LINK TO JDRF - opens new doors

The recently established Diabetes Ireland Research Alliance means that international diabetes research will not pass Ireland by

The Diabetes Ireland Research Alliance has entered into an agreement
with the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF) to encourage high quality type 1 diabetes research in Ireland and to support the global work of the JDRF.
The Diabetes Ireland Research Alliance is a subsidiary charity of the Diabetes Federation of Ireland which was set up recently. The alliance primarily funds high-quality diabetes research projects in Ireland and raises the necessary funds to support these projects.

Together with the JDRF the Federation aims to:
• Encourage high-quality type 1 diabetes research in Ireland
• Promote Ireland as a JDRF base for international lead research into finding a cure for diabetes
• Support the JDRF’s D-GAP (see below) research project
• Raise the profile of both organisations in the Republic of Ireland
• Build a sustainable relationship with Irish-based scientists and researchers
• Raise funds for type 1 diabetes research in Ireland and the UK.

Key activities for 2010
• There will be three type 1 research focused meetings in early 2010 – one in Dublin, one in Cork and one in Galway
• There will be a seminar for Irish researchers to inform them about JDRF (international) global grant structures and how to access them
• The Federation and the JDRF will carry out joint marketing to raise the profile of both groups and of the partnership
• The Federation and the JDRF will undertake a joint fundraising initiative, including promotion of the existing programmes of each group in Ireland with the aim to raise e50,000 in 2010
• The Federation and the JDRF will develop relationships with all stakeholders with an interest in promoting diabetes research.

What is D-GAP?
As part of the Federation’s commitment to supporting research into type 1 diabetes it will support the JDRF’s research project Diabetes-Genes Autoimmunity and Prevention (D-GAP). Research funded by JDRF has already shown that the genetic profile of an individual determines whether or not they run the risk of developing type 1 diabetes. It also reveals that the genes identified operate within the immune system. These findings link closely to other research showing that people with, or at risk of developing type 1 diabetes, have alterations in the way that the immune system interacts with insulin producing cells. This makes it highly likely that type 1 diabetes results from a failure at numerous levels of the ability to fine tune certain aspects of the immune response. The next stage in type 1 diabetes research is to make the link between the genes and the immune alterations, and that is what it is believed D-GAP will be able to do.
This exciting piece of research brings together researchers from Cambridge, Bristol and London who aim to understand how and why type 1 diabetes occurs by unravelling the connection between genes, the immune response and type 1 diabetes. If a link can be established, it will greatly improve the understanding of how type 1 diabetes develops and pave the way for developments in treatments and therapies.

Meanwhile, the Federation in conjunction with the Health Research Board is funding two type 2 diabetes research projects at a combined cost of €430,000. One is the research being carried out by Dr Sean Dineen in the West – the Galway Diabetic Foot Study; and the other is the research into type 2 diabetes and bariatric surgery, by Dr Donal O’Shea, which has just finished its field work.

To make a direct contribution to any of these research projects, simply ring 1850 909 909 or send a donation by post to Dr Anna Clarke, Diabetes Ireland Research Alliance, 76 Lower Gardiner St, Dublin 1. If you would like to organise a fundraising event for type 1 or type 2 diabetes research, we would be delighted to hear from you.

Sheila O’Kelly Diabetes Ireland,Winter 2009