The BTNC is designed to:
• Link expertise, ideas, and efforts across the country
• Bring T1D clinical trials to Canada faster
• Support more trial sites nationwide
• Help ensure therapies are developed, tested, and delivered in Canada
This proposal was shaped with input from researchers, clinicians, industry experts, policymakers, and members of the T1D community, all focused on one shared goal: ensuring people in Canada can benefit from breakthrough therapies as soon as possible.
A new step toward cures for type 1 diabetes in Canada. Breakthrough T1D Canada has formally asked the federal government to partner in launching the Breakthrough T1D Network for Canada (BTNC), a national effort to accelerate treatments for #T1D. 💙
Learn more 🔗 ow.ly/yi8850YH60L
Breakthrough T1D Canada is pleased to announce three new trainees joining the fourth cohort of our partnership with the Canadian Islet Research and Training Network @cirtn.bsky.social
Learn more about their research and the impact of this collaboration: breakthrought1d.ca/breakthrough...
Calling all residents and fellows interested in type 1 diabetes #T1D research! Breakthrough T1D Canada's Clinician Investigator Fellowship is currently open for applications.
Up to $50,000 salary support per year.
Deadline to submit is March 31st.
breakthrought1d.ca/research/gra...
Text on image says: The best minds. The boldest ideas. Shaping the future of T1D. Save the date. October 9 to 11, 2026. Philadelphia, USA
Mark your calendars for October 9–11, 2026, in Philadelphia, PA, for the first-ever Breakthrough T1D Clinical & Research Congress (CRC)! #CRC2026
Learn more: bt1dcongress.org
I'm excited to share that we are hiring two positions with Breakthrough T1D (formerly JDRF) Canada!
National Specialist, Research & Mental Health (Bilingual)
National Manager, Medical Affairs
Please pass these along to anyone who may be interested: jobs-ca.silkroad.com/breakthrough...
Thanks to @stemcellnetwork.ca for a fantastic #TMM2025 conference.
Highlights:
🎉 Celebrating our partnership with SCN @breakthrought1dca.bsky.social
📝 Learning about regenerative medicine updates in #T1D
💭 Thought-provoking sessions on science funding, policy, and commercialization
Edmonton
Official posting coming soon, but here's a heads-up:
#Postdoc Opportunity for individuals with an interest in advancing the understanding of pancreatic islet hormones in health and #diabetes. Diverse backgrounds, skill sets and experiences are welcome!
www.bcell.org
The workshop brought together regulators, payers, legal experts, researchers, industry experts, non-profit leaders and people with lived experience.
Let’s keep the conversation going. If you’re working in this space or have ideas - please connect!!
Key themes that emerged:
✅ The value of cell therapies - both clinical outcomes AND what matters to people living with T1D
✅ The need for regulatory clarity for cell therapies
✅ Capitalizing on opportunities to collaborate
✅ How innovative models can enable reimbursement of cell therapies in Canada
Last week, Breakthrough T1D Canada had the privilege of co-hosting a workshop with Canada’s Stem Cell Network and Shift Health focused on a critical and complex topic:
"Unlocking Access for Type 1 Diabetes Cell Therapies in Canada: Identifying Solutions for Regulatory and Reimbursement Success."
‘Official’ results from the Vertex VX-880 trial using stem cell-derived islets for people with type 1 diabetes #T1D
10 out of 12 people with reduced or eliminated need for insulin 🎉
But note the need for immunosuppression and limited eligibility… this is not (YET) the ‘cure for everyone’
Excellent to see this Breakthrough T1D and CIHR-funded research by Dr. Mahmud at SickKids (Toronto) that shows improved glycemic control and kidney function when using the drug dapagliflozin in youth.
Exciting to see research progress toward adjunctive therapies for #T1D.
Fantastic! Thanks for going! And what an adorable science sidekick
📣 Calling all trainees and early-career researchers studying type 1 diabetes #T1D
Breakthrough T1D has postdoctoral fellowships and early careers awards for academics and clinician-scientists.
🗓️ Proposals due July 1
International applicants welcome!
www.breakthrought1d.org/explore-rese...
What a legacy 🇨🇦 Drs. Till & McCulloch discovered stem cells in the 60s which changed the future of regenerative medicine and contributed to solving one of the biggest hurdles (having enough cells) in the quest to cure type 1 diabetes
#T1D #stemcell
A short (12-min) interview about the current and future of islet transplantation. Worth a listen for anyone interested in learning more about cures for #T1D
The approval of Tzield makes screening even more important for Canadians. How will we find people who are early-stage #T1D that don’t yet have signs and symptoms but have an autoimmune attack silently killing beta cells.
Our approach is real-world evidence generation via www.canscreent1d.ca
Yesterday, Health Canada approved the first disease-modifying therapy for type 1 diabetes #T1D. This is a ‘preventative’ (actually ‘delaying’) therapy that addresses autoimmunity *before* someone is diagnosed and requiring insulin.
breakthrought1d.ca/news/health-...
Several BreakthroughT1D funding opportunities available
1) Advancing GRS, especially in non-European backgrounds
2) Early detection in adult-onset T1D
3) Tech for scaling manufactured islets
Feel free to reach out with questions. Open to industry and academia
#funding #grants #T1D
Beyond the Numbers: Real Stories of Navigating Mental Health with type 1 diabetes #T1D. This powerful new video series shares the honest, emotional stories of adults living with type 1 diabetes. 💙
🔗 Watch the series ow.ly/aqb950VKwkL
🔗 Explore mental health & T1D resources ow.ly/J49v50VKwkK
Such a ridiculous practice - same with NSERC. Always budget about 10% more than it will cost to hit closer to your target but not being ‘too high’. It’s a fine balance!
When beta cells make insulin, C-peptide is ‘broken off’ and this can be measured in blood draws. C-peptide has been the ‘primary outcome’ for many #T1D preventative therapy trials, but it’s not a very sensitive test and can be costly.
A biomarker is something measurable that indicates what’s happening in the body (an A1c is a biomarker of blood glucose).
With an increase in screening tests and preventative therapies, biomarkers of beta cell function are becoming more important.
Great new research - one of the difficult aspects of #T1D is that there’s no way to “see” islet or beta cells to check if they are being attacked or functioning well so new biomarkers are important!
(More info in comments…)
So much knowledge comes from a registry - this is a catalyst for many other research projects and often helps guide research priorities!
If you (or your child) lives with type 1 diabetes #T1D #LADA and are located in Canada 🇨🇦, PLEASE consider contributing to research! (Completely virtual too).
Adult living with #T1D in Edmonton, #Canada…?
Consider participating in clinical trials to explore new therapies.
Not in Edmonton - look for other actively recruiting trials for type 1 diabetes here clinicaltrials.breakthrought1d.ca/search
VERY important research from the fantastic Dr. Jane Speight.
The burden of self-managed chronic conditions should not be underestimated!
If you live in Canada and want to find a mental health worker that understands diabetes burden ( #T1D or #T2D) - check on our directory.breakthrought1d.ca
