Spotlight on Jessie Stover

Jessie Stover is the Development Manager at Breakthrough T1D’s Indiana Chapter. Stover was born and raised in Evansville, Indiana, and she now lives in Indianapolis with her two cats, Milo and Zuko. She enjoys reading, crafting, concerts, and “baking gluten-free desserts so good that no one can tell they’re gluten-free.”

Here, Stover tells her story: from type 1 diabetes (T1D) diagnosis as a toddler, to an insulin pump clinical trial, to learning how to manage her T1D as a teenager, to a new outlook on living with the condition as an adult. Breakthrough T1D thanks Stover for her bravery in sharing her story and her commitment to the T1D community.

Gummy Bears and Insulin Shots

Stover was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes when she was just 2 years old. While her family has a history of autoimmune disorders, “there is no one else in my family with T1D, so it was a big shock to my parents, and we all had so much to learn,” explains Stover.

The learning process started in the kitchen, with a container forever-full of gummy bears to treat lows, a new kitchen scale to measure and track carbs, and sugar-free versions of things Stover had always enjoyed, like Kool-Aid. Between her parents, grandparents, and school secretary, she had “quite the village.”

But, like any kid, Stover didn’t like shots, and she remembers running away from her parents when it was time for an insulin dose.

A Kiddo in a Clinical Trial

During one of Stover’s appointments with her endocrinologist in Indianapolis, she was referred to a clinical trial exploring whether young children could benefit from an insulin pump. “My mom is a very practical person, so it was almost a no-brainer for her since it meant the possibility of no more insulin shots, and it could help manage my blood sugars more smoothly,” explains Stover. No shots sounded pretty good.

By the age of 4, she was enrolled in the trial and using her first insulin pump. Stover noticed a difference immediately; the pump site insertion didn’t hurt at all because they had the option to use a numbing cream. The relief was tangible not just for Stover, but also for her primary caregiver: her mom. Using an insulin pump meant automatically calculated insulin doses, remote control of insulin dosing, and, most importantly, no more shots. Stover has been using an insulin pump ever since.

Being a Teenager is Hard Enough

As Stover grew into a teenager, she also grew into managing T1D on her own. This was when she first truly understood what her diagnosis meant. “It wasn’t new, but it was as if something finally clicked in my brain that it wasn’t going to go away, and now it was my turn to do all the work,” she explains. Coupled with stressful conversations around needing to “do better” to avoid future complications, it was a tough transition, and Stover struggled to find the resources to help her get through it. “Just because the textbook makes it look easy, and my mom made it look easy, it felt like I was expected to immediately do the same,” Stover recalls.

It all changed when someone on Stover’s diabetes care team said: “Being a teenager is hard enough. Adding T1D into the mix is like trying to stop a volcano from erupting!” For the first time, Stover felt that everything she was feeling about being a teen and managing T1D had been put perfectly into words. “I realized I was allowed to be angry, upset, and unhappy, and I didn’t have to just accept T1D and move on. Stepping back and allowing space to understand and grieve my diagnosis helped me,” she said.

This realization opened the door to more candid conversations and a stronger relationship with her parents. Stover was able to openly discuss her mental health needs and set boundaries around what she felt comfortable sharing with her parents about her T1D. “I let myself have space to have bad days and started celebrating the good. I started celebrating my diaversary and stopped trying to make other people comfortable with what I was going through, because I was the one going through it and I needed to do what I needed to do,” Stover explains.

A Fresh Outlook on Living With T1D

While Stover’s mindset around T1D evolved over the years, she also feels that mental health resources have improved dramatically since she was a teen. Now, she advocates for people living with T1D to take advantage of therapy or connect with others on social media who are experiencing the same thing.  “There’s an entire community of people who decided diabetes wasn’t going to be invisible, and in doing so, more honest conversations can happen,” Stover explains. “We know more about chronic illness fatigue, medical trauma, and the effect of societal pressure to be ‘normal.’ If you go looking, you can find someone talking about it. Validation is a very powerful thing.”

Stover’s fortitude shined through when she was diagnosed with Celiac disease right after she graduated college. This time, things went a little differently; Stover had learned to give herself grace, and she found that figuring out how to manage a second autoimmune disease was a bit easier this time around.

In the years since Stover first started using an insulin pump, diabetes technology rapidly advanced with the evolution of pumps and continuous glucose monitors (CGMs), which, when used together, are called an automated insulin delivery (AID) system. As she grew up, Stover was hesitant to put her trust in new systems. “There are so many nuances to T1D care, and it’s been hard to wrap my head around how technology could know me better than I know myself,” Stover explains.

