Searching to improve diabetes treatment and prevention strategies 31 March 2026 Our research impact Challenge Professor John Wentworth received funding from the Diabetes Australia Research Program in 2022 to develop a finger prick blood test to diagnose type 1 diabetes early, well before symptoms appear. Early detection saves lives and opens the door to prevention. Bold idea Leveraging additional support from JDRF, Lions Diabetes Research Foundation, Type1Foundation and other donors, he developed and implemented an inexpensive, home-based finger-prick screening test to identify children and young people who are at high risk of developing type 1 diabetes. Impact John was first to show that his new test could make national screening possible. His work has attracted substantial additional funding of $4M from BreakthroughT1D to scale up testing capacity and bring the test into routine clinical use over coming years. This simple test will help reach regional and remote communities, improve quality of life, and reduce healthcare costs—while accelerating trials for treatments to eliminate the need for lifelong insulin injections. The impact goes beyond Australia. Countries such as Italy have legislated universal screening, and global demand is growing. “Our ultimate goal is to develop capacity to screen every five-year-old child in Australia, identify the 1 in 300 who are at risk and make sure they have access to prevention therapies.” ~ Professor John Wentworth Learn more about diabetes research and our research impact.
News 24 July 2026 GLP-1 RA safety update for rare but severe eye disorders The Therapeutic Good Administration has updated GLP-1 RA product warnings because of their potential to cause a rare but severe eye disorder. The glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonist... Continue Reading
News 20 July 2026 Response to media reports from 60 Minutes, The Sydney Morning Herald, and The Age regarding regulation of diabetes technologies The safety of people living with diabetes must always come first. For many Australians, technologies such as insulin pumps and continuous glucose monitors are essential tools that help prevent dangerous high and low blood glucose levels, reduce the daily burden of living with diabetes and improve long-term health outcomes. For some individuals they can be life-changing or even life-saving. Continue Reading
Media releases 8 July 2026 Territory-led digital health innovation receives boost from national partnership A major funding boost will expand digital health solutions for complex care in the Northern Territory (NT), thanks to a joint investment from Diabetes Australia and Lilly Australia, in partnership with Menzies School of Health Research (Menzies). Continue Reading
