Imagine what we can accomplish when we bring together the world’s best minds in T1D research.
This is what the JDRF Global Centre of Excellence in Diabetes Research aims to achieve. By bringing together global experts in the field, the Centre of Excellence focuses on improving the lives of all children living with T1D.
The funds raised in this year’s One Walk Step Challenge will support the most promising areas of Australian T1D research. One of the researchers we are supporting this year is Professor Liz Davis, Principal Investigator of the Global Centre for Excellence. Here’s a deeper dive into Professor Davis’ work.
“I saw families with their world turned upside down when their child was diagnosed with T1D, and I wanted to make that better.”
When Professor Davis was asked about what drives her, she recalls, “I saw families with their world turned upside down when their child was diagnosed with T1D, and I wanted to make that better”.
Children and younger people living with T1D are a particularly high risk group. More than 85% of young people with T1D in Australia don’t meet their recommended glucose targets, and children who have T1D have a reduced life expectancy of 14-18 years.
Professor Davis is looking to change this.
“… our researchers and clinical team want to help kids with T1D live as long and healthily as their friends without T1D.”
As part of the Global Centre of Excellence, Professor Davis works on closing the gap in health between children living with T1D and children who aren’t. “Our researchers and clinical team want to help kids with T1D live as long and healthily as their friends without T1D” she says. Professor Davis knows that the key to closing this gap lies in accelerating the pace of research and moving towards a more personalised model of healthcare for people with T1D.
“we want to attract the best brains into diabetes research and make sure diabetes research makes a bigger splash on the map in Australia and internationally.”
Professor Davis collaborates with experts from across the world on research to improve the lives of children with T1D. She emphasises that, “we want to attract the best brains into diabetes research and make sure type 1 diabetes research makes a bigger splash on the map in Australia and internationally.”
“until we have a cure, technology is the best therapy, and we need to make sure everyone has access to the technology that suits them best.”
While Professor Davis continues to work to find better solutions for children with T1D and their families, she also recognises the current everyday challenges that families living with T1D face. This especially applies to current access to T1D treatments and technology, and the Global Centre of Excellence is developing ways to make new research breakthroughs reach people with T1D faster. Professor Davis states, “until we have a cure, technology is the best therapy, and we need to make sure everyone has access to the technology that suits them best.”.
“it is exciting that we are able to identify at risk children before they get diabetes, and we are starting trial drugs to prevent progression to T1D”.
When looking into the future of treatments for children living with T1D, Professor Davis is optimistic. She states, “it is exciting that we are able to identify at risk children before they get diabetes, and we are starting trial drugs to prevent progression to T1D”.
“… every dollar you raise will help answer a question we don’t have the answer to for families living with T1D.”
While T1D research has progressed tremendously, many questions still remain unanswered. Continued funding is crucial in supporting the ongoing work of organisations such as the Global Centre of Excellence.
By participating in the One Walk Step Challenge, you are raising money to support the world’s brightest minds tackle the toughest questions surrounding T1D. As Professor Davis says, “… every dollar you raise will help answer a question we don’t have the answer to for families living with T1D.”
