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- Associate Professor Isabelle Lucet
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- A new regulator of stemness to create dendritic cell factories for immunotherapy
- Advanced methods for genomic rearrangement detection
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- Defining the protein modifications associated with respiratory disease
- Delineating the pathways driving cancer development and therapy resistance
- Developing a new drug that targets plasmacytoid dendritic cells for the treatment of lupus
- Development and mechanism of action of novel antimalarials
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- Epigenetic biomarkers of tuberculosis infection
- Essential role of glycobiology in malaria parasites
- Evolution of haematopoiesis in vertebrates
- Human lung protective immunity to tuberculosis
- Identifying novel treatment options for ovarian carcinosarcoma
- Interaction with Toxoplasma parasites and the brain
- Interactions between tumour cells and their microenvironment in non-small cell lung cancer
- Investigating the role of mutant p53 in cancer
- Microbiome strain-level analysis using long read sequencing
- Minimising rheumatic adverse events of checkpoint inhibitor cancer therapy
- Modelling spatial and demographic heterogeneity of malaria transmission risk
- Naturally acquired immune response to malaria parasites
- Predicting the effect of non-coding structural variants in cancer
- Structural basis of catenin-independent Wnt signalling
- Structure and biology of proteins essential for Toxoplasma parasite invasion
- T lymphocytes: how memories are made
- TICKER: A cell history recorder for longitudinal patient monitoring
- Targeting host pathways to develop new broad-spectrum antiviral drugs
- Targeting post-translational modifications to disrupting the function of secreted proteins
- Targeting the epigenome to rewire pro-allergic T cells
- Targeting the immune microenvironment to treat KRAS-mutant adenocarcinoma
- The E3 ubiquitin ligase Parkin and mitophagy in Parkinson’s disease
- The molecular controls on dendritic cell development
- Understanding malaria infection dynamics
- Understanding the genetics of neutrophil maturation
- Understanding the neuroimmune regulation of innate immunity
- Understanding the proteins that regulate programmed cell death at the molecular level
- Using cutting-edge single cell tools to understand the origins of cancer
- When healthy cells turn bad: how immune responses can transition to lymphoma
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- WEHI.TV
Diabetes

Diabetes is a serious health condition characterised by high blood glucose levels. It is caused by defective production or action of insulin, the main hormone responsible for controlling blood glucose levels.
Our diabetes researchers work on type 1 diabetes and type 2 diabetes. Their work aims to better understand how these different forms of diabetes occur with a view to developing better ways to prevent and treat diabetes.

insulin and the related insulin-like growth factors signal into cells.
Our diabetes research
Our diabetes researchers are pursuing basic, translational and clinical research to improve the health of people with diabetes. Their research includes:
- Revealing how the immune system contributes to diabetes.
- Understanding how insulin binds to cells, to assist in the creation of better forms of insulin for treating diabetes.
- Developing and trialing new ways to prevent and treat diabetes.
Read more about research into type 1 diabetes and type 2 diabetes.
What is diabetes?
Diabetes (or diabetes mellitus) describes conditions in which levels of glucose in the blood are abnormally high. Glucose is an energy source that comes from food. It is stored in the liver and muscles in a form called glycogen.
It is critical for health that the level of glucose is tightly controlled in the blood. Without enough glucose, organs cannot function properly, but too much glucose can cause organ damage.
Normally blood glucose levels are tightly controlled by two hormones released by the pancreas:
- Insulin: decreases blood glucose when it is high, such as after a meal, by increasing glucose uptake by cells and blocking the glucose release from the liver.
- Glucagon: increases blood glucose when it is low, such as after exercise, by opposing the actions of insulin and releasing glucose from the liver.
Types of diabetes
Blood glucose can be elevated for a variety of reasons. The three most common types of diabetes in Australia are:
- Type 1 diabetes: caused by immune destruction of the insulin-producing cells in the pancreas.
- Type 2 diabetes: a condition in which the body does not respond appropriately to its own insulin, called ‘insulin resistance’, together with gradual loss of beta cell function and evidence of low-grade inflammation.
- Gestational diabetes is a form of insulin resistance that occurs during pregnancy. For more information about this and other rarer forms of diabetes, visit Diabetes Australia.
Complications of diabetes
People with diabetes are at risk of short-term and long-term health problems caused by high blood glucose. People with diabetes can experience immediate symptoms of very low or high blood glucose.
High levels of glucose can cause immediate and serious problems for people with diabetes. A lack of insulin, particularly in type 1 diabetes, can rapidly lead to a serious condition called diabetic ketoacidosis. This is caused by cells switching away from glucose as an energy source, instead metabolising fatty acids, a process that generates toxic byproducts.
In the long-term, consistently high levels of blood sugar caused by diabetes can cause damage to many organs. This can lead to serious health problems including:
- Kidney disease (diabetic nephropathy)
- Eye disease and blindness (diabetic retinopathy)
- Nerve damage (diabetic neuropathy)
- Damage to blood vessels, which together with nerve damage can lead to serious problems in the hands and feet
- Heart disease and stroke.
Good control of blood sugar greatly reduces the risk of diabetic complications.
For more information, and support for people with diabetes please visit Diabetes Australia.
Better forms of insulin
Insulin is a critical treatment for people with type 1 diabetes, and for some people with type 2 diabetes. Currently, insulin cannot be given as a tablet, but must be injected.
Different forms of insulin are available, which act over different time frames. ‘Short-acting’ insulin rapidly decreases blood glucose, so is best taken after a meal. ‘Long-acting’ insulin can control blood glucose levels over longer periods. Combinations of different insulin types offer people with diabetes the best opportunity to maintain healthy blood glucose levels.
Our structural biology researchers have revealed how insulin uses the insulin receptor to bind to the surface of cells. They hope this discovery could lead to the development of new types of artificial insulin that could be given without injections. Understanding how insulin functions may also contribute to more stable, longer-acting forms. The goal of this research is to improve the control of blood glucose in people taking insulin to treat diabetes.
Researchers:
Super Content:
WEHI.TV animation: how insulin is normally produced in the body and how its production is destroyed in type 1 diabetes.
New gene-editing technology is being used by researchers working to prevent and cure diabetes
A five-year international trial has found that type 1 diabetes can be delayed by an immune therapy.
The therapy, teplizumab, delayed the onset of diabetes in participants by two years.
How inflammatory cells in fat contribute to type 2 diabetes
Our research has discovered stem cells in the adult pancreas that can be turned into insulin producing cells.
Associate Professor Michael Lawrence discusses his research into how insulin binds its receptor