Research
Changing the future for people living with diabetes.
Our goal at Diabetes Research WA is to find the answers to diabetes and enhance the daily lives of those living with the condition.
Diabetes research that makes a difference.
Approximately 285 Australians develop diabetes every day – that’s over 100,000 people every year, enough to fill the Melbourne Cricket Ground! Diabetes is one of the most challenging chronic conditions in Australia and the number of people diagnosed is increasing at an alarming rate.
Research helps us understand diabetes, why it develops, who is at risk and how to prevent complications from developing. By investing in research, we can work towards a world without diabetes, and along the way discover treatments that can greatly enhance the daily lives of those living with the condition.
In recent years Diabetes Research WA has awarded two annual research grants, however in the current economic environment for not-for-profit organisations, a prudent decision has been made to offer one grant for 2023. Notwithstanding this, the Board of DRWA reserves the right to exercise its discretion to award more than one research grant in this round should circumstances justify.
DRWA research projects.
Our goal at Diabetes Research WA (DRWA) is to find the answers to diabetes and alter the future of those affected by or at risk of developing it. Not only is the search for a cure – or cures – vital; additionally, we must ensure people living with diabetes can live long and healthy lives with the least impact or complications.
Currently, our research efforts are focusing on:
- Trial of oral insulin as an adjunct therapy to standard insulin injection therapy for children living with type 1 diabetes.
- Exploring the development of medication to intercept the pathway of excessive cell inflammation to prevent serious diabetes complications such as kidney disease, stroke, and heart attack.
- A world-first trial using continuous glucose monitoring in children at risk of developing type 1 diabetes (those with siblings or parents with type 1 diabetes and specific antibodies) to detect early changes in blood glucose levels – and help find ways to prevent or delay type 1 diabetes, thereby preventing the serious sudden onset of type 1 diabetes known as ketoacidosis which can be life-threatening.
- Trial to confirm if commencing a SGLT2 inhibitor (commonly used medication) for people with diabetes who have experienced heart attack can prevent a further serious and often fatal heart failure episode.
- Simplifying and improving screening for gestational diabetes (diabetes in pregnancy) for rural and remote women in WA to improve the diagnosis and the health of mothers and their babies.
- Investigating how a single gene change in 1 in 5 people causes insulin resistance and type 2 diabetes. Specific diet and exercise regimes may be able to target this gene to prevent the onset. This has been recently completed with positive results.
- Investigating a widely used drug that may be able to prevent the diabetes-related eye condition that can lead to blindness. This has been recently completed with positive results.
With world-class research and institutions collaborating around the world, we have a real opportunity to change the future for all of us.
Support us – and you’ll be supporting them.
When you donate to Diabetes Research WA today, you’ll be directly helping a person living with diabetes now – while contributing to a future where no one longer lives with this challenging condition. Whatever you can give to our researchers will be gratefully accepted.