Yet, she eventually decided to add a CGM to her T1D management toolkit. “It is nice to be able to see how your glucose levels are trending,” Stover said. Despite living with anxiety around technology failures and hypoglycemia, Stover found a way to make CGMs work for her. She has her low alarm set when her glucose levels reach 100 mg/dL—well before the typical threshold of 70 mg/dL—so she can execute a plan of action before her blood sugars drop further. “It’s a little extra peace of mind to know that I can catch a low before it becomes a big problem.”

From kid to adult and all the ups and downs in between, Stover found how to manage her T1D in the way that works best for her.

Breakthrough T1D was (and Still is) Along for the Ride

Stover and her family were connected with other T1D families and Breakthrough T1D from the very start. There was a “tiny but mighty” team of parents who started a Breakthrough T1D Walk in Southern Indiana during Stover’s childhood, which, over time, often included many of her friends and classmates. Over two decades later, the Holiday World Walk in Indiana is still alive and well (and organized by Stover herself!).

In addition to Walk, Stover was a Youth Ambassador. “Breakthrough T1D has been a part of my life almost as much as T1D has. And now, getting to be a part of sharing the Walk with other families is truly a gift,” she says.

Sign up for a breakthrough T1D walk today!

Word to the Wise

A word of advice from Stover: T1D is only invisible if you let it be. She encourages people living with the condition to take up space.

“Celebrate your diaversary, bedazzle your Omnipod, rock your fun patterned tapes, celebrate with diabesties. Find little ways to bring joy into it, but also take the time to feel the bad days. Take the time to learn how to let the good and bad coexist.”

Talk about T1D. Take advantage of resources. Connect with others online and in person. Give yourself grace. We can all learn a thing or two from Stover!

“We were never meant to do the job of the pancreas. Everyone carries the weight of T1D differently; everyone processes and grieves differently. There are going to be bad days, and the bad days should NEVER be punished. Grace, compassion, and a safe space to authentically be a person living with T1D will have a much better outcome. The only party at fault is the immune system that attacked the wrong thing.”

-Jessie Stover

It’s a sunny midmorning at the Travelers Championship  in Cromwell, Connecticut, and J.J. Spaun and I—a golf columnist by trade—have a lot to talk about.  

But first, the ritual that takes place every time we spot a “T1D in the wild.” Knowing our shared background—me, a type 1 diabetes (T1D)-mom 29 years into my daughter’s life with this and he, a person with diabetes (PWD) still in his first decade of T1D life—we hug, exchange knowing nods and of course, look at our phone graphs.  

J.J. Spaun may just be one of the greatest golfers in the world; his clutch win at Oakmont in the harrowing 2025 U.S. Open raised him to a high level. His follow-up win at Valero this year sealed the deal. But first and foremost, he is one of the tribe: a mere mortal working to fit T1D around his day-to-day life. 

Like most of us, he’s had ups, downs, frights, and frustrations. Because diabetes doesn’t discriminate—be you a world champion superstar, the kid just down the road or the full-time cashier at the local five and dime, J.J. Spaun has weathered a lot. 

Mentally resilient and tougher 

But on this early round day of this popular tournament—one he’d like to win—Spaun tells me that while his T1D diagnosis story is a gritty one, his view of life with the disease is not.  

“Diabetes has made me mentally resilient; tougher,” he told me. “It’s easy to look in the face of a tough shot, or the layout of those last holes and think: ‘I’ve done tougher things than this.’ Diabetes gave me that view.” 

I get that, I tell him: My own daughter is one of the toughest people I know. 

Like her, Spaun isn’t Pollyanna. Because while he chooses to live well despite T1D, he’s had his bumps and he’s open about them.  

An unexpected hazard 

It all started with a misdiagnosis, one that spanned three years of his life, robbing him of body weight, muscle mass, self-confidence, and health.  

In 2018, after a few months of sudden and jarring weight loss and an inability to find energy of focus, he saw his doctor and was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes. Like the athlete he is, he threw himself into his care, tweaking his diet and working on gaining strength. For a few months, it seemed to be working. But then he began a slide that left him 25 additional pounds thinner (weight loss he did not need) and so far from being able to stroke a ball with confidence and strength that he dropped from his prior highest ranking of 56 in the world (he was on his way up quickly) to 584.  

He was eating barely any carbs at all and topping his daily calorie count at 1,200, yet his condition failed to improve.  

He started to think type 2 diabetes might bring the end of his journey toward golf greatness. 

“It was pretty tough,” he remembered. “I was definitely upset. Right when I started to establish myself, and I get this thrown at me.” 

