Diabetes researchers from all over the world gather for the Advanced Technologies & Treatments for Diabetes (ATTD) Conference, which this year will take place in-person (as well as online) from April 27-30 in Barcelona, Spain.

Many of the latest advances will be discussed, including research that JDRF has funded to advance new breakthroughs and therapies for people with type 1 diabetes (T1D). In total, 32 researchers presenting are JDRF-funded, either now or in the past, including our own Sanjoy Dutta, Ph.D., JDRF’s Chief Scientific Officer, and Jeannette Soderberg, Ph.D., JDRF’s Director of European Research, who will chair a JDRF Session on the Utility of Patient-Reported Outcomes (PROs) in Therapy Development for T1D: Putting the End-User Upfront, which will feature renowned individuals from Tandem Diabetes Care, Novo Nordisk, Lexicon Pharmaceuticals, and ViaCyte.

Here are some more highlights of JDRF-funded research that will be featured at the conference:

• Artificial Pancreas System Pivotal Trial: Results from the multi-center randomized insulin-only iLet bionic pancreas pivotal trial will be presented by Steven Russell, M.D., Ph.D., who received a JDRF grant from 2013-2016 to refine the iLet pancreas, based upon the work of Ed Damiano, Ph.D., CEO of Beta Bionics, who JDRF funded from 2009-2011, for his early research testing the safety and efficacy of a novel closed-loop system (including Firas El-Khatib, Ph.D., a JDRF postdoctoral fellow in his lab). The results of this work helped to inform the development of the iLet bionic pancreas.
  • Also in this Closed-Loop Updates Session are JDRF-funded:
    • Ohad Cohen, M.D., who will talk about real world data to optimize automated insulin delivery (AID) devices;
    • Boris Kovatchev, Ph.D., whose algorithm led to the Tandem Control-IQ™ artificial pancreas technology, who will present on long-term, real-life use of closed loop control;
    • Roman Hovorka, Ph.D., who generated the CamAPS® FX artificial pancreas system, on the applicability of closed loop solutions to type 2; and
    • Revital Nimri, D.Med., and Moshe Phillip, M.D., two co-founders of the DreaMed Diabetes company, who will offer highlights from the international consensus meeting on AID technology.

• Time-in-Range vs. HbA1c: The findings from the InRange clinical trial comparing time-in-range with a continuous glucose monitor (CGM) to HbA1c will be presented by world-renowned scientists Richard Bergenstal, M.D., Thomas Danne, M.D., Tadej Battelino, M.D., Ph.D., Eric Renard, M.D., Ph.D., and Pratik Choudhary, M.D., Ph.D. I hope that this clinical trial confirms the use of CGM in clinical practice, as well as its application as an outcome measure in clinical trials. (Go here for a look at JDRF’s position on time-in-range, which is a potentially better tool than A1c.) Stay tuned for the results.
• Exercise + T1D: Clinical trial results, funded by JDRF, will be presented by Peter G. Jacobs, Ph.D., investigating the use of an artificial pancreas system that responds automatically to physical activity, using the iPancreas system developed by the Oregon Health & Science University. Preliminary results from the T1D Exercise Initiative (T1Dexi) will be presented by Michael C. Riddell, Ph.D., which should help researchers learn more about the effect of exercise on blood sugar and its role in artificial pancreas technology.

Stay tuned on Twitter (@JDRF) for exciting news at the ATTD Conference.