Research funding overview

Supporting groundbreaking diabetes research in Canada

With our support, diabetes researchers throughout the country have made remarkable progress over the past 50 years. In 1975, Diabetes Canada officially established its research program with the Charles H. Best Research Fund to ensure high-quality diabetes research received funding year after year. Since then, we’ve provided more than $173 million in research funding to scientists and clinicians who have dedicated their careers to ending diabetes. Learn more about their breakthroughs, from the glycemic index to GLP-agonists to cell therapies and the artificial pancreas, which have dramatically improved the lives of people with diabetes, in History.

$173+ million

Invested in research grants, awards, and partnerships across Canada since 1975.

66+ active projects

Currently supporting innovative research spanning prevention, treatment, complications, and cures.

Goal: $60M by 2030

To be awarded through End Diabetes Awards, Research Training, Impact Funds and more.

Diabetes Canada Funded Research

By 2030, we want to award $60 million in new research funding through the End Diabetes Awards, Research Training Funding, Diabetes Impact Funds, Research Collaboration Support, and partnerships with other research funders.

Discover the Milestones in Diabetes Research

Celebrating 50 years of innovation, explore Diabetes Canada's research history and transformative discoveries in diabetes care.

Explore Our Research Timeline

Research we fund today

Diabetes Canada currently supports:

13 projects aiming to prevent or delay the onset of diabetes
26 projects aiming to develop better diabetes treatments
19 projects aiming to address diabetes complications
8 projects aiming to discover a cure for diabetes

We’re proud to continue our research legacy and are currently supporting more than 66 projects throughout the country, each with the potential to unlock new insights and advances for people living with or at risk of developing diabetes. Our research covers a wide range of areas, always with the same goal: to create a future free from the effects of diabetes. Learn more about the researchers we are currently funding.

Currently funded research

The four pillars of research funding

We support research across four key categories or “pillars”: biomedical, clinical, health services, and population health research. These work together to turn lab discoveries into real treatments and medications that help people living with diabetes.

Pillar 1: Biomedical
Studies how our bodies function on a microscopic level to understand diabetes. These studies can take 10 to 40 years to make a real impact.
Pillar 2: Clinical
Focuses on testing new treatments and approaches to care on people. Results can take from five to 15 years to be used in practice.
Pillar 3: Health services
Looks at how treatments are delivered and if they work as promised. These findings can shape public health policy within one to five years.
Pillar 4: Population & public health
Studies the health of populations to ensure everyone benefits from new advancements. Findings also can inform policy decisions within one to five years.

Research areas we focus on

With the rapid pace of innovation in diabetes research, we’re excited for the breakthroughs yet to come. Diabetes Canada will continue funding critical research, driving forward the search for better treatments, improved quality of life, and one day a cure.

Prevention: How can we delay or stop the onset of diabetes?
Complications: How can we reduce and best treat the secondary effects of diabetes?
Cure: How can we reverse and/or cure diabetes?
Treatment: How can we develop better interventions, improve medications and devices, and increase access to these treatments?

Committed to diversity and inclusion

At Diabetes Canada, we are dedicated to advancing Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, and Accessibility (IDEA) in all of our research. This means ensuring that research reflects and serves all individuals, regardless of their race, gender, ethnicity or ability.

We require researchers to integrate sex, gender, race and ethnicity-based analysis into our research to better understand how these factors affect health. We do this to create more inclusive and effective health solutions that will benefit everyone.

Research funding process

View larger