My research aims to determine the best ways to prevent and treat type 1 and type 2 diabetes. To do this, I study patients from our clinic who have diabetes or who are at high risk of developing it.

In some of our clinical trials we compare different treatment or prevention strategies to determine what works and what doesn’t. Blood samples collected along the way are analysed in the laboratory to help us better understand how diabetes develops and how it responds to different treatments. 

Research interest

Type 1 diabetes

I am involved in several local and multinational clinical trials in collaboration with the Melbourne Diabetes Research Centre and Type 1 Diabetes TrialNet. These include:

• Empagliflozin in Type 1 Diabetes Study: will determine if a tablet used for type 2 diabetes preserves pancreas function in adults newly diagnosed with type 1 diabetes.

• Pathway to Prevention Study: screens relatives of people with type 1 diabetes for islet autoantibodies, which indicate an increased risk of developing diabetes in the future.

• Abatacept Prevention Study: enrolls autoantibody-positive people to test whether abatacept, an immunosuppressant drug used to treat rheumatoid arthritis, prevents progression to diabetes.

• A study to determine if blood lipid profiles can improve our ability to predict type 1 diabetes.

• Environmental Determinants of Diabetes (ENDIA) Study which collects blood and other samples from expectant mothers and their babies to identify environmental triggers of diabetes and to screen for better biomarkers of disease.

Type 2 diabetes

The broad aims of my research are to better define how obesity causes type 2 diabetes, and to clarify the role of weight loss as a treatment for this disease. This includes a clinical trial on the long-term impact of weight loss on diabetes. In this, trial participants receive best-practice medical care, or best practice care combined with weight loss surgery. This will define the clinical effects and cost-effectiveness of surgery as a treatment strategy for type 2 diabetes.