A study at the Victor Chang Cardiac Research Institute looking at links between the diabetes health status of fathers and the increased risk of type 2 diabetes in their offspring is one of a number of new studies funded by Diabetes Australia.

Diabetes Australia and Diabetes NSW jointly announced 15 new research grants across New South Wales at a special ceremony in Sydney overnight.

A/Professor Greg Johnson, CEO of Diabetes Australia said the grants would help drive research developments that would pay dividends for people with diabetes and the Australian health system.

He highlighted the study by Victor Chang Cardiac Research Institute’s Associate Professor Catherine Suter as an example of how research could help the fight against type 2 diabetes.

“The association between a mother’s diabetes status and the increased risk of type 2 diabetes in her children is well established,” A/Professor Johnson said.

“Recent evidence has also suggested that a father’s diabetes status can increase the unborn child’s risk of type 2 diabetes but we don’t know why.

“Researchers believe that the increased risk, on the father’s side, could be mitigated by early intervention with either fathers or in the children themselves.

A/Professor Johnson also highlighted the recipient of the Underworks Millennium Type 2 Award, Dr Muh Geot Wong.

“Dr Wong’s project is looking at new biomarkers to predict kidney damage in people with diabetes.

“This could better enable clinicians to identify patients with type 1 and type 2 diabetes who are at the highest risk of developing end stage kidney disease so that early intervention and targeted therapy can be used to prevent further kidney disease.”

Diabetes NSW CEO Sturt Eastwood said the organisation was pleased to work with the state’s leading research institutes.

“These grants support researchers at leading institutes including the Garvan Institute of Medical Research Institute, the University of New South Wales, the University of Sydney, the Victor Chang Cardiac Research Institute, the Children’s Hospital at Westmead and the Kolling Institute of Medical Research,” Mr Eastwood said.

“Diabetes is the single biggest challenge confronting Australia’s health system and research into how we can prevent and manage the condition is critical to meeting the challenges we face.

“We hope some of this research will contribute, at least in some small way, towards finding a cure for diabetes.”

A/Professor Johnson said research and technology have played a critical role in helping people with diabetes live well with the condition.

“One hundred years ago a diabetes diagnosis was an almost certain death sentence. The discovery of insulin by Banting and Best in 1922 has enabled people with diabetes to live long, healthy lives,” he said.

“In the almost 100 years since, some aspects of treating and managing diabetes have changed beyond belief while other elements have stayed more or less the same, but what we do know is that these days life for people with diabetes is easier, safer and healthier as a result of research.

“The successful recipients announced tonight will no doubt play critical roles in improving the lives of people living with diabetes into the future.”

The Diabetes Australia Research Program was established in 1987 to support and develop diabetes related research across Australia. The program provides funding towards the prevention, management and cure of all types of diabetes, as well as enabling and fostering young and upcoming researchers in the field of diabetes research.

Each year outstanding research projects are selected through a merit based, competitive, peer review process. This year 53 projects were selected nationally from 341 applications.

A total of $3.7 million in funding was provided for the Program, including more than $970,000 for 15 projects across NSW.

Underworks Millennium Type 2 Award

Dr Muh Geot Wong – Kolling Institute of Medical Research – Circulating transforming growth factor-ß1 (TGF-ß1) and bone morphogenetic protein-7 (BMP-7) reliably predict progressive nephropathy in patients with type 1 or type 2 diabetes mellitus.

ADS Diabetes Australia Research Grant

Dr Dorit Samocha-Bonet – Garvan Institute of Medical Research – Body acid/base balance and insulin resistance in obesity

General Grants

Dr Nicola Lee – Garvan Institute of Medical Research – Osteoglycin, a novel regulator of glucose homeostasis

Dr Paul Benitez-Aguirre – The Children’s Hospital at Westmead – Effect of Childhood Type 1 Diabetes on bone health: Is abnormal bone development during childhood related to increased adult fracture risk?

Dr Namson Lau – University of New South Wales – 2POD-C: A Two part Phase II Open Label study of Denosumab for acute Diabetic Charcot Neuroarthropathy

Timothy Murphy – University of New South Wales – Vascular RAGE in gestational

Dr Greg Smith – University of New South Wales – The effect of niclosamide ethanolamine on suppressing glucagon action in the liver

Peter Gunning – University of New South Wales – Targeting the actin cytoskeleton in the development of insulin resistance

Dr Denovan Begg – University of New South Wales – Central nervous system insulin transport and resistance in obesity

Dr Kyle Hoehn – University of New South Wales – Evaluating a novel energy expenditure agonist for the reversal of obesity and insulin resistance

Dr Min Hu – University of Sydney – Developing Antigen Specific Treg Therapy for Improvement of Islet Transplant Outcomes

Greg Neely – University of Sydney – Sucralose causes hunger and alters sweet taste perception through transcriptionally regulated pathways

Dr Lining Ju – University of Sydney – Investigate the mechanisms leading to a prothrombotic phenotype in diabetes – Examine dysregulated biomechanical platelet activation in Type 1 diabetes

Dr Melkam Kebede – University of Sydney – Understanding the Role of a Single Nucleotide Polymorphism (SNP) in the pro-domain of Sorcs1 on Pancreatic Beta-cell Insulin Content

Professor Catherine Suter – Victor Chang Cardiac Research Institute – Programming of insulin resistance by obese fathers