Featured Stories
Royal Marsden Launches UK's First Service Dedicated to People Aged 25-49 With All Types of Gastrointestinal Cancers
LONDON, England, Sept. 11 -- The Royal Marsden National Health Service Foundation Trust issued the following news:
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The Royal Marsden launches UK's first service dedicated to people aged 25-49 with all types of gastrointestinal cancers
For people in their 20s, 30s or 40s, a cancer diagnosis can bring complex challenges that go beyond clinical care. We've launched a dedicated service to address them.
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Being diagnosed with cancer can be a profoundly distressing experience, no matter what age you are. But for younger people, a cancer diagnosis is often compounded by a range of unique challenges
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LONDON, England, Sept. 11 -- The Royal Marsden National Health Service Foundation Trust issued the following news:
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The Royal Marsden launches UK's first service dedicated to people aged 25-49 with all types of gastrointestinal cancers
For people in their 20s, 30s or 40s, a cancer diagnosis can bring complex challenges that go beyond clinical care. We've launched a dedicated service to address them.
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Being diagnosed with cancer can be a profoundly distressing experience, no matter what age you are. But for younger people, a cancer diagnosis is often compounded by a range of unique challengesthat go beyond their treatment. In recent years, there's been a steady rise in the number of people under 50 being diagnosed with gastrointestinal (GI) cancers - especially bowel cancer.
To meet this growing need, The Royal Marsden has become the first cancer centre in the UK to set up a service that's dedicated to supporting these patients. Many patients in this age range are in full-time work and may have dependants who need financial support. Others may have young children and may struggle to explain to them what's happening. And patients who want to have children in the future may face a difficult choice between prioritising their treatment outcomes and preserving their fertility.
These challenges - along with a range of psychological, physical and social factors, including a risk of early menopause - combine to make young-onset cancer diagnosis and treatment a uniquely difficult experience.
Dr Avani Athauda and Dr Nalinie Hogan, Consultant Medical Oncologists in the Gastrointestinal Unit, wanted to develop a service to address the specific needs of younger patients like Esme. A focus group and retrospective questionnaire helped ensure that its design captured all of these patients' needs.
The result is the Young Onset Cancer Service (YOCS), which offers access to tailored, specialist support for younger patients with all types of GI cancers. It aims to provide these patients with a dedicated pathway so they can access the care they need, without having to search for information themselves. This allows them to focus on their treatment and spend more time with loved ones.
Easy-to-access assistance for GI cancers
The YOCS provides help with a range of challenges, from physical and psychological difficulties to finances and family planning. This support is currently available at The Royal Marsden in Sutton, and all patients aged 25 to 49 with a new diagnosis of GI cancer who are being treated there will be offered the chance to join the programme. There are plans to expand it in the future.
"We established this service to provide personalised, age appropriate support," says Dr Athauda, Clinical Co-lead of the YOCS.
"Since becoming a consultant, I've seen a growing number of GI cancers being diagnosed at a younger age. A cancer diagnosis at any age is life-changing, but younger patients also face a range of complex issues that are not necessarily addressed in standard cancer pathways.
"We established this service to provide personalised, age appropriate support that is easy to access, helping our younger patients and their families to navigate the challenges that can arise during and after cancer treatment."
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Original text here: https://www.royalmarsden.nhs.uk/news-and-events/news/royal-marsden-launches-uks-first-service-dedicated-people-aged-25-49-all-types
Rockefeller Foundation: Thunkable Education Pilot for West Virginia Students Builds Future-Ready AI, Entrepreneurship, and App Development Skills
NEW YORK, Sept. 11 -- The Rockefeller Foundation posted the following news release on Sept. 10, 2026:
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Thunkable Education Pilot for West Virginia Students Builds Future-Ready AI, Entrepreneurship, and App Development Skills
With support from The Rockefeller Foundation, Thunkable's pilot program engaged approximately 120 high school students across West Virginia, resulting in an estimated 80 student-built mobile applications.
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SAN FRANCISCO, CA / WEST VIRGINIA | September 10, 2026 -- Thunkable today announced the conclusion of its artificial intelligence (AI) education pilot program
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NEW YORK, Sept. 11 -- The Rockefeller Foundation posted the following news release on Sept. 10, 2026:
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Thunkable Education Pilot for West Virginia Students Builds Future-Ready AI, Entrepreneurship, and App Development Skills
With support from The Rockefeller Foundation, Thunkable's pilot program engaged approximately 120 high school students across West Virginia, resulting in an estimated 80 student-built mobile applications.