Type 1, not type 2

As is often the case, diabetes folks in the wild came to the rescue. First, a friend who is a physician pulled him aside and told him to get to an endocrinologist right away (he was being treated by a primary care physician).  

“So I go to the endocrinologist and they do a whole bunch of tests,” he said. “Then he comes in and he says I hate to break bad news but …. You have type 1 diabetes, not type 2. 

“I said ‘This is great news!’ After all, now I had my answer.” He needed insulin replacement therapy and a smart way to track his blood sugars. Armed with that knowledge and the guidance of his new endo, he began his long trek back up. 

(“You know that misdiagnosis could have killed you,” I commented. His eyes grew wide at hearing someone say aloud what he long realized. “I do. I really do,” he said.)  

He had much work to do though: that misdiagnosis had stripped him of weight and muscle; the new body mass he had didn’t fit with the swing physics he’d honed in the lead up to those years.  

That’s when a T1D-dad named Andy Bessette, who also happened to be Executive Vice President and Chief Administrative Officer for Travelers, got word of the new (and correct) diagnosis and did what the diabetes community always does: connected, empathized, and then offered support.  

“I heard he won the hole 15 ½ challenge and he donated his $10,000 to (what was then) JDRF, and I said holy sh**, why?” he said. “He was in his transition phase (From type 2 misdiagnosis to type 1 care), I matched the donation.” 

A special connection

He also sought Spaun out and told him about their special connection: Bessette’s son Chris has T1D.  

“I told him, let’s get you connected with Aaron Kowalski, Breakthrough T1D CEO, and get you some doctors names and all you need,” he said.  

Armed with more information thanks to Bessette, Spaun forged ahead. By January 2021, he felt things shift toward the positive. 

“(With insulin therapy) I was able to have carbs and produce energy so much more. My second event of that year I noticed that not only was I not running out of energy, I had enough energy to once again go to the practice range post round,” he said. 

To play well, he learned, it was vital he be in range as he slept overnight, “I feel pretty poorly if I do not,” he said. He tailors pre-match dinners toward that effort. 

Managing T1D on and off the course

On course, he keeps a close look at the CGM graph on his phone that the PGA made an exception for him to carry. He still treats with injections (but is pondering semi-automated insulin delivery devices) and swears by peanut butter on wheat bread for long lasting energy and Gatorade for quick acting glucose.  

He eats a full meal each pre-round and chooses what to eat based on where his blood sugars have been in recent hours. Overall, he said, it’s working. 

The proof is in the record. Spaun went on to win the Valero in 2022, that wildly difficult U.S. Open in 2025 and so far, this year, Valero again. His ranking is back up near 12 and he’s feeling his game is in place. 

And in a funny way, he says, golf may have prepared him for life with T1D and vice-versa. 

“Golf is such a finicky game, the same as diabetes,” he said. “You work so hard to try and control what is coming at you and then things happen. You have to just power forward and adjust. It’s very much the same in that way.” 

A hero who’s one of us

Besette watches him closely—as both a golf enthusiast and a T1D-dad.  

“He means a lot to me. And what he has to deal with?  It’s hard enough to hit the balls and know the course and all that—he has all the diabetes obstacles as well. I’m so impressed by him.” 

When Spaun won the U.S. Open, Besette’s first text to him will make sense to the T1D world.  

“I asked him: ‘Were your levels okay?’” he laughed.  

T1D—and Bessette’s friendship—also brought him another gift, via connecting him to Breakthrough T1D and the diabetes community as a whole. 

“I’ve gotten so many messages from kids, adults, and parents in this community,” he said. “They label me as a hero. Parents tell me that seeing me achieve shows their child that even with diabetes, everything is possible.  

“There’s always more to golf, and I think that’s my calling,” he said. We hugged tight, our bond formed for life. And as he walked away to play another round, over his shoulder he smiled and said, “Tell your daughter I’m rooting for her.” 

J.J. Spaun is one of us.  

Breakthrough T1D was on site in New Orleans, LA from June 5-8 for the American Diabetes Association’s (ADA) 86th Scientific Sessions. Check out all of our coverage below, including type 1 diabetes (T1D) advances across all our mission priority areas and several Breakthrough T1D-funded researchers and staff driving progress forward.

In case you missed it, see below for a recording our Mid-Year Mission Update, featuring key takeaways from ADA and other exciting developments that we’re looking forward to in 2026.

Mid-Year Mission Update with Breakthrough T1D leadership

For more ADA news and 2026 T1D progress updates, tune in below to hear Breakthrough T1D Chief Executive Officer Aaron Kowalski, Ph.D. cover the top advancements presented at ADA 2026 alongside updates from our mission pillar leads, Sanjoy Dutta, Ph.D. (Chief Scientific Officer), Lynn Starr (Chief Global Advocacy Officer), and Thomas Danne, M.D., Ph.D. (Chief Medical Officer, International).

