Month: November 2024

Canada is home to world-class researchers who are making discoveries with the potential to improve the lives of people living with type 1 diabetes (T1D). However, these research findings can only make a difference if we share them with the knowledge users, ie. the right people, including health care providers, people living with T1D and their communities, people at risk of T1D, and policymakers. 

The Knowledge Mobilization in Diabetes Prevention and Treatment operating grants, led by the CIHR Institute of Nutrition, Metabolism and Diabetes, in partnership with Breakthrough T1D (formerly JDRF), provide researchers and knowledge users the opportunity to work together to use research evidence to improve health services, programs, and policies. 

The goal of this funding opportunity is to enhance knowledge mobilization in the field of diabetes, focusing on evidence integration into health services, programs, and policies, and to: 

• Increase and enhance bi-directional mobilization of knowledge and integration of evidence into policies and practices related to diabetes prevention, remission, screening, diagnosis, management, treatment, and delivery of care for all types of diabetes as well as screening and prevention of diabetes complications. 

• Support researchers and knowledge users in the development and implementation of a knowledge mobilization plan to address a health system priority and/or identified evidence needs or gaps. 

• Facilitate uptake of evidence to improve the lives of people at risk of or living with diabetes in Canada. 

Breakthrough T1D has supported 5 of the 12 grants awarded in this competition Each grant is worth up to $125,000 each for a 1-year duration.  

Anne-Sophie Brazeau, McGill University – Integrating an online training platform into type 1 diabetes clinical care to empower self-management (Support implementation) 

Dr. Brazeau and her team will evaluate the implementation strategies for integrating SUPPORT, an online training platform, as part of clinic care and put in place activities to help make health care practitioners aware of the innovation. The aim will be to increase the use and uptake of the platform as well as shorten the time needed to translate research results into practice, ultimately improving the lives of people with T1D. 

Valeria E Rac, University Health Network – Connecting Diabetic Retinopathy Screening Programs in Ontario. Mobilizing Knowledge across the Health System 

Dr. Rac and her team will develop a pathway towards the creation of a provincial diabetic retinopathy screening program that includes a provincial registry. The team will also assess the screening needs of different patient populations living with diabetes across the province, and set up knowledge gathering workshops to improve access to diabetic retinopathy screening programs, thereby improving eye health for those individuals living with diabetes. 

Peter A Senior, University of Alberta – Freedom and Flexibility – Communicating the Experiences of Beta Cell Replacement to Patients and Providers 

Dr. Senior and his team will examine and explore the experiences of individuals with T1D who have undergone islet transplantation, their family members, and health care practitioners engaged in islet transplantation to better understand experiences of the risks and benefits of islet transplantation as well as the limitations of conventional treatments for T1D. The team will then work closely with the T1D community to co-create informational and educational materials that can convey a richer, more nuanced picture of the experience of living with T1D and the outcomes of islet transplantation. 

Liris P Smith, Yukon University – Yukon Experiences in Management of Type One Diabetes: Patient and Provider Perspectives 

Dr. Smith and her team will explore and describe the experiences of people and caregivers of people with T1D in Yukon, recognizing that the needs of the community are unique and that access to care is often limited in rural settings. The grant will allow the team to also describe the experiences of Yukon primary care providers for persons living with T1D, with the ultimate goal to improve access to care and management supports. 

Ian S Zenlea, Trillium Health Partners – Supporting High School Students with Type 1 Diabetes: Mobilizing Experiential Knowledge to Combat Diabetes-Related Stigma 

There is an urgent need to centre the voices of adolescents with T1D to learn about how to address diabetes-related stigma in high schools to reduce harm and foster safe and inclusive learning spaces. Dr. Zenlea and his colleagues will co-design peer-led multimedia awareness products that can address diabetes-related stigma in high school settings. 

