On behalf of our members and donors who support diabetes research through their generous donations, Diabetes SA is proud to announce the successful recipients of the 2024 Diabetes SA Research Grants Program.

Now in its fourth round, the Diabetes SA Research Grants Program offered researchers the opportunity to apply for funding to support innovative and creative diabetes research projects that sought to challenge and shift current paradigms and/or have a major impact on health research into diabetes. Funding supported diabetes research conducted by researchers of any career stage from discovery to implementation in the key focus areas of prevention, detection and management of diabetes.

Since 2018, Diabetes SA has provided $770,750 to eleven South Australian researchers through the Diabetes SA Research Grants Program.

In 2024 Diabetes SA increased its commitment to funding outstanding research in Australia with the introduction of a new $100,000 research grant (two-year award) specifically for research into type 1 diabetes, made possible through the generosity of the late Ms Sieglinde Hannelore Darsow or “Hanni” as she is fondly remembered.

In addition, Diabetes SA offered:

  • $100,000 Research Grant – (two-year award) 1 grant
  • $50,000 Research Grant – (one -year award) 2 grants

The four successful recipients of the 2024 Diabetes SA Research Grants are:

  1. $100,000 Sieglinde Hannelore Darsow – Type 1 Award (2-year award)
    • Dr Rebecca Thomson – The University of Adelaide

      ‘When is the critical window to intervene in early life to reduce the impact of overweight on the risk of type 1 diabetes?’

  2. $100,000 Research Grant – (2-year Award)
    • Dr Stephen Kidd – The University of Adelaide

      ‘Improving health outcomes for patients with diabetes by novel bacterial identification and treatment to prevent continuing foot infections.’

  3. $50,000 Research Grant (1-year Award)
    • Dr Jantina Manning – University of South Australia

      ‘A potential new player in blood glucose control and diabetic nephropathy.’

  4. $50,000 Research Grant (1-year Award)
    • Dr Karen Alt – Monash University

      ‘Molecular imaging for kidney fibrosis for monitoring diabetes induced disease progression.’

The alumni of past and present recipients of the Diabetes SA Research Grants Program include Dr Christina Bursill, Professor Damien Keating, Professor Paul Ward, Dr Chinmay Marathe, Associate Professor Richard Young, Dr Rebecca Thomson, Dr David Jesudason, Dr Megan Penno, Dr Cher-Rin Chong, Dr Lisa Nicholas, Dr Stephen Kidd, Dr Jantina Manning and Dr Karen Alt.

For more than 70 years Diabetes SA has been providing services to people living with and at risk of diabetes and almost since our inception we have been supporting diabetes research.

We are proud to fund vital research into diabetes and wish the successful recipients every success in their research projects and look forward to receiving regular updates.