Diabetes Australia has announced it will invest $40 million in diabetes research over the next 10 years.

In light of the current crisis in government funding for diabetes research, Diabetes Australia is committed to supporting the country’s world leading diabetes researchers in their efforts to find a cure.

Group CEO Justine Cain said Diabetes Australia, as the national peak body, was steadfast in its resolve to provide leadership around research funding.

“Research is the key to changing the future of diabetes in Australia. It creates hope for a cure, and for better day-to-day management, which is vital for people living with diabetes,” Ms Cain said.

“This significant commitment, by Diabetes Australia, will provide greater certainty for our diabetes research community and grow its life changing impact in discovering better treatments, and ultimately a cure for all types of diabetes. We are unwavering in our commitment to support the community,” she said.

Diabetes Australia will engage with the research community and people living with diabetes in early 2025 to design an approach that ensures that this $40 million investment achieves maximum impact over the next 10 years.

Australian Diabetes Society CEO Professor Sof Andrikopoulos said the research community welcomed the announcement.

“Understanding the condition’s process and its complications is the only way we can ensure people living with diabetes can live well. This can only happen with significant investment in research,” Associate Professor Andrikopoulos said.

Diabetes Australia has also announced that the new Diabetes Community Priority Grants will open for applications next week, providing a minimum of four grants of up to $100,000 each.

The program will fund projects that address the research priorities and unmet needs of the diabetes community as well as amplify lived experience voices.

“We recognise that research needs to be centred in lived experience, so through these grants we are involving people who live with diabetes throughout the research process,” Ms Cain said.

“These new grants signal our commitment to ensuring the diabetes community has a strong voice in research.”

Diabetes Australia’s Director of Research Professor Grant Brinkworth said having people with lived experience at the centre of research would change the focus of research efforts around Australia.

“Our commitment is to identify the needs of the diabetes community and fund the research that develops evidence-based solutions to address those needs.” 

The new grants will encourage applicants to describe the potential translation and impact of the proposed project, so that research with real-world application can be identified.

Diabetes Australia has also announced the 2025 Diabetes Australia Research Program (DARP) recipients.

The 2025 awards include eight general grants and three prestigious awards: the 2025 Charles Coghlan OAM Emerging Researcher Award (funded by a bequest to Diabetes Australia and Diabetes Victoria), the 2025 Millennium Type 1 Award, and the 2025 Millennium Type 2 Award.

Projects span a variety of disciplines including the development of a novel formulation for the treatment of type 1 diabetes, and a better understanding of the link between gestational diabetes (the fastest growing type of diabetes) and type 2 diabetes.

During National Diabetes Week, Diabetes Australia announced a $250,000 investment in a new Diabetes Technology Research Accelerator Grant, designed to fast-track the development of new diabetes technologies. The program will create evidence-based, real-world solutions for people living with diabetes.

On the back of that announcement was the establishment of the Australian Diabetes Clinical Trials network, a groundbreaking new collaboration with ACADI.

Ms Cain emphasised the significance of these initiatives for diabetes research.

“Diabetes Australia is committed to research, to elevating lived experience voices, and to changing lives,” she said.

The Diabetes Australia Research Program relies on the generosity and support of member organisations, corporates, and individual donors. Find out more about how to support us.

Applications for Diabetes Community Priority Grants will be open until February 2025.

2025 DARP recipients

Recipient	Institute	State	Project Title
Dr Amanda Brandon	The University of Sydney	NSW	The effect of age and sex on metabolic health
Professor Jonathan Gleadle	Flinders University	SA	The Diabetic Kidney: Size Matters
Dr Tanja Jankovic-Karasoulos	Flinders University	SA	Altered placental hormones in response to elevated folic acid: Proposed mechanism for the rise in gestational diabetes in Australia
Dr Lennart Kuck Kellion Diabetes Research Grant	Griffith University	QLD	Red blood cells – the forgotten players driving cardiovascular complications in type 2 diabetes
Associate Professor Costan Magnussen	Baker Heart and Diabetes Institute	VIC	Intersecting Stages: Early-life factors to forecast type 2 diabetes in adulthood
Mrs Simone Marschner	The University of Sydney	NSW	Understanding the link between gestational diabetes and subsequent type 2 diabetes onset: genetic and non-genetic factors
Dr Magdalene Montgomery	University of Melbourne	VIC	Uncovering novel regulators of hepatic glucose metabolism and glycaemic control
Associate Professor Tongzhi Wu	The University of Adelaide	SA	Regulation of glucose homeostasis by renal ‘sweet taste’ sensing in people with type 2 diabetes

2025 Award Recipients

Charles Coghlan OAM Emerging Researcher Award (funded by a bequest to Diabetes Australia and Diabetes Victoria)
Dr Jedidiah Morton
Addressing inequality in type 2 diabetes development, treatment, and outcomes.

Millennium Type 1 Award
Dr Rong Xu
Novel formulation for the treatment of type 1 diabetes

Millennium Type 2 Award
Associate Prof Adam Rose
Role of liver amino acid metabolism in glucagon pharmacotherapies for type 2 diabetes.