Our research projects

Scientists have found a protein, called LRG1, plays a role in the early stages of eye damage in people with diabetes. Dr Giulia De Rossi wants to know how exactly this protein causes problems and if their new treatment that blocks it could help prevent eye damage. This could take us closer to better treatments that could be given earlier to protect the sight of people with diabetes. 

Some people with type 2 diabetes might have differences in how their brains get messages about sweet flavours. Dr Sally Eldeghaidy wants to find out more about why this is, by looking for signals in brain scans. Her project could lead to a better understanding about how sweet things taste to people with type 2, and make it easier for them to choose healthier food and increase their chance of putting their type 2 diabetes into remission.

Transplants of insulin-producing beta cells from donors into people with type 1 diabetes, called ‘islet transplants’, have been shown to temporarily remove the need for insulin injections in many cases. However, there aren’t enough beta cells available for everyone who needs a transplant. Dr Elisa De Franco wants to find the genes that control the development of beta cells, by studying babies born with neonatal diabetes, to see if these genes could be used to make beta cells in the lab.

Scientists think that gestational diabetes could be split into two main subtypes. Dr Sara White will find out if measurements of babies from ultrasound scans could be used to identify which subtype of gestational diabetes a woman has. This could help doctors to tailor and improve care, potentially reducing the risk of pregnancy complications for hundreds of thousands of women in the UK every year.

Obesity is linked with a higher risk of developing type 2 diabetes. But to better understand the complex biological mechanisms that link to the two conditions, scientists need better ways of studying them in the lab. Dr Nicola Contessi Negrini is testing a new specialised material that she hopes will better recreate human body fat. This could open doors to new avenues of research that lead to new understanding about the root causes of type 2 diabetes and how to treat it. 

Diabetic retinopathy is a common complication of diabetes that can lead to vision loss. People who have had this condition for more than five years may be at higher risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease. Dr Karis Little aims to better understand the connection between these two conditions by studying the systems in the brain and eye that remove waste. Better understanding what retinopathy and Alzheimer’s disease have in common could provide insights into how retinopathy develops and help identify new treatments.

People living with diabetes are invited to attend routine eye screening appointments to protect their eye health. However, eye drops used during these visits can be uncomfortable and irritating and put people off attending. Professor Scanlon is testing whether a new camera can avoid the need for eye drops in Asian and African-Caribbean people. This research could protect more people from different ethnicities against diabetes-related eye damage. 

In type 2 diabetes, insulin resistance means that people can’t properly use the insulin they make, causing blood sugar levels to go up. Professor Gould will research whether these insulin problems are due to mystery factors in the blood. This may lead to new blood tests that can predict if someone is likely to develop type 2 diabetes. The tests may also pick up whether there are specific subtypes of type 2 diabetes that are more likely to respond to certain treatments.  

Our cells have engines, called mitochondria, which power them. In insulin-making cells, the mitochondria tell the cells how and when to release insulin. When blood sugar levels are high, for example when someone has type 2 diabetes, this process stops working properly. Dr Aida Martinez-Sanchez wants to investigate why this happens by studying how the gene Mtfp1 plays a part how beta cell mitochondria behave. Understanding this could help researchers to develop better treatments that may stop type 2 diabetes from progressing.

MODY is a rare form of diabetes caused by a change in a single gene. But there’s much scientists don’t yet know about the condition, such as the exact genes involved and whether it’s linked with other medical problems. Dr Michael Weedon will use a large health database, containing detailed genetic information and biological samples from over half a million people, to answer key questions about MODY. This knowledge could transform care for people with MODY and help scientists to develop new diabetes treatments.