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SAN FRANCISCO, CA / WEST VIRGINIA | September 10, 2026 -- Thunkable today announced the conclusion of its artificial intelligence (AI) education pilot programin West Virginia, a hands-on learning initiative designed to increase AI literacy, expand access to entrepreneurship education, and facilitate creative technology development for high school students vulnerable to U.S. labor market disruption.
Implemented in collaboration with the State of West Virginia across participating high schools in Monongalia County, Kanawha County, and Berkeley County, the pilot, which was supported by The Rockefeller Foundation, introduced students in grades 9 through 12 to practical AI concepts, problem-solving, entrepreneurship, and mobile app creation using Thunkable's no-code development platform. Four schools completed the program curriculum, with approximately 120 students developing an estimated 80 final applications to help their classmates and communities.
"It was incredibly inspiring to see these students go from 'I have never written a line of code' to 'I have built an iPhone, Android, and web app that helps my community,'" said Arun Saigal, Co-founder and CEO Thunkable. "These students have great ideas on how to make an impact in their communities and in the world. With the right tools, they were able to bring their creative ideas to life."
"Jobs of the future will reward people who know how to build with AI, and West Virginia's students are proving they can do exactly that," said Andrew Sweet, Vice President of Innovation at The Rockefeller Foundation, which over the past five years has committed more than $33 million to grantees that are using AI to accelerate progress for vulnerable communities in the United States and around the world. "This pilot shows that hands-on AI education can work in communities that don't always get first access to new technology -- and that's where this kind of investment matters most."
The Challenge Facing America's Students
High school students today are entering higher education and the workforce with limited training on AI systems, even as those systems are reshaping labor markets. Research suggests that AI is capable of replacing up to 11.7 percent of jobs in the U.S. labor market and roughly 50 to 55 percent of America's workers could see AI reshape their jobs in the coming years, with entry-level and task-dense roles particularly exposed. Employers are actively looking for entry-level workers, but say they are struggling to find AI-trained graduates.
In West Virginia, a state whose economy has long been anchored in coal and is now navigating a transition toward new industries, students also face a compounding challenge in an AI-driven labor market: some of the lowest broadband access in the nation. West Virginia has ranked among the least-connected states in the country, with roughly one-third of residents lacking internet that meets federal broadband standards and with rural communities hit the hardest. For many students, this means growing up at a distance from the tools and technologies that increasingly define modern careers.
That exposure gap was clear from the start of the Thunkable AI education program: Many students entered with limited understanding of AI and low confidence in using emerging technologies, with approximately 50% of students initially saying they had no familiarity or very limited familiarity with AI concepts such as machine learning, prompt engineering, algorithms, and coding. Students also said they were more comfortable using general digital tools for schoolwork than using AI to solve problems or build technology-driven projects.
The Program and Results
Amid this backdrop, Thunkable developed the AI education pilot program to help vulnerable West Virginia students develop future-ready technical skills. Rather than focusing solely on AI as a tool for consumption, the curriculum emphasized creation, encouraging students to identify real-world problems, explore entrepreneurial ideas, and build functional mobile applications.
Over the course of the pilot, students participated in a recurring weekly structure that combined hands-on Thunkable tutorials and app development with entrepreneurship and innovation-focused instruction. Participating teachers also received professional development before implementation, helping them bring the curriculum into a range of classroom settings, including Entrepreneurship, Coding Game and App Design, and Informational Design and Coding.
By the end of the program, students had designed and presented a wide variety of original projects, including educational AI tools, productivity applications, health-oriented apps, gaming concepts, and small-business software. Standout projects included The School App, built by Spring Mills High School students to help peers with disabilities and or specialized instruction needs navigate schedules, track grades, and access learning resources; GlowUp Challenge, a teen wellness app by a Nitro High School student to help peers build healthy habits and confidence through daily challenges, progress tracking, and positive self-talk; and Nebula CMH, a client management platform designed to help small businesses improve record keeping, permissions, and client workflows.
