Our research priorities

We want to make sure diabetes research in the UK focuses on what matters most to people living with or at risk of diabetes. That’s why we set up our Diabetes Research Steering Groups (DRSGs).

These groups are a platform that bring together people affected by diabetes, researchers, and healthcare professionals. They use their personal, professional, and clinical experiences and insight to develop an evolving roadmap for UK diabetes research. 

How the DRSGs shape research

1. The DRSGs work together to agree specific priority areas where there’s a critical lack of understanding and severe unmet need in research.  
2. They lay out clear recommendations to researchers and funders on how best to address gaps in research.  
3. They work with the wider research community to secure greater investment in the priority areas. 

The DRSGs’ priorities are woven into everything we do. Their work ensures future research will: 

• focus on what matters most to people with or at risk of diabetes 
• move even faster 
• be even more effective 
• attract more investment 

We need your help to drive diabetes research forwards

We use the DRSGs’ priorities to steer our strategic funding, ensuring we’re focusing on today’s most urgent and important challenges. But their priorities are not for Diabetes UK alone.  

We need researchers like you to take their recommendations forward by grounding them in your research plans. 

The seven DRSGs often work together, but each group focuses on a different area of diabetes research. 

Click through to each group to explore the priorities that sit within each theme.

• Causes of diabetes
• Type 1 treatments and prevention
• Type 2 treatments and prevention
• Acute care
• Living with diabetes long term
• Complications
• Children and young people with diabetes

The DRSGs have also taken a deeper dive into several of the most significant areas of diabetes care in need of improvement. After convening expert insight to unpack the gaps and opportunities that exist in each research area, they’ve published a series of position statements that provide recommendations and practical actions to researchers and research funders on how best to address the urgent unmet need.

• Transforming mental well‐being for people with diabetes: research recommendations from Diabetes UK's 2019 Diabetes and Mental Well‐Being Workshop

• Ageing well with diabetes: A workshop to co-design research recommendations for improving the diabetes care of older people

• Optimizing the use of technology to support people with diabetes: research recommendations from Diabetes UK’s 2019 diabetes and technology workshop

• Recommendations from Diabetes UK's 2022 diabetes and physical activity workshop

• Addressing health inequalities in diabetes through research: Recommendations from Diabetes UK's 2022 health inequalities in diabetes workshop

• Improving understanding of type 2 diabetes remission: research recommendations from Diabetes UK’s 2019 remission workshop

If you want to find out more or discuss any of the DRSGs' priorities with us, get in touch.

How to get involved

Recruitment for the DRSGs is now closed...

but if you want to use your personal, academic or healthcare experience to shape the future of diabetes research? We will be recruting for new members again in future to join all 7 of our DRSGs.

If you are interested in joining us, please email DRSGs@diabetes.org.uk saying that you would like to be considered when future recruitment opens. We will also be happy to answer any questions that you have.

Watch our video to hear from some of our DRSG members.

Find out what areas of research the Diabetes Research Steering Groups have been working on in the DRSG Priorities Document August 2023 (PDF, 236KB).