Diabetes Canada announces $1.5 million of new research funding for five U of A recipients

U of A End Diabetes Award recipients. Top row: Colin Anderson, Jason Dyck, John Ussher. Bottom row: Dean Eurich, Jane Yardley.

Diabetes Canada has announced the results of the End Diabetes Awards research competition, with five researchers from the University of Alberta’s Alberta Diabetes Institute being selected.

Colin Anderson (Department of Surgery), Dean Eurich (School of Public Health), Jane Yardley (Augustana, Social Sciences), Jason Dyck (Department of Pediatrics) and John Ussher (Faculty of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences) will each receive $100,000 annually for three years toward their projects.

The winning projects were rigorously evaluated and selected by scientists with expertise in diabetes research, and the totality of projects support a strong multidisciplinary approach to the U of A's work in tackling this disease. 

Diabetes is a disease in which a person’s body either can't produce insulin or can't properly use the insulin it produces. Each of the newly funded research projects has the potential to unlock insights and breakthroughs in the field of diabetes management, care and risk reduction, leveraging the expertise of both past and ongoing research projects:

• Colin Anderson’s work has the potential to render the world-class Edmonton Protocol islet transplantation procedure significantly safer for people who have difficult-to-control Type 1 diabetes.
• Dean Eurich’s research is focused on the systems and services for the treatment and care of Indigenous Canadians with Type 2 diabetes.
• Jane Yardley’s project aims to help women with Type 1 diabetes live longer, healthier lives.
• Jason Dyck’s aim is to better understand what causes poor heart function during the development of type 2 diabetes with the ultimate goal of discovering ways to slow or prevent this complication.
• John Ussher’s lab is studying how diabetes impairs the heart’s ability to properly burn fuel, with the aim of developing new drugs to treat diabetic heart disease.

The university has a long history of diabetes research, including James Collip’s work, a U of A alumnus who helped discover insulin, and the development of the Edmonton Protocol, which helped patients with Type 1 diabetes gain freedom from insulin injections.

The U of A continues to be a global leader in diabetes research, with multidisciplinary expertise that spans both the College of Health Sciences and faculties and colleges across the institution. All awarded U of A researchers are members of the Alberta Diabetes Institute (ADI), a catalyst for research designed to improve the lives of people with diabetes in Edmonton and across Alberta.

This cross-faculty institute includes experts in cellular biology, medicine, surgery, immunology, physiology, pharmacology, physical activity, nutrition and public health. The institute's infrastructure allows diabetes research in these fields while promoting collaboration among disciplines across the College of Health Sciences and the U of A.

“I am delighted that some of Diabetes Canada's substantial investment in research has been awarded to ADI researchers and I look forward to working towards our common goal to ‘End Diabetes’,” says Peter Senior, Dr. Charles A. Allard Chair in Diabetes Research, director of the ADI and Diabetes Canada board chair.

"The U of A, and particularly the College of Health Sciences, is a global powerhouse for diabetes research, with strong leadership from the Alberta Diabetes Institute," says Greta Cummings, Interim College Dean & Vice Provost, College of Health Sciences. "This investment will continue to build on our crucial diabetes research."