Thanks for joining us throughout our coverage of the ADA 86th Scientific Sessions. We were encouraged by continued progress across our mission priority areas, including cures therapies, treatments, and devices. Breakthrough T1D staff and leadership were on-site hosting and participating in panel discussions, meeting with industry leaders, and engaging with researchers from around the world to accelerate T1D mission progress. Breakthrough T1D-funded research was front-and-center, showcasing the reach of our impact driven by supporters like you. That’s a wrap on ADA 2026, and we’re already looking forward to ADA 2027!

ADA 2026 has officially come to a close! We’re excited to report on the final two days of the conference, with even more updates spanning Cures and Improving Lives. Read on to learn about Breakthrough T1D-funded research making an impact and highlights from our on-site staff, especially in cell therapies.

Check out the updates from days 3 and 4 across Cures and Improving Lives:

Cell Therapies

Islet Size Matters

• Presenter: Julia Panzer, Ph.D. (City of Hope)
• In humans, islets have a range of sizes.
• Older adults with T1D tend to have smaller islets, but we don’t know if islets are shrinking or if more small islets are being generated.
• Based on islets isolated from donor pancreases and sorted by size, smaller islets are less responsive to changes in glucose, and they are preferentially targeted by T cells (the immune cells that attack insulin-producing beta cells).
• This work provides insight into how T1D may progress differently with age based on changes in islet size.

Advocacy Staff Making an Impact

Clem Cypra, Director of Health Policy, presented a poster from our Advocacy team on how well insurance claims capture hypoglycemia in people with T1D. This is especially important because an eligibility requirement for islet cell therapy clinical trials is severe hypoglycemia, and payers often use claims data to understand who may qualify for new therapies. The team found that claims capture significantly lower rates of hypoglycemia in people with T1D compared to rates reported in clinical studies and published reports. Therefore, relying on claims alone may result in coverage decisions that are not in line with real-world care for people with T1D, and additional research is needed to fully uncover the impact of hypoglycemia on the T1D community.

Disease-Modifying Therapies

Cell engineering approaches to turn down autoimmunity

• Presenter: Justin Spanier, Ph.D. (University of Minnesota)
• The interaction between APCs and T cells is critical to the autoimmune process.
• Dr. Spanier presented on two different cell engineering strategies to disrupt this interaction.
• The first approach involves developing an antibody that binds to beta cell antigens on the surface of APCs, which physically blocks T cells from interacting with it.
• The second approach involves engineering Tregs to interact with beta cell antigens on the surface of APCs so that, again, T cells cannot interact.
• Dr. Spanier is further refining these approaches with the ultimate goal of finding new ways to suppress autoimmunity in T1D.

Spotlight on Breakthrough T1D-Funded Research: Uncovering Biological Mechanisms in T1D

T1D Pancreases have Tissue-Wide Biological Alterations

• Presenter: Dirk Homman, M.D., Ph.D. (University of Miami)
• Dr. Homman presented his work on full-scale assessment of the entire pancreases of people with T1D (obtained through the Breakthrough T1D-sponsored nPOD program).
• Using histology and single-cell computational methods, he found that T1D pancreases have tissue-wide alterations that are not limited to islets.
• These findings will provide a better basis for our understanding of T1D pathology and help researchers adapt mouse models of T1D to better mimic biological changes that occur in humans.

Beta Cells are Stressed

• Presenter: Farooq Syed, Ph.D. (Arthur-Riggs Diabetes and Metabolism Research Institute)
• Beta cells have increased signaling through specific stress-response pathways, which may contribute to their ability to provoke an autoimmune response.
• Dr. Syed explored how stress pathways can influence large-scale changes in beta cell genes, further uncovering how molecular alterations in the beta cells themselves may contribute to autoimmunity.

Early Detection

Global Pediatric Screening Inequities

• Presenter: Jean Claude Katte, M.D., Ph.D. (University of Exeter)
• The Young Onset Diabetes in Sub-Saharan Africa study found that most people diagnosed with T1D in this geography did not have any autoantibodies detected.
• T1D screening tools based on autoantibody detection were developed using white populations with a European ancestry.
• This suggests that our current screening model and staging framework may not be suitable for people from all geographies since there appears to be biological variability.
• Dr. Katte also highlighted significant inequities in access to care in Africa and other geographies.
• Breakthrough T1D is committed to helping close these gaps through our Advocacy work around the globe, including our ALIGN-T1D initiative.