The pilot also produced encouraging outcomes around student confidence, engagement, and entrepreneurial interest. For example, 44% of students reported more interest in starting their own businesses by the end of the program. They also repeatedly identified building applications, creating original ideas, collaborative problem-solving, coding with AI assistance, and seeing their concepts become functional apps as favorite parts of the course.
Opportunity to Further Scale
As West Virginia continues to invest in innovation and workforce development, this multi-county pilot demonstrates the potential of accessible, project-based AI education to help prepare America's students for future careers in technology, entrepreneurship, and problem-solving, while also enabling broader economic prosperity for themselves and their communities. These early lessons reflect a clearer understanding of the barriers school systems face in adopting new technologies, from access and the right tools to the devices required to run them, as well as the importance of giving students established pathways forward, whether into higher education or the workforce. Building on these early successes in West Virginia, Thunkable is now actively exploring opportunities to expand this program to additional states and underserved communities nationwide.
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About Thunkable
Thunkable is the award-winning visual development platform that lets students and teachers build real iOS and Android apps with no traditional coding required. From any web browser, students can turn ideas into working apps in just a few lessons. After building students' design and development skills, teachers can activate built-in AI tools to accelerate student creativity and problem-solving. With Thunkable, students build mobile portfolios to prepare them for the digital workforce.
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About The Rockefeller Foundation
Investing $30 billion over the last 113 years to promote the well-being of humanity, The Rockefeller Foundation is a pioneering philanthropy built on unlikely partnerships and innovative solutions that deliver measurable results for people in the United States and around the world, including in association with RF Catalytic Capital Inc (RFCC). We leverage scientific breakthroughs, artificial intelligence, and new technologies to make big bets across energy, food, health, and finance. For more information, follow us on LinkedIn @the-rockefeller-foundation, X @RockefellerFdn, Instagram @rockefellerfdn, and YouTube @rockefellerfound, and sign up for our newsletter at www.rockefellerfoundation.org/subscribe.
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Original text here: https://www.rockefellerfoundation.org/news/thunkable-education-pilot-west-virginia-students-builds-future-ready-ai-entrepreneurship-app-development-skills/
Health Foundation: Summer Heat Exposes Fragile NHS Recovery
LONDON, England, Sept. 11 -- The Health Foundation issued the following news release:
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Summer heat exposes fragile NHS recovery
Responding to the latest NHS performance statistics, Tim Gardner, Deputy Director of Policy at the Health Foundation, said:
'Today's figures underline the scale of the pressures on the NHS, with the extreme heat over the summer only adding to the demands on health services.
'The latest urgent and emergency care data for August show little meaningful improvement. Ambulance response times decreased slightly and A&E waiting times remained stubbornly high.
'While
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LONDON, England, Sept. 11 -- The Health Foundation issued the following news release:
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Summer heat exposes fragile NHS recovery
Responding to the latest NHS performance statistics, Tim Gardner, Deputy Director of Policy at the Health Foundation, said:
'Today's figures underline the scale of the pressures on the NHS, with the extreme heat over the summer only adding to the demands on health services.
'The latest urgent and emergency care data for August show little meaningful improvement. Ambulance response times decreased slightly and A&E waiting times remained stubbornly high.
'WhileNHS waiting lists often rise at this time of year, the lack of sustained progress towards ending hospital backlogs is concerning. The overall waiting list for routine hospital treatment increased to 7.33 million in July, and the percentage of waits within 18 weeks decreased slightly to 65.4%.
'Today's figures are another reminder that short-term fixes will not be enough. The NAO's recent report highlighted that delays in urgent and emergency care are often the result of deep-rooted pressures across the wider health and social care system.
'As the NHS looks ahead to autumn and braces for what could be another difficult winter, a system-wide and sustainable approach to improvement is essential. This must include strengthening operational management and capital investment, and boosting the capacity of community-based services outside of hospitals, all underpinned by a robust and credible workforce plan.'
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Original text here: https://www.health.org.uk/media-office/press-releases/summer-heat-exposes-fragile-nhs-recovery
Foundation Fighting Blindness Renames Venture Philanthropy Arm the Gund Vision Fund, Honoring Five Decades of Gund Family Leadership
COLUMBIA, Maryland, Sept. 11 -- The Foundation Fighting Blindness issued the following news on Sept. 10, 2026:
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Foundation Fighting Blindness Renames Venture Philanthropy Arm the Gund Vision Fund, Honoring Five Decades of Gund Family Leadership
The new name honors the decades of leadership and giving by Foundation co-founder Gordon Gund and his family, honoring the Fund's evolution into one of the most innovative venture philanthropy models in the retinal disease market.
