Our research projects

Living with diabetes can increase the risk of kidney disease, which in turn increases the risk of heart disease. Professor Luigi Gnudi has found a new protein that can tune signalling molecules to protect kidney cells and blood vessels. Understanding how the protein does this could help researchers to develop new treatments that can heal damaged kidney cells and also lower the risk of heart and blood vessel problems for people living with diabetes. 

Mitochondria are important in powering our cells. Mitochondria that don’t work properly are usually replaced by new ones. But in diabetes this system doesn’t work properly and this can lead to sight loss. Dr Romero is working to understand how this happens and whether a new treatment to help mitochondria could stop eye damage. 

Autoantibodies are signs in the blood that show the immune system has started to plan an attack on insulin-making beta cells. People who have autoantibodies will almost certainly go on to develop type 1 diabetes. Dr Rachel Besser wants to make a list of everyone in the UK who has autoantibodies. This registry could help researchers to understand what life is like knowing you’re at risk of type 1, as well as connect people at risk with clinical trials testing new treatments that could prevent or delay type 1 diabetes, helping to bring forward the day when they become more widely available.

Not everyone with diabetes is diagnosed with the right type straight away. Dr Angus Jones wants to shed more light on how common misdiagnosis is and who could benefit from extra checks by analysing data from a large health study, called the UK Biobank. His insights could help more people with diabetes to get the right diagnosis, and the right care and advice. 

Weight loss surgery can be a really effective way to lose weight and treat type 2 diabetes. But we don’t understand much about the impact of surgery on pregnancy. Professor Tricia Tan wants to figure out if one particular type of weight loss surgery is linked to a smoother pregnancy and birth. She’ll also look for better ways of diagnosing gestational diabetes in women who’ve had weight loss surgery. The findings could lead to safer pregnancies in women living with obesity, type 2 or gestational diabetes and healthier babies.

Gestational diabetes is a type of diabetes that can develop during pregnancy. It can increase the risk of both mum and baby developing type 2 diabetes in the future. Dr Sarah Chapple wants to know if a chemical found in broccoli, called sulforaphane, could help the pancreas to work better during pregnancy. This will help us understand if sulforaphane holds promise to treat people with or at risk of gestational diabetes, and to lower the risk of type 2 diabetes for mums and their children. 

Diabetes stigma is a serious problem and can have serious effects on people with diabetes’ physical and mental health. Professor Nick Oliver will look at the causes of type 1 diabetes stigma, explore how many people in the UK experience it and the impact it can have. Understanding the roots of type 1 diabetes stigma and how it evolves over time, could help to develop novel ways to manage or tackle it.

In type 2 diabetes the beta cells in the pancreas struggle to release insulin in the usual way. Professor Herbert’s made a discovery about some proteins that are important in this process. He’s now going to take this information forward and learn more about how these proteins stick to other molecules and work to release insulin. 

Insulin-making beta cells are powered by energy factories within the cells, called mitochondria. Dr De Franco will look at the genes from babies who have too high or too low blood sugar levels to find genetic changes that alter how mitochondria power beta cells. This could give us a better idea about how mitochondria help to keep blood sugar levels normal and could lead to new and improved treatments for diabetes.  

Bodyweight is one of many factors that influences risk of type 2 diabetes. But people with similar bodyweights can have different risks, so alone it doesn’t give us the full picture. Dr Hanieh Yaghootkar is looking at how genes influence where the body stores fat, and how different fat patterns may increase or decrease the risk of type 2 diabetes and its complications. Understanding this could help us to better predict who’s most at risk and lead to more effective, personalised care for people with or at risk of type 2 diabetes.