Monitoring Youth with One Persistent Autoantibody

• Presenter: Nicole Sheanon, M.D., M.S. (Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center). Dr. Sheanon is also a part of our Mission Impact Volunteer program.
• Around 15% of youth with a single autoantibody detected and no symptoms will go on to develop T1D.
•  The first three years after autoantibody detection are the most critical monitoring window.
• Healthcare professionals (HCPs) should look out for any changes in health that may signal progression of T1D, including changes in HbA1c levels or the development of an additional autoantibody.
• Education is critically important so that families know to remain aware of the potential risk of T1D development, even if it’s low.
• For more, take a look at published consensus guidance for monitoring of early-stage T1D, which was published a few years ago and spearheaded by Vice President of Medical Affairs Anastasia Albanese-O’Neill, Ph.D., APRN, CDCES.

Improving Lives

The State of T1D in Adults

• Presenter: Marissa Hitchcock, BSN, RN, CDCES (Children with Diabetes)
• The global prevalence of T1D is increasing by 2-3% each year.
• 21% of adults with T1D are meeting HbA1c targets of less than 7%, and 64% are using diabetes technology.
• Cardiovascular events occur 10 to 15 years earlier in T1D adults, and 30-40% of adults develop kidney disease within 25 years of diagnosis.
• There are not enough options for adults with T1D to reduce their risk for heart and kidney disease; while GLP-1 receptor agonists and SGLT inhibitors are showing promise in clinical trials, they are still not approved and widely accessible.
• Major gaps in care for this population include healthcare access and affordability, psychosocial support, socioeconomic disparities, and representation in clinical trials.
• We need to do more for adults with T1D, and a major priority of Breakthrough T1D is funding research into devices and therapies that can improve blood sugar and weight management and reduce complications so T1D adults can do and feel better.

Advocating for Children with T1D

Lauren Figg (Stanford University) presented on how the medical community can advocate for children with T1D to get adequate access to care. Social needs, including basics like food, clothing, and shelter in addition to whether they can afford insulin or other supplies, should be document in electronic health records so HCPs can provide the appropriate support. Figg also suggested that HCPs be aware of local community resources, deliver information through multiple ways (verbal, printed, etc.), and follow up with families to ensure they are getting the T1D care they need.

That’s a wrap on ADA 2026! For more, tune in on Wednesday, June 10, at 6 PM Eastern Time on our social channels for a live Mid-Year Mission Update from our leadership—including highlights from ADA, recent advances, and what we can look forward to for the rest of 2026.

Coming soon: A full ADA 2026 recap with everything you need to know about the conference. Keep an eye on our News & Updates webpage!

Reporting live from New Orleans, LA! Breakthrough T1D is on site at ADA 2026 with leading scientists, clinicians, healthcare professionals, industry partners, and more to hear about exciting updates in type 1 diabetes (T1D) research—including work supported by Breakthrough T1D.

Read on for everything you need to know from the first two days ADA 2026, including key takeaways from panels and sessions featuring Breakthrough T1D staff and noteworthy highlights from Breakthrough T1D-funded researchers—both past and present—whose work was front-and-center.

Cell Therapies: Breakthrough T1D Staff at the Forefront

Sanjoy Dutta. Ph.D., Chief Scientific Officer, participated in a panel discussion about advancing manufactured islet cell therapies for widespread clinical use. A major theme was that eligibility requirements for clinical trials are too narrow—which means that less people have the chance to benefit and trials don’t progress as quickly. Patient-reported outcomes will be important to demonstrate to regulators that many people with T1D can and want to benefit from islet cell replacement therapy, and we need established, systemic methods in place to take the T1D community’s opinions into account.

The panelists also discussed the current challenges surrounding immunosuppression, which is one of the barriers to clinical trial participation, and ongoing efforts to develop novel cell protection strategies. Immunotherapies in development for early-stage T1D may be applicable in islet cell transplant settings, including approaches that retrain the immune system to ignore beta cells—an area that Breakthrough T1D is invested in.

