Our research projects

The pancreas-liver-gut axis are a group of organs that work together to control blood sugar levels. Changes in blood flow in these organs have been found in type 2 diabetes. Professor Murphy plans to understand these blood flow changes better and see if they hold the answer to improving current type 2 diabetes treatments or finding new ones. 

Having gestational diabetes can increase the risk of getting type 2 diabetes in later life for both mother and baby. Dr Bowe wants to better understand why. He will study changes in the pancreas that happen during pregnancy in women with gestational diabetes to find out if, and how, this has a lasting impact which puts mum and baby at a greater risk of type 2. This could inform new treatments to help women and their children reduce their risk and make sure fewer people get type 2 diabetes in the future.

Blood vessels in our eyes have an internal clock. Dr Eleni Beli aims to understand if and how disruptions to this clock affect how eye damage in diabetes can develop and progress. These insights could lead to life-changing new treatments that protect the sight of people with diabetes.

Polypharmacy is when people are prescribed multiple medications at the same time. It’s common in people with diabetes, and while it can be helpful in many ways, it can also throw up challenges. Professor David McAllister wants to shed more light on polypharmacy in people with diabetes. He’ll study health records and interview people with diabetes and healthcare professionals to understand their experiences. This clearer picture could help to develop approaches to reduce polypharmacy and its harm. 

Studies in labs show that breaking up sitting time could help people with type 1 diabetes lower their blood sugar levels. Dr Katie Hesketh and her team will test this with people in their day-to-day lives for the first time. This could give people with type 1 diabetes a simple and practical way to manage their condition and lower their risk of developing complications. 

Gestational diabetes is a type of diabetes that can develop during pregnancy. Dr April Rees hopes to understand how gestational diabetes may affect the mother’s immune system. This could shed light on why gestational diabetes develops and led to more effective diagnoses and treatments for people with gestational or type 2 diabetes. 

In Type 2 diabetes, muscle and fat cells become unable to take in glucose from the blood – causing blood sugar levels to rise. Professor Bryant believes that a molecule called ‘cellugyrin’ is involved in helping glucose to enter fat and muscle cells, but that it may not work properly in people with Type 2 diabetes. This research will help us find out more about the underlying processes of how Type 2 develops, so we can find new ways to treat it.

People living with insulin resistance can help to manage their blood sugar levels by making healthier food choices. But a hormone called oxytocin has been found to play a part in the foods we tend to prefer. Dr John Menzies wants to find out more about the link between oxytocin and insulin resistance. Understanding how different hormone levels change in diabetes will help researchers to develop new treatments helping people to make healthier food choices. 

The bacteria living in our gut play an important role in our health, and could have a hand in the development of type 2 diabetes. Professor Dumas will study the gut bacteria of people who are at high risk of type 2 diabetes to discover which species of bacteria could be involved in either increasing or reducing the risk of type 2 diabetes. This could help scientists to develop new treatments that change the makeup of our gut bacteria and help to prevent type 2 diabetes.

It’s possible to identify people who are very likely to develop type 1 diabetes by looking for signs in the blood that indicate the immune system has started to plan an attack on the pancreas. Professor Parth Narendran is exploring how a programme to test children for these signs and find out their risk of type 1 diabetes would best work in the UK.

The ELSA study will screen 20,000 children using a simple blood test. Screening can help to make sure children have the earliest, safest diagnosis possible. And children found to be at risk could be eligible for trials of promising new treatments. ELSA will give us vital insights that could help lead to a routine, widespread type 1 diabetes screening programme in the UK.