Diabetes researcher Dr Aveni Haynes awarded prestigious international fellowship for ground-breaking study in type 1 diabetes 
Congratulations to Senior Research Fellow Dr Aveni Haynes from the Telethon Kids Institute Rio Tinto Children’s Diabetes Centre and the University of Western Australia, on being awarded a JDRF International Career Development Award (CDA) with $1.4m funding committed over the next five years.
This is a highly prestigious, internationally competitive fellowship that is awarded to up and coming research leaders in the field of type 1 diabetes (T1D). Dr Haynes’ success recognises the significant contribution she has already made to understanding the onset of T1D and dedication to identifying children at risk of developing the condition.
Dr Haynes’ CDA will support the monitoring of Australian children who have pre-symptomatic T1D by using a small device called a continuous glucose monitor (CGM). The monitor picks up how and when blood glucose patterns start to change in children known to be at risk of developing T1D before symptoms begin, as this can start months to years before treatment with insulin is needed.
“Detecting these changes will provide more information on how T1D develops in children, but importantly will allow researchers to identify children with early changes in their glucose patterns that mean they can be invited to participate in future T1D intervention or prevention trials when they become available in Australia,” Dr Haynes said.
There is an estimated 1.5 million children and adolescents living with T1D around the world, and it remains one of the most common chronic conditions of childhood. In Australia, an average of three children are newly diagnosed with this lifelong, life-threatening condition every day and currently there is no cure for the condition.
Dr Haynes said identifying and monitoring Australian children at risk of developing T1D early was key to help prevent diabetic ketoacidosis at the time of diagnosis and enable access to disease modifying therapies aimed at delaying or preventing the need for daily insulin treatment as they become available.
“In 2022, the US Food and Drug Administration in the US, approved Teplizumab, the first ever disease modifying drug licensed for T1D, that has been shown to delay progression by a median of two years,” Dr Haynes said.
“Early detection is key to finding the right stage in children who are eligible for future intervention to delay the condition, when therapies become available in Australia.”
“This project will also enable opportunities to provide education and support to families of children who are progressing towards clinical T1D, and a pathway for earlier diagnosis and treatment with insulin where appropriate, whilst also helping to prevent children getting seriously sick at the time of diagnosis with diabetic ketoacidosis.
This study will fall under the Preclinical Diabetes Model of Care work at the Rio Tinto Children’s Diabetes Centre, a JDRF Global Centre of Excellence with findings from this research expected to contribute to the global effort in the field.
Dr Dorota Pawlak, Chief Scientific Officer at JDRF Australia congratulated Dr Aveni Haynes and two other Australian researchers who received international training awards.
“These bright researchers represent the next generation of leaders in T1D research, contributing significantly to the advancement and vitality of the T1D research community and ensuring progress in our collective efforts towards a world without T1D.”
You can read more about other JDRF International training award recipients here
First published Wednesday 28 February 2024.