To accelerate progress in manufactured islet cell therapies, the panelists agreed that the top priorities are:

• More companies exploring novel approaches
• Expanding eligibility criteria for trials—and incoporating the perspectives of the T1D community into regulatory decisions—so we can build more evidence around the safety and efficacy of manufactured islet cell therapies
• Additional frameworks to help guide the field, like our cell therapies roadmap and upcoming publications from Breakthrough T1D staff around manufacturing and preclinical considerations
• Optimizing manufacturing processes to reduce costs and ensure access for people who want these therapies
• Optimizing cell therapy products by reducing or eliminating the need for immunosuppression and finding the best transplant site for survival

Brynn Marks, M.D., Senior Director of Medical Affairs, chaired a session about the promise and perspective of islet cell replacement therapies for kids with T1D. Notably, Melena Bellin, M.D. (University of Minnesota) spoke about insights from children with pancreatitis who require full pancreas removal and receive transplants of their own healthy islet cells into their livers. In comparison to adults, children who receive this type of dual transplant have higher rates of islet survival and function and are more likely to stop needing external insulin. Laura Jacobsen, M.D. (University of Florida) spoke about practical clinical expectations for cell therapies and DMTs based on the data we have in adults and what this might mean for kids. Finally, Jane Speight, Ph.D. (The Australian Center of Behavioral Research in Diabetes) closed out with a talk about psychosocial considerations for pediatric islet cell transplantation.

Disease-Modifying Therapies

The Potential for a New and Improved C-Peptide

• Presenter: Samuel Sangqu Wu, Ph.D. (University of South Florida)
• C-peptide has the potential to be a validated endpoint for DMT clinical trials, and researchers like Dr. Wu are looking into new ways to help make this possible.
• Time to minimal residual C-peptide (TMRCP) is defined by how much longer people will have measurable C-peptide—meaning how long they will continue to make insulin.
• Dr. Wu applied this metric to six TrialNet studies and found that extrapolating TMRCP identified the same treatments as effective as each original analysis.
• TMRCP may be another metric to define the clinical meaningfulness of C-peptide, meaning it could be an alternative endpoint to consider for future DMT trials.
• Breakthrough T1D supported these efforts.

TEPLI-REAL: Evaluating Real-World Outcomes of People Treated with Tzield

• Presenter: Stephen Gitelman, M.D. (University of California, San Francisco)
• The purpose of this study was to understand populations who pursue treatment with Tzield and post-treatment outcomes through review of electronic health records.
• Diagnosis of T1D is heterogeneous, with people having either autoantibodies or dysglycemia (abnormal blood sugar) detected first, or others having both detected at the same time.
• These diagnostic pathways influence Tzield initiation. Those who had dysglycemia and autoantibodies detected at the same time had the shortest median time to start treatment.
• Most people who initiated Tzield were adolescents, and 94% of people who started treatment completed the full 14-day course.
• This study offers important considerations for healthcare professionals (HCPs) regarding how T1D diagnosis influences Tzield treatment in routine practice.

Decoding Immune Mechanisms and Engineering the Immune System in T1D

• Todd Brusko, Ph.D. (University of Florida) presented on spatial locations of different immune cells that contribute to the autoimmune process in T1D pancreases—and the underlying mechanisms that influence this.
• Kyle Gaulton, Ph.D. (University of California, San Diego) uncovered single-cell changes in pancreatic cells from T1D pancreases using advanced genomic methods.
• Mohammad Haj Dezfulian, Ph.D. (University of Pennsylvania) mapped T1D antigens contributing to autoimmunity by taking a closer look at T cells, which play a role in destroying insulin-producing beta cells.
• Remi Creusot, Ph.D. (Columbia University) presented on a different approach to retraining the immune system to ignore beta cells, starting with precursors to immune cells.
• Together, these studies are deepening our understanding of how and where the immune system attacks insulin-producing beta cells in T1D—and uncovering new ways to retrain it.

Early Detection

Clinical Implementation of Pediatric T1D Screening and Monitoring

• Presenter: Sarah Lydia Holly, BSN, RN (Children’s National Hospital)
• Six pediatric endocrinology centers worked together to increase T1D screening and monitoring rates in kids through quality improvement and operational strategies.
• Between June 2024 to February 2026, the teams implemented patient and HCP education strategies, integration of screening and monitoring in clinical workflows, defined pathways for follow-up, and multidisciplinary coordination.
• The teams exceeded their goal and screened 1700+ people. No cases of diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA) reported, 85% engaged in long-term monitoring, and 73% were offered Tzield.
• This study demonstrates the feasibility of screening and monitoring in routine pediatric care, and this can facilitate early intervention and DKA prevention.

Improving Lives

Discontinuation of Roche’s Dual GLP-1/GIP Receptor Agonist for T1D

• Presenter: Jeremy Pettus, M.D. (University of California, San Diego)
• Roche conducted a phase 2 clinical trial to evaluate changes in glycemic control in overweight or obese adults with T1D treated with their drug acmopatide (CT-868).
• People treated with acmopatide demonstrated reduced HbA1c levels, weight, insulin dose, and blood pressure compared to placebo.
• Despite these improvements, Roche decided to discontinue research into acmopatide and abandon plans for a phase 3 clinical trial.
• However, there are other companies studying GLP-1s in people with T1D. For example, Lilly has an ongoing clinical trial that is fully enrolled. Learn more below.

