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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Helping people to manage type 1 diabetes through a web-based self-help programme

Subtitle:
MyREMEDY
Institution:
King's College London
Location:
Online
Tags:
Questionnaire
Dates:
January 2024
May 2025

Researchers at Kings College London would like to recruit people 18 years and older, who have been diagnosed with type 1 diabetes for more than 6 months, have access to the internet and a smartphone/laptop/tablet/PC and who experience diabetes related distress to take part in a study.  

Exploring blood sugar monitoring tech and relationships with food in type 1

Subtitle:
What is the impact on eating behaviour of continuous and other glucose monitoring devices used by people who have recently been diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes?
Institution:
University of Hertfordshire
Location:
Online
Tags:
Questionnaire Interview
Dates:
October 2024
February 2025

Researchers at Hertfordshire University would like to recruit people aged 18+ living with type 1 diabetes, who have been diagnosed in the last five years and have been using continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) and glucose technologies for at least six months.

The study seeks to understand how people newly diagnosed with type 1 diabetes adapt to the use of blood sugar monitoring devices, and whether this impacts on their relationship to food and eating behaviours. 

Taking part will involve attending an online interview which will take up to one hour.  

Exploring experiences of young people living with type 1 diabetes at secondary school

Subtitle:
Focus Group discussion (online meeting via Teams or Zoom)
Institution:
University of Brighton
Location:
Online
Tags:
Interview
Dates:
October 2024
December 2024

Researchers at the University of Brighton would like to hold a focus group with people aged 16-24 who have been living with type 1 diabetes during their years at secondary school/high school and who find diabetes difficult or frustrating. The study aims to find ways to help support young adults with diabetes.

Can seaweed help people with prediabetes?

Subtitle:
Prevention in prediabetic patients of infection’s morbidity following a high fiber and vegetal protein diet: PreVegDiet Study
Institution:
University of Roehampton
Location:
Roehampton
Tags:
Clinical trial
Dates:
December 2023
July 2025

Researchers at the University of Roehampton would like to recruit people aged 18-65 years, with prediabetes (HbA1c between 39-46mmol/mol) and without prediabetes, to participate in a study that aims to investigate the effects of seaweed extracts and a Mediterranean diet on health and blood sugar levels.

The study has three arms:

What would you want to say to type 1 diabetes and disordered eating?

Subtitle:
All the things I would say: A thematic analysis of letters written to type 1 diabetes and an eating disorder (T1DE).
Institution:
University of Hertfordshire
Location:
UK wide
Tags:
Questionnaire
Dates:
February 2024
February 2025

Researchers at the University of Hertfordshire would like to recruit people aged 18 and over, living with type 1 diabetes and who've experienced an eating disorder or disordered eating (T1DE) to take part in a study that is exploring individual’s experiences of and relationship with T1DE, and how their identity has been impacted.

Mobile health apps use in hospital

Subtitle:
Use of mobile health apps in hospitals - understanding service provider behaviours and service user experience
Institution:
University of West London
Location:
UK wide
Tags:
Questionnaire Interview
Dates:
May 2024
August 2024

Researchers at University of West London would like to recruit people aged over 18 living with a long-term condition, including diabetes, to take part in a study to help them understand and improve the user experience of mobile health apps in hospital.

Taking part involves a10-minute online survey. Additionally, please contact the researcher if you are also interested in participating in the optional interview. 

What is your experience living with psychosis and diabetes?

Subtitle:
Experience Based Co-design of Psychosis Centered Integrated Care Services for Ethnically Diverse People with Multimorbidity (CoPICS) 
Institution:
University of Oxford
Location:
UK wide
Tags:
Interview
Dates:
July 2024
November 2024

Researchers at the University of Oxford would like to recruit people over the age of 18 who have experience of psychosis and at least 2 long-term physical health conditions, including diabetes to take part in their study. They hope to improve the care of people living with psychosis and multiple long-term conditions by co-designing resources based on their living experiences.  

Your experience living with gastroparesis

Subtitle:
Impact of coping styles and illness identity on quality of life and symptom severity within a gastroparesis cohort and factors that moderate these relationships.
Institution:
University of Birmingham
Location:
UK wide
Tags:
Questionnaire
Dates:
July 2024
October 2024

Researchers at Birmingham City University would like to recruit people aged over 18 years old, who are diagnosed by a medical professional with gastroparesis, whether as a result of either type 1 or type 2 diabetes. to take part in a research study on this condition.  

Getting to know your food orders

Subtitle:
B-Fed Online randomised control trial: A simulation of Staff canteen food digital ordering scenario
Institution:
Abertay University and Reveal My Food
Location:
UK wide
Tags:
Questionnaire
Dates:
March 2024
January 2025

Researchers at University of Abertay would like to recruit people aged over 18 with diet-related conditions, including diabetes, to see if and how the digital food ordering app, Reveal My Food, could support people’s daily dietary decisions. The researchers hope this tool could potentially ensure the safety and improve the quality of the diet of employees in larger workplaces.

Does semaglutide help prevent steroid-induced diabetes?

Subtitle:
How GLP-1 Analogues Prevent Steroid-Induced Diabetes (The GAPSID Study)
Institution:
Imperial College London
Location:
London
Tags:
Clinical trial
Dates:
May 2024
June 2027

Researchers at Imperial College London would like to recruit adults living with prediabetes, or diagnosed with type 2 diabetes with HbA1c between 48 and 52 mmol/mol, to take part in a study that is looking to see how the diabetes drug, semaglutide, may prevent steroid-induced diabetes. 

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