INDIANAPOLIS — The Helmsley Charitable Trust has awarded a three-year, $1.1 million grant to diabetes researchers at the Indiana University School of Medicine to advance innovative screening strategies for the early detection of Type 1 diabetes, with the goal of improving diagnosis rates and treatment outcomes for both children and adults in Indiana at high risk for developing the chronic autoimmune disease.
Type 1 diabetes is a lifelong condition in which the body's immune system attacks and destroys cells in the pancreas that produce insulin, which the body needs to help regulate blood sugar levels and convert that sugar to energy. This leads to a buildup of sugar in the bloodstream that requires ongoing insulin injections or pump therapy to manage.
The Finding Immune Nascent Diabetes (FIND-T1D) project will utilize the Indiana Biobank, a statewide initiative co-developed by the IU School of Medicine and Indiana University Health to advance disease and treatment research. Leveraging the biobank's health and genetic data from over 50,000 consenting IU Health participants, the research team will analyze DNA samples and calculate genetic risk scores to understand if this is a feasible strategy to identify people at high risk for developing Type 1 diabetes. As a first step, the team will look at historic samples and electronic medical record data. Moving forward, they plan to leverage the biobank infrastructure to bring prospective Type 1 diabetes screening to Hoosiers.
"While a family history of Type 1 diabetes increases risk, the disease often appears without a family history, so we want to screen beyond that population," said Emily Sims, MD, associate professor of pediatrics at the IU School of Medicine and the project's lead investigator. "Finding these people can feel like looking for a needle in a haystack, which is why we're taking advantage of the genetic data available through the Indiana Biobank."
A key advantage of using the Indiana Biobank is its potential to uncover valuable insights into adult risk factors for the disease. Traditional Type 1 diabetes screening programs have primarily focused on children, often overlooking the fact that adults account for more than half of new cases each year.
"Our goal is to identify presymptomatic cases in both adults and children so we can help connect them with the best individual clinical care, monitoring and treatment options," Sims said. "We're grateful for the Helmsley Charitable Trust's support and hope this project's success inspires similar efforts in other states and biobanks across the country."
The grant will also support the early-stage diabetes clinic at IU and Riley Children's Health. Led by Jamie Felton, MD, assistant professor of pediatrics at the IU School of Medicine, the clinic provides at-risk and newly diagnosed individuals with comprehensive care, including early diabetes education, personalized care plans and ongoing patient support.
FIND-T1D investigators will work alongside the IU School of Medicine’s pediatric diabetes research and clinical teams, led by Carmella Evans-Molina, MD, PhD, and Linda DiMeglio, MD, MPH. The group recently celebrated the screening of 250,000 people worldwide — including more than 10,000 locally in Indiana.
"Every screening effort brings us closer to a world without Type 1 diabetes," Sims said. "Thanks to the generosity of our funding partners, our team of experts and research participants in Indiana are at the forefront of this critical work."
About the Indiana University School of Medicine
The IU School of Medicine is the largest medical school in the U.S. and is annually ranked among the top medical schools in the nation by U.S. News & World Report. The school offers high-quality medical education, access to leading medical research and rich campus life in nine Indiana cities, including rural and urban locations consistently recognized for livability. According to the Blue Ridge Institute for Medical Research, the IU School of Medicine ranks No. 13 in 2023 National Institutes of Health funding among all public medical schools in the country.
Writer: Jackie Maupin, jacmaup@iu.edu
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