Diabetes Research Institute Foundation

10/05/2026

Yesterday, NBC News shared Katie Beth Hand's experience participating in the Eledon trial.

What many may not realize is that this story began decades ago at the Diabetes Research Institute.

The Ricordi Chamber transformed the ability to isolate islets for transplantation. Later, pioneering work by Dr. Norma Kenyon helped advance anti-CD40L as a promising strategy to protect transplanted islets. Together, these scientific advances helped lay the foundation for studies like the Eledon trial.

And the work continues. Today, Dr. Norma Kenyon and her team are studying how patients respond to tegoprubart after transplantation, helping researchers better understand what drives long-term transplant success.

This trial didn't begin when the first patient enrolled. It began decades ago at DRI with a relentless commitment to a world without diabetes.

A groundbreaking clinical trial at the University of Chicago has po...

09/29/2026

Your voice can make a difference for people living with type 1 diabetes.

Right now, there’s an opportunity to help expand access to islet transplantation in the United States — a treatment that can be life-changing for people with severe, difficult-to-manage low blood sugar.

And it only takes about 5 minutes to take action.

Share why greater access matters to you, your family, or the T1D community — and help make sure the voices of people affected by type 1 diabetes are heard.

👉 Swipe to see how to take action.
📅 Deadline: November 8, 2026
🔗 Click here to submit your comment: https://www.regulations.gov/document/FDA-2026-N-10738-0001

Together, we can help move progress forward.

08/27/2026

Before the headlines and clinical trials, there were years of research at the Diabetes Research Institute.

Years of work that laid the foundation for the progress we’re seeing today.

Now, that science is helping shape one of the most talked-about clinical trials in diabetes research.

This is what your support makes possible.

Learn more at DiabetesResearch.org/AntiCD40L

07/30/2026

Please join us in welcoming John C. Doscas as Chairman of the Diabetes Research Institute Foundation's National Board of Directors.

For more than 15 years, John and his family have been dedicated supporters of the Diabetes Research Institute and Foundation. Following his son Christopher's diagnosis with type 1 diabetes, John embarked on a worldwide search to find the organization he believed was best positioned to achieve a cure. That search led him to the Diabetes Research Institute, where he found a singular focus on one goal: a world without diabetes.

Since joining the Foundation's National Board of Directors in 2012, John has been a passionate advocate for our mission and a champion of the groundbreaking research taking place at the Diabetes Research Institute.

Today, we are honored to welcome him as Board Chairman and look forward to the leadership, vision, and commitment he will bring as we continue advancing cure-focused research and moving closer to a future free from diabetes.

Please join us in congratulating John on this new role!

Learn more about John at DiabetesResearch.org/JohnCDoscas

07/30/2026

Please join us in welcoming John C. Doscas as Chairman of the Diabetes Research Institute Foundation’s National Board of Directors.

For more than 15 years, John and his family have been dedicated supporters of the Diabetes Research Institute and Foundation. Following his son Christopher’s diagnosis with type 1 diabetes, John embarked on a worldwide search to find the organization he believed was best positioned to achieve a cure. That search led him to the Diabetes Research Institute, where he found a singular focus on one goal: a world without diabetes.

Since joining the Foundation’s National Board of Directors in 2012, John has been a passionate advocate for our mission and a champion of the groundbreaking research taking place at the Diabetes Research Institute.

Today, we are honored to welcome him as Board Chairman and look forward to the leadership, vision, and commitment he will bring as we continue advancing cure-focused research and moving closer to a future free from diabetes.

Please join us in congratulating John on this new role!

Learn more about John at DiabetesResearch.org/JohnCDoscas

07/22/2026

Big ideas. Bold questions. Real progress.

Join us for our next Meet our DRI Scientist and hear from Jay S. Skyler, MD, as he explores how different approaches to research are coming together in new ways.

This is your chance to go behind the scenes and hear directly from the scientists shaping this work.

📅 Wednesday, August 19
⏰ 7:00 PM ET

Spots are limited — register now at diabetesresearch.org/events/meet-our-dri-scientists or comment CURE to save your spot!

06/16/2026

FDA expands Tzield approval to individuals withnewly diagnosed Stage 3 T1D.

For the first time, a disease-modifying therapy is approved for children and adolescents (8–17 years) shortly after a Stage 3 Type 1 diabetes diagnosis.

At diagnosis, many people still retain functioning beta cells. Preserving those cells may help maintain the body's own insulin production for longer.

Tzield (teplizumab) is an anti-CD3 immunotherapy that targets the autoimmune response driving beta-cell destruction. In the PROTECT study, patients treated soon after diagnosis experienced a slower decline in beta-cell function, allowing them to use less injected insulin.

Tzield was the first therapy to delay progression from Stage 2 to Stage 3 T1D. Now, it becomes the first approved therapy aimed at preserving beta-cell function after diagnosis, an important step toward changing the course of the disease.

At the Diabetes Research Institute, we believe preserving beta-cell function is a critical component of the path toward a biological cure. Through research spanning immunotherapy, beta-cell regeneration, and cell replacement, DRI investigators continue to explore strategies that may one day eliminate the need for lifelong insulin therapy.

06/11/2026

This is what clinical trials make possible.

Meet Marlaina.

After living with type 1 diabetes for 25 years, she enrolled in a clinical trial studying an investigational anti-rejection therapy alongside a pancreatic islet transplant.

Since 2024, she has been free from insulin injections and maintaining stable blood sugar levels—an outcome that would have once seemed impossible.

This trial builds upon decades of pioneering work from Diabetes Research Institute scientists. Dr. Camillo Ricordi's development of the Ricordi Chamber helped make islet transplantation possible, while Dr. Norma Kenyon's research continues to advance the immune therapies being studied today.

Because this treatment still requires ongoing therapy, it is not yet a biological cure. However, it represents meaningful progress and offers hope for a future where people with type 1 diabetes can live free from the daily burden of the disease.

Clinical trials help turn scientific discoveries into real-world outcomes.

Interested in participating in a diabetes-related clinical trial? Visit https://diabetesresearch.org/dri-clinical-trials/

06/09/2026

100% of participants achieved insulin independence.

In a recent clinical study evaluating Tegoprubart following pancreatic islet transplantation, all 12 participants with type 1 diabetes achieved insulin independence and maintained HbA1c levels below 6.5%, with no reported severe hypoglycemic events after transplant.

These encouraging results highlight the potential of Tegoprubart, a novel anti-CD40L antibody designed to help protect transplanted insulin-producing cells while reducing many of the challenges associated with traditional anti-rejection therapies.

This milestone is built upon decades of pioneering work at the Diabetes Research Institute. Dr. Camillo Ricordi's development of the Ricordi Chamber revolutionized the isolation of insulin-producing islet cells, making islet transplantation a viable therapeutic approach worldwide. Building on that foundation, Dr. Ricordi and Dr. Norma Kenyon helped lead groundbreaking preclinical research on anti-CD40L therapies, helping demonstrate their potential to protect transplanted islets and improve long-term outcomes.

Today's results reflect years of scientific innovation and collaboration, bringing us one step closer to a future where cell-based therapies can provide lasting freedom from insulin dependence for people living with type 1 diabetes.

At the DRI, we remain laser-focused on one goal: a world without diabetes.

Learn more about the research your support makes possible at diabetesresearch.org.

05/18/2026

It's the question on everybody's minds: when is the cure going to be here? Join some of the DRI's top minds with Lauren Bongiorno of Risely Health for an honest conversation: how close are we, really?

https://www.riselyhealth.com/dri-webinar-landing-page