These grants are part of the overall Breakthrough T1D – CIHR Parternship to Defeat Diabetes. This unique partnership ensures that T1D remains a priority in Canadian health research and is based on a shared vision of improved care, treatment, outcomes and cures for those living with T1D. 

Since its inception in 2017, this partnership has funded several innovative clinical trials and translational research projects with a view of accelerating the development of novel treatment approaches for people with T1D, in addition to cures for the disease. Multiple new cutting-edge projects will be funded in the coming year, promising to further accelerate Breakthrough T1D’s mission. Learn more about the funded research projects from this partnership. 

This is an example of an instrumental partnership that is able to leverage investments from multiple funding sources and increase the speed at which novel research is conducted in alignment with our mission of a world free from type 1 diabetes. 

On October 28, 2024, the Breakthrough T1D Centre of Excellence at the University of British Columbia (UBC) held its third annual meeting on UBC campus in Vancouver to discuss progress to date as well as the team’s ambitious plans for Years 4 and 5 of the research program.

During Year 3, the team made several breakthroughs, achieved excellent progress against research milestones, and established goals and deliverables for the next two years of funding. Updates from across the Centre’s three research themes in year 3 include:

Theme 1: Building better beta cells for islet replacement therapy, led by Dr. Francis Lynn

To help study how stem cell-derived islets develop and function in experimental settings, the team has created and characterized multiple human pluripotent stem cell lines that glow green when they develop into insulin-producing beta cells and red when they develop into glucagon-producing alpha cells. Experiments now underway will shed light on how these two key islet cell types interact, and how each cell type influences the function of the other. Work in this theme in Year 3 was also focused on finding factors that could protect transplanted stem cell-derived islets from stress and death. Using imaging techniques, and comparing islets from organ donors with stem cell-derived islets, the team discovered 6 factors that significantly reduce beta cell death. In the coming year, work in Theme 1 will follow up on the protective factors as well as pursue a new approach to develop “designer” beta cells using gene editing techniques. Together, this work is advancing the development of high-quality islet replacement products that will survive and function long-term once transplanted.

Theme 2: Protecting insulin-producing beta cells from immune attack, led by Dr. Megan Levings

A key focus in Theme 2 is developing regulatory T cell (Treg) therapy as a better way to protect islet transplants, compared with conventional immunosuppression. In Year 3, the team built on results from Years 1 and 2 to develop a new method to grow Tregs in the lab that will improve how long they survive and function after they are infused into patients with T1D, and are protecting the invention for future commercial interests. In year 4, the team will build on these findings to develop islet-targeted Tregs and test them in preclinical models of T1D. The team also advanced its development of a lipid nanoparticle (LNP)-based approach for T1D, in collaboration with UBC spin-off company Integrated Nanotherapetics (recent recipient of a new Breakthrough T1D industry grant). In Year 3, the team extended findings that their LNP-based therapy could prevent T1D a mouse model of the disease and, remarkably, also showed that the treatment could also reverse established diabetes. During year 4, the team will optimize delivery of this new therapy and conduct additional preclinical testing.

Theme 3: Targeting and monitoring beta cell stress, led by Dr. Jim Johnson

During year 3, the team identified over 150 different proteins that can protect beta cells from T1D-inducing cellular stress caused by things such as increased demand for insulin, inflammation, infection or chemicals. The team also uncovered new information about EIF2A, a previously identified “hub” for the cellular stress response, moving the team closer to developing new approaches that can protect beta cells from harm. In year 4, the team will continue to study what happens when beta cells are under stress to help zero in on new therapeutic targets. Theme 3 also advanced work on biomarkers of beta cell function that, pending further testing and validation in Year 4, may be useful as a new tool to measure the progression of T1D and response to novel therapies being developed in other themes.

“The Centre team has made outstanding progress in its first three years,” said Francis Lynn, Associate Professor, UBC Department of Surgery & Biomedical Engineering. “The momentum at the annual meeting was tangible as we discussed wins, challenges, and future plans for collaboratively accelerating our research towards cures.”

