A$35 million to advance Australian type 1 juvenile diabetes research

Australia’s Minister for Education, Christopher Pyne, and Minister for Health, Peter Dutton, have today announced the government’s approval of A$35 million ($32.8 million) to advance research in the critical area of diabetes.

Funding for the Special Research Initiative for Type 1 Juvenile Diabetes is administered by the Australian Research Council (ARC) and is led by the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF). The approval of funding allows the first payments to be made and for work to commence on this important initiative.

Mr Pyne made a formal announcement at the Women’s and Children’s Hospital in Adelaide this morning, saying: “This announcement marks the delivery of another Coalition election commitment in a critical research area. This funding will allow the development of a national collaborative research network and research program that will work towards finding a cure for type 1 juvenile diabetes.”

Type 1 diabetes is a life-long auto-immune disease that usually occurs in childhood but can be diagnosed at any age. It is one of the most common chronic diseases in children and most newly diagnosed cases are in people less than 15 years old.

Mr Dutton said it was vital that Australia was at the forefront of research in this area. “Type 1 diabetes affects 122,000 Australians, with around 20,000 of those children. More than 800,000 Australians suffer from both forms of diabetes; excluding the costs of complications, diabetes costs the Australian health system around A$1.6 billion annually,” he pointed out.

Will facilitate national and international collaboration

The funding will be used to significantly increase the excellence and impact of research in this field in Australia. The Initiative will provide much needed funding to establish a new collaborative network that supports and promotes the most promising emerging researchers and research projects in type 1 juvenile diabetes. It will also facilitate vital national and international collaboration on cutting edge research projects. The project will build a national capability of research excellence to tackle diabetes at a world class standard in addition to bringing together established researchers with track records in the field.

“Australia has a proven record of progress in this difficult area of research. This initiative will build Australia’s capacity in type 1 juvenile diabetes research and position our researchers for national and international collaboration, delivery, adoption and investment,” Mr Pyne concluded.