GLP-1 Receptor Agonists for Kids

• Presenter: Michelle Van Name, M.D. (Yale University)
• There is clear evidence in adults with T1D that GLP-1 receptor agonists can improve weight and glycemic control and reduce the risk of heart and kidney complications, and more clinical evidence is needed for the adolescent population.
• Adolescents with T1D could benefit from this class of drugs because they tend to have insulin resistance and live with overweight or obesity, and those who develop T1D earlier in life have a greater lifetime risk of long-term complications.
• Currently enrolling clinical trials (T1-DISCO and Obesity Complicating T1D: GLP-1 Analogue Anti-Obesity Treatment) in young adults living with T1D and obesity are investigating the impacts of GLP-1s on cardiovascular outcomes.
• Dr. Van Name’s mentor was Bill Tamborlane, M.D., a long-time champion for the T1D community and Breakthrough T1D supporter who recently passed away.

Look out for another article soon wrapping up days 3 and 4 of ADA 2026!

It’s that time of year again: the American Diabetes Association’s (ADA) 86^th Scientific Sessions is taking place from June 5-8, 2026. Scientists, researchers, healthcare professionals, and industry leaders will travel to New Orleans, LA for the biggest annual diabetes conference in the world. Breakthrough T1D will be there to join the discussion about the latest-and-greatest advancements in type 1 diabetes (T1D) research, prevention, and care from the best and brightest in the field—including many researchers who are currently funded by Breakthrough T1D or have been in the past.

Read on to learn more about what we’re looking forward to.

What we’re looking forward to

Cures

• An overview of the current islet cell therapy landscape for T1D
• Insights into clinical trial design for immune therapies, including evidence supporting the use of C-peptide to measure efficacy
• Updates on T1D immune mechanisms and next-generation DMT targets
• Perspectives on T1D screening, monitoring, and progression

Improving Lives

• Advancements in ketone monitoring and management
• Data around adjunctive therapies, like dual GLP-1/GIP receptor agonists, to improve blood sugar and reduce complications
• Insights into supporting mental and behavioral health for families at risk of developing T1D

Advocacy and Medical Affairs

Breakthrough T1D’s Advocacy team is leading conversations around health policy and global responsibility, including posters highlighting how current data systems do not accurately capture hypoglycemia events (which could impact identifying those who could benefit from islet cell therapies) and updates to the T1D Index. We’ll also hear a talk about how to ensure access to care for youth with diabetes.

Several presentations are building on clinical adoption of T1D therapies and devices—the core tenant of our Medical Affairs team. This includes talks around clinical workflows for ketone monitoring and DKA prevention, an update to a consensus report on the management of T1D in adults, and integration of T1D screening into clinical care.

Breakthrough T1D is a leader in type 1 diabetes research

Each year, Breakthrough T1D has an increasingly important presence at ADA. Our leadership and staff organize panel discussions, chair symposia, present research, meet with industry leaders, and host gatherings to promote collaboration. Breakthrough T1D staff from each of our priority areas—Research, Advocacy, and Medical Affairs—will be in attendance.

As leaders in T1D research, we broaden our impact at ADA by shining the spotlight on Breakthrough T1D-funded scientists and clinicians. We are incredibly excited to see the advancements we are making toward cures and improving the quality of life of people with T1D—through our funded research and beyond.

Updates coming your way

We can’t wait to share the exciting research updates we’ll hear at ADA with our T1D community. This is all made possible through your continued support—thank you!

Islet cell therapies for type 1 diabetes (T1D) replace destroyed insulin-producing beta cells with functional cells that allow the body to make insulin again. To ensure there are enough islet cells for everyone with T1D who wants them, Breakthrough T1D is prioritizing manufactured cell therapies, which can be made in large quantities in a laboratory, adhering to high levels of quality control.

These therapies are quickly advancing through the drug development pipeline. How are we making sure the clinical community is prepared for their arrival?

The answer: Centers of Reference.

The second annual Centers of Reference meeting was held at Breakthrough T1D HQ in early May by our Medical Affairs team. Read on to learn more about the attendees, what the meeting covered, and what we can expect next year.

Assembling the team at Breakthrough T1D HQ

This meeting was hosted by Thomas Danne, M.D., Ph.D., Chief Medical Officer International, Brynn Marks, M.D., Senior Director of Medical Affairs, Alessandro Bisio, M.D., International Director of Medical Affairs, and Amara Ogbonnaya-Whittlesey, M.D., U.S. Director of Medical Affairs, who brought together the best and brightest minds who can make Centers of Reference a reality.