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COLUMBIA, Md. and RALEIGH, N.C. - September 10, 2026 - The Foundation Fighting Blindness today announced the rebrand
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COLUMBIA, Maryland, Sept. 11 -- The Foundation Fighting Blindness issued the following news on Sept. 10, 2026:
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Foundation Fighting Blindness Renames Venture Philanthropy Arm the Gund Vision Fund, Honoring Five Decades of Gund Family Leadership
The new name honors the decades of leadership and giving by Foundation co-founder Gordon Gund and his family, honoring the Fund's evolution into one of the most innovative venture philanthropy models in the retinal disease market.
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COLUMBIA, Md. and RALEIGH, N.C. - September 10, 2026 - The Foundation Fighting Blindness today announced the rebrandof its venture philanthropy arm, formerly the Retinal Degeneration Fund (RD Fund), to the Gund Vision Fund.
The new name honors more than 50 years of leadership, advocacy, and philanthropic support from Gordon Gund and the Gund family, whose contributions to the Foundation have been immeasurable. It also reflects the Fund's evolution since its launch in 2018, growing from an early-stage research funder into one of the most innovative venture philanthropy models in the market, catalyzing the translation of decades of research into real treatments.
"The Gund Vision Fund name reflects both where this Fund has been and where it is going. Gordon Gund and the Gund family did not support this work from a distance. They helped build it, and this name honors that," said Jason Menzo, CEO, Foundation Fighting Blindness. "Vision speaks to our mission of advancing treatments and cures for the diseases that cause blindness, and to the forward-looking way we deploy capital to get there. We are proud of what the Fund has become and excited about what comes next."
Since it was founded in 2018, the Fund - now the Gund Vision Fund - has built and proven its model by managing more than $140 million in strategic capital, deploying over $100 million directly into a portfolio of 20 companies, and syndicating with more than $1.5 billion in institutional capital from more than 60 co-investors. The Foundation is already the leading private funder of retinal disease research, with nearly $1 billion invested since 1971 and a patient registry of over 43,000 individuals.
The rebrand coincides with an active $100 million capital campaign to accelerate the development of treatments and cures for inherited retinal diseases and dry AMD. To anchor the campaign, the Gordon and Llura Gund Foundation has committed a $50 million lead challenge gift, matching every new or increased contribution to the Gund Vision Fund dollar for dollar up to $50 million. Every gift made during the campaign will be doubled, advancing more programs into clinical development and reaching more patients sooner.
"Building this Fund from the ground up has meant taking greater risks to bring treatments to patients and believing in companies when the path forward is uncertain. That conviction is being rewarded, treatments are reaching patients who had no options," said Rusty Kelley, PhD, managing director of the Gund Vision Fund. "The Gund Vision Fund name honors the family that made this possible, and the gift from the Gordon and Llura Gund Foundation signals even greater conviction for the model, the momentum, and what's next."
The Gund Vision Fund's updated website, GundVisionFund.org, has launched alongside updated social channels, marking the start of a new chapter for the Fund, with more to come in early 2027. For more information, visit GundVisionFund.org.
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About the Gund Vision Fund
The Gund Vision Fund, formerly the Retinal Degeneration Fund (RD Fund), is the venture philanthropy arm of the Foundation Fighting Blindness and a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit subsidiary. Launched in 2018 as the first and only fund solely dedicated to advancing therapeutics for inherited retinal diseases and dry age-related macular degeneration, the Fund bridges the critical funding gap between discovery-stage research and drug development. For more information, visit GundVisionFund.org.
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About the Foundation Fighting Blindness
Established in 1971, the Foundation Fighting Blindness is the world's leading private funding source for retinal degenerative disease research. The Foundation has raised nearly $1 billion toward its mission of accelerating research for preventing, treating, and curing blindness caused by the entire spectrum of retinal degenerative diseases, including retinitis pigmentosa, age-related macular degeneration, Usher syndrome, and Stargardt disease. Visit FightingBlindness.org for more information.