New Centre-associated awards announced

During the annual meeting, the Centre also took the opportunity to celebrate and welcome the third J. Andrew McKee Postdoctoral Fellow, funded at the Centre by Breakthrough T1D and Canada’s Stem Cell Network, Dr. Alyssa Weinruch, who has joined the lab of Dr. Jim Johnson to contribute to Theme 3 projects. Learn more about Dr. Weinruch on our blog.

To drive further innovation and bring new high-risk, high-reward pilot projects into the research program, the Centre has also run a seed grant competition for three consecutive years. At this annual meeting, we heard updates from Year 2 seed grant holders, and an announcement of projects funded through the third and final competition – which in addition to seed grants, awarded sapling grants to support earlier seed grant projects with promise.

Dr. Jan Dutz and collaborators are using their 2023 seed grant to test a modified version of methotrextate – a drug that has long been used for treatment of other immune diseases – to see if it can prevent progression of T1D in preclinical models. Thus far, the group has optimized the novel formulation of methotrexate and are awaiting the outcome of preclinical experiments currently in progress. The other 2023 seed grant awardee, Dr. Marc Horwitz, worked with this team to investigate how the complex relationship between viruses and the gut microbiome can influence susceptibility to T1D, and discovered a key role for short-chain fatty acids – produced in the gut upon digestion of high-fiber foods – in protecting from T1D.

2024 seed and sapling grant funding recipients and their associated projects are:

• Dr. Nicole Krentz, together with Theme 3 lead Dr. Jim Johnson, will study whether a protein called RREB can protect beta cells from autoimmunity.
• Dr. Ramon Klein Geltink, together with postdoctoral fellow Dr. Lauar de Brito Monteiro, will use a cutting-edge method called SCENITH to assess beta cells and immune cells to gain new clues as to how progression of T1D could be slowed or stopped.
• Dr. Laura Evgin, together with Theme 2 lead Megan Levings, plans to engineer CAR Treg cells designed to wipe out the harmful immune cells that kill beta cells in T1D, and test their efficacy in a preclinical model of the disease.
• Dr. Hongshen Ma (recipient of a 2022 seed grant from the Centre) will work with Theme 1 lead Francis Lynn and use new sapling grant funding to develop nanotechnology-based approaches that will enable measurement of hormone production by individual islets, alongside other characteristics, providing new tools that can help to examine and improve islet replacement products for T1D.
• Dr. Dan Luciani (recipient of a 2022 seed grant from the Centre) was awarded a sapling grant to build on initial findings about a protein called TFEB that he hypothesizes can be manipulated to increase the function and resilience of stem cell-derived beta cells for therapy.

Lived Experience Advisory Group

The Centre’s T1D Lived Experience Advisory Group established in 2023 had a key role during this year’s annual meeting. The Advisory Group’s role is to integrate the voices of people with lived experience of T1D into the Centre’s work to ensure their interests and concerns are heard and translated into research aims and knowledge mobilization activities. This year, the Advisory Group led an interactive workshop entitled “Bridging the gap”, during which members of the research team had a chance to connect with people with lived experience of T1D. Discussion focused on personal perspectives on how to define a cure for T1D, and what this would mean for those living with the disease, resulting in insightful and impactful learnings for all attendees.

“Connecting with Centre researchers and sharing the real experiences of living with T1D was powerful,” said Ben Mammon, a member of the Centre’s T1D Lived Experience Advisory Group.  “I’m grateful for the ongoing progress and dedication their teams bring to the T1D community. Knowing that our shared stories can help drive innovations to improve lives is inspiring and motivating.”

