See a snapshot of the projects we are funding below, thanks to the support of our donors and fundraisers.
Diabetes
Providing innovative pancreas and islet cell transplants and Total Pancreatectomy with Islet Auto Transplantation (TP-IAT) procedures in Adelaide for people with chronic Type 1 diabetes and to prevent the onset of diabetes.
Who it benefits
Sally Stavrinakis (middle) lived with severe Type 1 diabetes for 30 years before a pancreas and kidney transplant changed her life! If a pancreas doesn’t make enough insulin, blood sugar levels rise to unhealthy levels, resulting in Type 1 diabetes.
Investigating a new transplant option for Type 1 diabetes through the development of a 3D printer which has the ability to print insulin-producing islet cells for transplant. The 3D printed islet cells will eliminate the need to rely on a deceased donor’s islet cells.
Testing a unique therapy which aims to promote blood vessel growth for diabetic patients who are more prone to impaired wound healing.
This research will ultimately help prevent amputations from diabetes.
Investigating new ways to avoid the need for anti-rejection medications for transplant patients by targeting the immune cells responsible for organ rejection, using nanoparticles.
Researcher
Dr Sebastian Stead hopes his research will eliminate the debilitating side effects from anti-rejection medication.
Conducting a clinical trial on whether bitter supplements reduce the appetite of people with Type 2 diabetes and therefore allow better control of blood glucose levels and health risks.
Understanding the underlying complex factors which lead to vision loss in people with Type 2 diabetes, and using these insights to develop a model of care for management and screening eye complications within Indigenous communities.
Investigating ways to prevent potentially life-threatening diabetic ketoacidosis when a person with diabetes undergoes surgery and their medication puts them at risk.
Diabetic ketoacidosis is when a person’s blood sugar is very high and acidic ketones build up to dangerous levels in the body.
Investigating whether time-restricted eating (also known as intermittent fasting, when you limit food intake to a nine-hour period per day) can regulate glucose control and prevent Type 2 diabetes.
Researcher
Associate Professor Leonie Heilbronn is assessing blood glucose response to a standard meal.
Investigating the causes behind diabetes inequalities in Indigenous Australia and developing ways to improve prevention, treatment and management of the condition in this population.
Researcher
Professor Alex Brown is researching diabetes in Indigenous communities.
Kidney Disease
Supporting the Central and Northern Adelaide Renal and Transplantation Service (CNARTS) Group to develop a database to enable more research and improve the care given to those with kidney disease, on dialysis and transplant patients.
The CNARTS team is one of the largest renal units in Australia, with the database benefitting medical, research and audit work.
Investigating new ways to avoid the need for anti-rejection medications for transplant patients by targeting the immune cells responsible for organ rejection.
Rsearcher
Dr Sebastian Stead hopes his research will eliminate the debilitating side effects from anti-rejection medication.
Researching the challenges faced by women with kidney disease to become pregnant and have successful pregnancies, and using these insights to produce educational resources to support women in their journey to become mothers.
Researcher
Associate Professor Shilpa Jesudason is helping women with kidney disease make informed decisions and better plan and manage their pregnancies.
Researching the potential for nutrition interventions for kidney transplant recipients to improve their overall gut health and aid recovery.
The gut symptoms of up to 250 people with kidney disease are being monitored as part of the study. If the research identifies gaps where we could intervene to improve patient’s overall gut health through nutrition, this is one less symptom they have to live with.
Protecting people against kidney damage from excessive salt intake by investigating the role a Nedd4-2 gene plays in people with kidney disease who are deficient in this gene.
Researcher
Professor Sharad Kumar (left) has found that a high salt diet drastically exacerbates kidney disease in pre-clinical studies for subjects deficient in the Nedd4-2 gene.
Examining ways to prevent the pain and trauma experienced by dialysis patients when having their needles inserted and complications arising with their AV fistula connection.
Other dialysis support includes art therapy, special exercise bikes, and the need for a sustainable renal workforce.
Pancreatitis
Progressing work to establish a Biospherix Chamber in Adelaide to enable faster and safer pancreatic islet transplantation, to avoid the need for a patient’s pancreas to fly interstate during the procedure to have its islet cells harvested.
Researcher
Driven by Professor Toby Coates, this facility will set up Adelaide as a centre of excellence in the southern hemisphere for the treatment of debilitating pancreatitis.
Helping to provide highly innovative Total Pancreatectomy with Islet Auto Transplantation (TP-IAT) procedures in Adelaide as the only program of its kind available for people with hereditary pancreatitis.
Researcher
Professor Toby Coates says the procedure involves removing the pancreas to manage severe chronic pain and avoid future risk of cancer, followed by infusing the patient’s islet cells into the liver to create insulin and prevent diabetes.
Investigating the prevalence of hereditary pancreatitis and its gene profile in order to better understand disease risk, severity and progression in patients and their family members.
Researcher
Honours student Denghao Wu is working to better understand the genetic profile of hereditary pancreatitis, which is caused by a gene mutation resulting in inflammation of the pancreas and poor quality of life from a young age.