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Original text here: https://www.fightingblindness.org/news/foundation-fighting-blindness-renames-venture-philanthropy-arm-the-gund-vision-fund-honoring-five-decades-of-gund-family-leadership-4567
Health Foundation: Public Want Strong Safeguards for AI in Healthcare, New Research Finds
LONDON, England, Sept. 10 (TNSxrep) -- The Health Foundation issued the following news release on Sept. 9, 2026:
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Public want strong safeguards for AI in healthcare, new research finds
Health Foundation publishes findings from major study of public attitudes on the regulation of AI in healthcare alongside MHRA Commission report.
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The Health Foundation has today published in-depth research exploring the public's views on, and priorities for, the regulation of AI in health care. The research was conducted in partnership with Ipsos UK and produced exclusively for the MHRA as research partner
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LONDON, England, Sept. 10 (TNSxrep) -- The Health Foundation issued the following news release on Sept. 9, 2026:
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Public want strong safeguards for AI in healthcare, new research finds
Health Foundation publishes findings from major study of public attitudes on the regulation of AI in healthcare alongside MHRA Commission report.
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The Health Foundation has today published in-depth research exploring the public's views on, and priorities for, the regulation of AI in health care. The research was conducted in partnership with Ipsos UK and produced exclusively for the MHRA as research partnerto the National Commission into the Regulation of AI for Healthcare.
The research found that the UK public is open to the use of AI in health care, but want strong safeguards: tools must be accurate, subject to meaningful human oversight, proportionately regulated according to risk, and must not lead to worse care for any group.
Commenting on the new research, Dr Jennifer Dixon DBE, Chief Executive of the Health Foundation, said:
'The public recognise that AI offers huge potential to improve health and care. But public support is conditional on building in strong safeguards, with a high bar for safety, over speed. Our research shows that the public can support the greater use of AI in the NHS, provided it is used where it demonstrably improves care and the risks are properly assessed and managed.
'That means that regulation needs to be proportionate to the risks AI poses, with clear expectations on accuracy, human oversight and fairness. Ongoing engagement with the public is also essential as these technologies develop and become more widely used in the NHS.'
Responding to the recommendations of the MHRA's Commission, Dr Dixon said:
'The Commission's recommendations are an important step towards the goal of making the NHS a world-leading AI-enabled care system. But to realise that ambition and deliver benefits to the NHS and patients, policymakers now need to strengthen the infrastructure to harness AI's potential.
'This includes making sure NHS staff, and the organisations they work in, can implement AI effectively. It also means developing faster, cheaper ways of testing new technologies in real-world NHS settings to understand what really works. And it means stronger powers for regulators to respond as AI evolves. Without this wider infrastructure, there is a risk that AI may fail to live up to its potential, and weaken public confidence.'
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Notes to editors
1. The Health Foundation partnered with Ipsos UK to conduct deliberative research with 78 members of the public across England and Wales across three locations (Cardiff, Milton Keynes and York) in March-April 2026 to explore the public's views on, and priorities for, the regulation of AI in health care.
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Original text here: https://www.health.org.uk/media-office/press-releases/public-want-strong-safeguards-for-ai-in-healthcare-new-research-finds
Freedom From Religion Foundation: EEOC Must Protect Religious Freedom -- Not Christian Privilege
MADISON, Wisconsin, Sept. 10 -- The Freedom From Religion Foundation issued the following news release:
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EEOC must protect religious freedom -- not Christian privilege
The Freedom From Religion Foundation is calling out the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission for implementing the Trump administration's "anti-Christian bias" narrative.
The EEOC has touted its religious liberty enforcement, highlighting more than $63 million recovered on behalf of workers in religious discrimination matters since January 2025 and a record $48 million in fiscal year 2025. While protecting employees from
... Show Full Article
MADISON, Wisconsin, Sept. 10 -- The Freedom From Religion Foundation issued the following news release:
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EEOC must protect religious freedom -- not Christian privilege
The Freedom From Religion Foundation is calling out the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission for implementing the Trump administration's "anti-Christian bias" narrative.
The EEOC has touted its religious liberty enforcement, highlighting more than $63 million recovered on behalf of workers in religious discrimination matters since January 2025 and a record $48 million in fiscal year 2025. While protecting employees fromgenuine religious discrimination is a legitimate function of the EEOC, Title VII protects workers of all or no religions, and requires reasonable accommodations for sincerely held religious practices when appropriate. But the EEOC's own account makes clear that its current leadership is doing something more troubling: tying that legitimate mission to the administration's political campaign against supposed widespread "anti-Christian bias."