The future

The overall goal of the Centre is to drive new T1D cure therapies towards clinical trials. As the Centre begins year 4, the team is laser-focused on accelerating key projects towards clinical translation, identifying commercial receptors for relevant technologies, and publishing their findings. They will also continue to support multidisciplinary activities for the Centre’s many trainees, including skills-focused workshops and a mentorship program, and engage the Lived Experience Advisory Group increasingly as projects move towards the clinic. In the long term, the Centre team looks forward to leveraging UBC’s Advanced Therapeutics Manufacturing Facility , a new facility that will be co-directed by Dr. Megan Levings and that is currently in planning on UBC campus. This facility is expected to propel Vancouver to the forefront of cell therapy innovation and clinical research.

“I have attended all three annual meetings for the Centre, and this year’s event really delivered something special,” said Heather Miller, parent of a person with T1D and long-time Breakthrough T1D supporter. “The progress shared seemed like it was on a different level – the advances feel closer than ever to reality. This is so meaningful to us having lived with T1D in our family for so long.”

Read more about the Centre here or at UBC’s dedicated webpage at https://breakthrought1d.med.ubc.ca/

For information about how to support the Breakthrough T1D Centre of Excellence at UBC, please visit: https://breakthrought1d.ca/get-involved/accelerate/

Breakthrough T1D’s largest advocacy event – Kids For a Cure was held from November 3^rd to 5^th in Ottawa, Ontario. Held every two years, Kids for a Cure is Breakthrough T1D Canada’s most important advocacy initiative. Our youth advocates from across Canada help politicians understand the daily challenges of living with type 1 diabetes (T1D) and the importance of accelerating progress towards cures.

And what an impact our youth delegates made – engaging with more than 50 Members of Parliament and Senators from across all parties during two jam-packed days. Delegates shared their stories of what it means to live with type 1 diabetes, what a cure would mean for them, and advocated to the federal government for increased support on issues impacting people living with the disease.

Their recommendation to the federal government:

Breakthrough T1D recommends that the Government of Canada invest $15 million over 4 years on cures research for type 1 diabetes (T1D), with a focus on cell therapy research to get us closer to functional cures for the disease. Breakthrough T1D Canada commits to securing matching funds for this investment for a total research impact of $30 million over four years. 

Our delegates represented youth from across Canada and live with T1D. They come to Ottawa to put a human face to the disease and help Parliamentarians better understand the realities of life with T1D.

This year, 18 kids between the ages of 10 and 17 were selected to be delegates out of over 130 applications. We had representatives from every province and even Nunavut!

 Braden, age 13, Kids For a Cure Co-Chair:

 “One of the greatest gifts is crossing paths with people who are as brave, as they are inspiring. Meeting these incredible individuals has reminded me of the power in courage, kindness and staying true to who you are, no matter what life brings. Grateful for these people and the stories they shared and to the MP’s, Minsters and Senators that took time to hear our voices. A huge thanks to Breakthrough T1D Canada, for choosing me to come on this trip, allowing me to meet so many wonderful people and host the experience of a lifetime.”

Maryam, age 16 Kids For a Cure Co-Chair:

“Being a co-chair for Kids For a Cure has been one of the most meaningful experiences of my life. Living with type 1 diabetes is a journey filled with challenges, but this event has given me the chance to turn those challenges into strength and purpose. Sharing our stories with Canadian leaders, knowing they’re listening to our voices, is incredibly moving. It reminds me that our voices have the power to create real change. Kids For a Cure is more than just an event—it’s a place where we can connect, find support, and fight for a brighter future together. I’ll carry this experience with me always, knowing it’s made me stronger and brought us one step closer to a world without T1D.”

Thank you to all our delegates, their parents and Breakthrough T1D staff for their tireless work and efforts without whom Kids For A Cure would not be possible. Thank you also to our wonderful co-chairs of the All-Party Type 1 Diabetes Caucus for all their help in putting together this wonderful event and for working together with Canadians living with T1D to improve outcomes and drive crucial research forward.

Dr. Alyssa Weinrauch is the third annual recipient of the J. Andrew McKee Fellowship in Type 1 Diabetes (T1D), jointly funded by Breakthrough T1D Canada and the Stem Cell Network (SCN) based at the Breakthrough T1D Centre of Excellence at the University of British Columbia (UBC).

