Interview
Dates:
November 2022

Researchers in the ELSA team at the University of Birmingham are recruiting 20,000 children aged 3-13 years in the UK, to explore the benefits and understand how families feel about screening children for type 1 diabetes. The team is testing for markers of type 1 diabetes in the blood, known as autoantibodies. As the number of autoantibodies a child has rises, this increases their risk of developing type 1 diabetes in the future.

Discover research opportunities in North West London

Subtitle:
Discover research opportunities in North West London
Institution:
North West London
Location:
England - London
Tags:
Connect with researchers

Discover is a register of adults living in North West London who are interested in and want to find out more about health research opportunities. The register is for both healthy people and those with a medical condition. Research could relate to any condition, including diabetes, and can range from answering surveys to having your blood tested, to testing new medical devices or phone apps, and participating in clinical trials.

Matching people with diabetes to the right research

Subtitle:
Matching people with diabetes to the right research
Institution:
British Research Panel
Location:
UK-wide
Tags:
Connect with researchers

Researchers across the country are looking for people living with diabetes to take part in their research. Meanwhile, people with diabetes are also looking for projects to take part in, but it can be difficult to find a match. That’s where the British Research Panel comes in: matching scientists to people with diabetes. It’s free to join and doesn’t commit you to take part in any studies. They’ll let you know when a relevant clinical trial is happening close to where you live.

Does communication affect the way people make decisions about their health?

Subtitle:
Communication of benefit-risk information: an online randomised controlled trial (CICERO)
Institution:
University of Oxford
Location:
UK wide
Tags:
Questionnaire
Dates:
May 2023
December 2024

Researchers at the University of Oxford would like to recruit people between 18 and 65 years old to take part in the CICERO trial. This study is investigating how the communication of pros and cons of medical treatments and interventions can affect people's understanding of information, their confidence, and how they use this information when making decisions about their health.

How can we support new mums with type 1 diabetes?

Subtitle:
The psychological needs of mothers with Type 1 diabetes (T1D) in the perinatal period
Institution:
University of Surrey
Location:
UK wide
Tags:
Questionnaire
Dates:
September 2023
February 2025

Researchers at the University of Surrey would like to recuit people over the age of 18 with type 1 diabetes who have given birth in the last 12 months to take part in a study. The study aims to explore the psychological needs of mothers with type 1 diabetes, and understand how to support them better.

Taking part involves completing an online survey, which will take around 20-30 minutes.

Could bile medication help people with type 2 diabetes?

Subtitle:
BARDOS- Bile Acid Remediation Of Diabetes and Obesity Study
Institution:
Imperial College London
Location:
London
Tags:
type 2 Clinical trial
Dates:
January 2022
January 2025

Researchers at Imperial College London would like to recruit people aged 18-80 living with type 2 diabetes or prediabetes (HbA1c between 42-75mmol/mol), who manage their blood sugar levels with diet and exercise or with one diabetes medication (such as metformin, but excluding insulin) to take part in a study looking at the effects of bile acid medication on weight loss and diabetes management.

Understanding the impact of living with type 1 during and after pregnancy

Subtitle:
Exploring the psychological experiences of the perinatal period in people with Type 1 diabetes (T1D)
Institution:
University of Surrey
Location:
Online
Tags:
Interview Questionnaire
Dates:
December 2024
September 2025

Researchers at the University of Surrey are conducting three studies looking at the psychological impact of type 1 diabetes during and after pregnancy (in the perinatal period). See below for details & who to contact.

Study 1/'Diary Study':

Testing smart devices to prevent diabetic foot ulcers

Subtitle:
REAL PRETECTION - Preventing diabetic foot ulcers using real-time foot pressure monitoring and alert technologies
Institution:
Lancaster and Keele Universities
Location:
Leeds, Manchester, Keele, Lancaster
Tags:
Clinical trial
Dates:
March 2023
February 2026

Researchers from Lancaster and Keele Universities are recruiting people aged 18 and over with any type of diabetes-related peripheral neuropathy (nerve pain in the feet and hands caused by diabetes) to participate in a research study.

A better treatment for foot pain?

Subtitle:
FREMS-PDPN trial
Institution:
University of Birmingham
Location:
UK wide
Tags:
Clinical trial
Dates:
February 2023
September 2025

Researchers at the University of Birmingham are seeking participants with type 1 or type 2 diabetes who experience peripheral neuropathy (nerve pain in the feet and hands caused by diabetes) and have tried at least two types of nerve pain medication, for a study testing a new treatment for this diabetes complication.

Real-time glucose monitoring in type 2

Subtitle:
Real-time glucose monitoring using FreeStyle Libre 3 in adults with type 2 diabetes on basal insulin plus SGLT2 inhibitor
Institution:
Abbott Diabetes Care Ltd
Location:
UK wide
Tags:
Clinical trial
Dates:
June 2023
July 2024

Researchers at NHS sites across the UK would like to recruit people over the age of 18 with type 2 diabetes, who are treated with background insulin, and SLGT inhibitors or GLP-1 agonists or both.

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