Revealingly, EEOC Chair Andrea R. Lucas also sits on President Trump's Task Force to Eradicate Anti-Christian Bias. The EEOC says it worked closely with the Justice Department on the task force's April report alleging, absurdly, that the Biden administration engaged in anti-Christian discrimination throughout the federal government.
In March, the EEOC announced that a "leading global technology company" is paying $15 million to settle claims that it illegally refused to grant workers, described as "largely Christian," medical and religious exemptions to Covid vaccine mandates. The EEOC has been in the news otherwise, too, with the New York Times recently suing over records requests. Among the documents requested was correspondence with groups such as the Heritage Foundation, America First Legal and Trump administration pooh-bah Stephen Miller.
The administration's emphasis on Christianity is particularly inappropriate because federal civil rights law does not create a special category of protection for Christians. Religious protections apply equally regardless of whether an employee is Christian, Jewish, Muslim, Hindu, atheist or holds another religious or nonreligious viewpoint.
One particularly revealing case involves The Rock Snowpark, a Wisconsin ski area that the EEOC sued on behalf of a Christian employee. He was fired following a dispute over posts on his personal social media account, but the resort claims the decision was based on "performance issues and policy violations."
Notably, the EEOC does not disclose the content of those posts. Instead, it describes them simply as containing "Bible verses and religious content" while its complaint acknowledges that the employer specifically raised concerns that some of the posts were discriminatory toward gay people. Without revealing the content at the center of the dispute, the EEOC portrays the case as an employer punishing a worker for expressing his Christian faith.
FFRF has repeatedly warned that the administration's "anti-Christian bias" initiative turns the constitutional principle of religious freedom on its head. The First Amendment demands governmental neutrality toward religion. It does not authorize the federal government to elevate Christianity, treat Christians as a favored class or deploy federal agencies to reinforce a political narrative that Christianity is under siege.
The EEOC should remember that its obligation extends to the growing number of Americans, some three in 10, who are not religious. Title VII's prohibition against religious discrimination protects atheists and other nonbelievers, including their right not to participate in religious practices or have religion imposed upon them in the workplace.
"Real religious freedom requires a government that neither favors nor disfavors religion," says FFRF Co-President Annie Laurie Gaylor. "The moment an agency starts viewing its civil rights mission through the lens of combating 'anti-Christian bias,' equal protection becomes preferential treatment. The EEOC needs to be reminded it is not an arm of a White House campaign to falsely portray the nation's dominant religion as uniquely persecuted."
The EEOC needs to return its focus to what the law actually requires: protecting all workers from unlawful discrimination and enforcing religious accommodation requirements neutrally -- rather than helping manufacture a privileged status for the majority faith.
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The Freedom From Religion Foundation is a U.S.-based nonprofit dedicated to defending the constitutional principle of separation between state and church and educating the public on matters relating to nontheism. With about 41,000 members, FFRF is the largest association of freethinkers (atheists, agnostics and humanists) in North America. For more information, visit ffrf.org.
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Original text here: https://ffrf.org/news/releases/eeoc-must-protect-religious-freedom-not-christian-privilege/
[Category: Religion]
Breakthrough T1D Awards Grant to HESI Global to Launch the T1D Cures Accelerator, a New Effort to Speed Cures for Type 1 Diabetes
NEW YORK, Sept. 10 -- Breakthrough T1D (formerly JDRF) a non-profit dedicated to funding type 1 diabetes research, posted the following news release:
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Breakthrough T1D Awards Grant to HESI Global to Launch the T1D Cures Accelerator, a New Effort to Speed Cures for Type 1 Diabetes
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Breakthrough T1D, the leading global type 1 diabetes (T1D) research and advocacy organization, has awarded a grant to the Health and Environmental Sciences Institute (HESI Global) to establish and launch the T1D Cures Accelerator (T1DCA), a first-of-its-kind global collaboration designed to accelerate the discovery
... Show Full Article
NEW YORK, Sept. 10 -- Breakthrough T1D (formerly JDRF) a non-profit dedicated to funding type 1 diabetes research, posted the following news release:
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Breakthrough T1D Awards Grant to HESI Global to Launch the T1D Cures Accelerator, a New Effort to Speed Cures for Type 1 Diabetes
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Breakthrough T1D, the leading global type 1 diabetes (T1D) research and advocacy organization, has awarded a grant to the Health and Environmental Sciences Institute (HESI Global) to establish and launch the T1D Cures Accelerator (T1DCA), a first-of-its-kind global collaboration designed to accelerate the discoveryof biomarkers that can help bring new therapies and cures for T1D to people faster.