The J. Andrew McKee Fellowship in Type 1 Diabetes, aims to help accelerate Canadian research, develop talent and enhance Canada’s global leadership in T1D research. The Fellowship Program is named in honour and memory of John Andrew McKee, who was Past President and CEO at Breakthrough T1D (then known as JDRF) and a long-standing member and Chair of SCN’s Board of Directors. Andrew played a significant role in developing the future of both organizations and believed deeply in the important role of science in making Canada a better place for all.

Dr. Weinrauch will be joining the Breakthrough T1D Centre of Excellence from the University of Manitoba where she was a postdoctoral researcher.

Breakthrough T1D had the pleasure of connecting with Dr. Weinrauch to congratulate her on her new fellowship and discuss her research.  

Tell us a bit about your background:  

I did my BSc and PhD at the University of Alberta studying Physiology, Cell and Developmental Biology. Throughout both degrees (and my postdoc at the University of Manitoba), I was fortunate to work at the Bamfield Marine Sciences Centre on Vancouver Island studying comparative physiology. My PhD studies focused on the digestive physiology of an evolutionarily important and ancient fish, the hagfish. My postdoc then investigated evolutionary endocrinology by investigating other animals near the base of the tree of life, such as sharks and sturgeon. I think the conserved function of hormones like insulin between sharks and humans is fascinating and that led me to pursue this current position at UBC studying how lipids can influence insulin secretion from islet cells.

What brought you to Vancouver?

I have heard wonderful things about the people and facilities at UBC. I met one of my supervisors at a conference and the work he presented really wowed me. It made me jump at the chance to work with him and move into a field that has applicability for human health.

What drew you to type 1 diabetes?

I am actually a type 1 diabetic, so I think throughout my scientific journey I have gravitated towards understanding my own disease by learning about the underlying physiology. I first approached it from an evolutionary perspective studying animals that have insulin but that are more ‘simplistic’ than humans in some ways. It is quite exciting to transition into working with human cells and gain a deeper understanding of T1D.

What are you planning on investigating at the Breakthrough T1D Center of Excellence at UBC?  

My research focuses on understanding how lipids affect the development and maturation of stem cell derived beta cells.  Stem cell derived beta cells offer unlimited potential for curative therapy of T1D. However, currently they do not mature to the same level as human islets, and we believe that lipids may be involved in getting the immature stem cell derived beta cells to that final maturation stage.

How is the Breakthrough T1D-SCN fellowship going to impact your research?  

It has already brought together a great team of researchers. I will be co-supervised by Drs. Dan Luciani, Francis Lynn, and James Johnson who each have a unique and applicable skill set for the proposed work. This fellowship allows us to develop a more nuanced project given everyone’s expertise, as well as the rest of the members of the BreakthroughT1D Centre of Excellence at UBC. It also allows me to attend conferences that are new to me and will be a great way to be introduced to and integrated with the stem cell and diabetes research community.

What are some of your favourite aspects of what you do as a researcher?  

I love the diversity of my job as a researcher; how I can go from writing to lab work to data analysis depending on what I feel on a given day. It also has a lot of creative license. It’s exciting to read a new paper and be inspired to design an experiment with a new perspective.

What were some of the more surprising aspects or challenges of your research?   

Learning how to fail and persevere was a huge component of becoming a good researcher. Science is so much failure and intricate troubleshooting before a result and I don’t think a lot of us expect that when starting out in research.

What interests you or excites you outside of your research?  

The ocean! I’ve loved studying animals that live there and now being in Vancouver myself I can explore so many new beaches and hiking trails with the ocean in reach.

Breakthrough T1D Canada thanks Dr. Weinrauch for her time and congratulates her on the fellowship award. We wish her the best of luck with her research, and we will share research updates when they become available.