Department of Paediatrics, University of Cambridge
Changing the future for young people with type 1 diabetes
The University of Cambridge’s Department of Paediatrics is focused on doing potentially life-changing translational research involving young people with type 1 diabetes. Situated on the Cambridge Biomedical Campus within the Institute of Metabolic Science, the Department provides clinical care to the region, as well as maintaining close links to adult services and a broad range of basic science institutes.
Through a close collaboration with the Wellcome Trust Clinical Research Facility, the department is able to go from initial exploratory studies through to clinical trials with young type 1 patients. One on-going study is research into closed-loop blood glucose measurement and insulin delivery systems, bringing huge quality of life improvements to young patients.
In order to drive their research, the department is able to draw on a wide range of patients through a Regional Clinical Network for type 1 diabetes, letting researchers recruit patients for large studies across a diverse set of patients.
This, as well as collaborations with the US and Canada, have led to such studies as Adolescent type 1 Diabetes cardio-renal Intervention Trial (AdDIT) which looks at risk of complications for adolescents with type 1 diabetes, and the kinds of interventions that could prevent these.
The department is also playing a key role in INNODIA, a Europe-wide initiative to facilitate recruitment, phenotyping and bio‐sampling of a large cohort of newly diagnosed subjects with type 1 diabetes as well as at risk family members. This is already leading to exciting new studies to identify those who are most at risk of diabetes and intervene at the earliest possible stage.
The combination of cutting edge facilities, dynamic collaborations in the UK and beyond as well as connections to a wide network of patients mean Cambridge’s Department of Paediatrics is at the forefront of new research into type 1 diabetes in young people. With a new children’s hospital in the works as well, the department will be improving young people’s lives for decades to come.