The grant will support the launch of a multi-sector consortium that brings together researchers, clinical trial networks, industry partners, foundations, and people with firsthand experience of T1D to unlock new insights from decades of existing T1D research.
Closing a Critical Gap in T1D Drug Development
Globally, 9.5 million people live with T1D, and that number continues to grow. While researchers have made tremendous progress in understanding and treating the disease, developing new therapies remains a lengthy and expensive process. One of the biggest challenges is that clinical trials often take years to determine if a therapy is effective, relying on changes in clinical outcomes over time and slowing the development of promising new treatments.
Biomarkers, measurable biological signals that reveal what is happening inside the body, have the potential to change that. By providing earlier indications of disease progression or treatment response, biomarkers can help researchers make faster, better-informed decisions, conduct more efficient clinical trials, and evaluate more potential therapies.
Unlocking the Full Value of Decades of Research
For decades, the global T1D community has invested billions of dollars in research, generating an extraordinary collection of clinical data and biological samples. Yet most of these studies have been conducted independently, leaving valuable information dispersed across many individual trials. The T1D Cures Accelerator was created to bring these resources together for the first time.
This new consortium will integrate data and biological specimens from T1D clinical trials conducted around the world and apply advanced analytical technologies to study them collectively. By examining these datasets side by side, researchers hope to identify biological patterns and biomarkers that individual studies were never designed to detect on their own.
The result will be a powerful new resource for the entire T1D community that can support faster paths toward therapies and cures.
A Precompetitive, Multi-Sector Model
The T1D Cures Accelerator is designed as a precompetitive consortium that will allow organizations to collaborate on foundational scientific questions that benefit the entire field. With access to data, samples, expertise, and resources far beyond the current capacity of any single organization, academic researchers, industry partners, foundations, clinical trial networks, and patient representatives will be able to work together in new ways and accelerate T1D science and therapy development.
HESI Global, an independent nonprofit with more than 35 years of experience in designing and leading complex scientific collaborations across academia, industry, and government, will provide the neutral governance and expertise needed to coordinate the consortium.
This grant provides the initial funding needed to launch the Accelerator. HESI Global and Breakthrough T1D plan to build on this investment by inviting additional partners to join the effort over time.
"Driving type 1 diabetes research and innovation forward on the path to cures is Breakthrough T1D's key priority," said Josh Vieth, Ph.D., Breakthrough T1D Senior Director of Research. "We are excited to help launch the T1D Cures Accelerator, which will foster the collaboration and information-sharing across the type 1 diabetes research ecosystem necessary to advance breakthroughs and get them in the hands of those who need them, faster."
"HESI Global is both proud and motivated to bring our decades of experience in multi-sector science collaboration to the T1D Cures Accelerator alongside Breakthrough T1D. Together with all of our partners, we are honored to better support patients by advancing the science behind type 1 diabetes treatment," said Syril Pettit, Executive Director of HESI Global.
About the Health and Environmental Sciences Institute (HESI Global)
The Health and Environmental Sciences Institute (HESI Global) is an independent, nonprofit scientific organization that brings together experts from academia, government, industry, nongovernmental organizations, and other strategic partners to address global human and environmental health challenges. Through collaborative research, data sharing, scientific convening, and the development of practical tools and frameworks, HESI Global advances science-based solutions for a safer, more sustainable world. Learn more at hesiglobal.org.
About Breakthrough T1D, Formerly JDRF
As the leading global type 1 diabetes research and advocacy organization, Breakthrough T1D helps make everyday life with type 1 diabetes better while driving toward cures. They do this by investing in the most promising research, advocating for progress by working with government to address issues that impact the T1D community, and helping educate and empower individuals facing this condition.
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Original text here: https://www.breakthrought1d.org/for-the-media/press-releases/breakthrough-t1d-awards-grant-to-hesi-global-to-launch-the-t1d-cures-accelerator-a-new-effort-to-speed-cures-for-type-1-diabetes/