Physicians, transplant surgeons, nurses, scientists, and other HCPs from various global medical institutions were in attendance, coming from:

• University of Minnesota Medical Center
• University of Wisconsin Health Transplant Center
• The Penn Rodebaugh Diabetes Center
• University of Chicago Medicine
• IRCCS Ospedale San Raffaele (Italy)
• Institute of Transplantation, Newcastle upon Tyne (UK)
• Edmonton, University of Alberta (Canada)

Additional attendees from Breakthrough T1D included CEO Aaron Kowalski, Ph.D., Senior Vice President of Research Esther Latres, Ph.D., multiple members of our Medical Affairs and Advocacy teams, and two members of our Participant Advisory Council who are living with T1D.

Convening experts with the power to make real change

The objective of this meeting was to build on the progress that the working groups have made over the past year. Each group focuses on a key aspect of the development of Centers of Reference, taking a divide-and-conquer approach to capitalize on experts’ strengths and workshop ideas with the larger team.

We have learned recently that when a first-of-its-kind therapy comes to market, it isn’t magically going to be adopted by physicians and administered to people. There is a significant amount of prep work that has to happen to ensure that every connection is made so that these therapies, and ultimately people with T1D, succeed.

This meeting is that work, led by the leaders in the field.

Working group #1: HCP Training and Education

The group identified which topics around islet cell therapies should be included in educational programs for aspiring T1D medical professionals, including eligibility for islet cell therapies, the transplant procedure itself, post-transplant care, and long-term monitoring. Importantly, the ultimate career path of the trainee should play a factor in which topics require further education versus a brief overview. For example, a psychologist working with the T1D community may not have the same educational needs as a transplant surgeon, but both should understand T1D cell therapy basics.

Working group #2: Clinical Access to Cell Therapies

This group focused on how to best educate HCPs and people with T1D about emerging islet cell therapies. The team found that most people who receive cell therapies self-refer, but misconceptions are a major barrier to pursuing them. Priority areas for increasing awareness in the T1D community are communicating through social media, creating an easy-to-use landing page or website with information and opportunities to connect with medical teams, and connecting people with peers who have received islet cell transplants. In terms of HCPs, the group is focused on creating referral pathways, using artificial intelligence to help establish clinical workflows for islet cell transplants, and utilizing professional organizations to connect with and educate the T1D medical community.

Working group #3: Harmonizing Clinical Care

This group has one of the most challenging tasks: creating a roadmap for the clinical implementation of islet cell therapies. This includes determining eligibility based on defined clinical measures, reaching consensus on the best way to approach care before, during, and immediately after islet cell therapy, and consistent long-term monitoring. To add to the challenge, this roadmap must be applied across diverse clinical settings in different countries. The experts in the room—some of the most prominent T1D physicians and transplant surgeons in the world—made significant progress in defining clinical measures and tools that should be used in islet cell transplants.

Working group #4: Benchmarking and Center Readiness

Centers of Reference will be held to the highest standards to ensure they are providing top-quality clinical care to people receiving islet cell transplants. To make this possible, this group created a framework for assessing Center readiness, collaborating with registries for data-sharing, and benchmarking to evaluate Center effectiveness. This includes development of specific criteria laying out what each Center needs, such as a complete islet cell therapy care team, established processes for quality and safety, research teams, and more.

One theme was clear throughout nearly all of the working groups: incorporating the perspectives of people with T1D is absolutely critical. The groups agreed that clinical decision-making around islet cell therapies is about more than just someone’s blood sugar—the way a person feels, their level of diabetes distress, and their individual circumstances are key factors to integrate into shared decisions between people and their care teams.

Over the next 12 months, each team will follow up on the challenges, solutions, and immediate next steps identified during the meeting to keep progress moving. Thanks to everyone’s hard work over a productive and exciting two days, we are accelerating faster than ever toward the development of expert Centers of Reference.

What the experts are saying

“Cell therapies are getting closer and closer to reality, and our partners in the clinic must be ready to implement them. This is a good problem to have! We know that new therapies will take far too long to reach the people that need them if we don’t have an established clinical infrastructure. We have the best people in the world in the room, working through the problem with us, to ensure that when these therapies do become an approved therapy option, the T1D community can benefit as soon as possible.”

-Thomas Danne, M.D., Ph.D., Chief Medical Officer International at Breakthrough T1D

“Our hope is that Centers of Reference enable preparedness and expedite the delivery of new cell therapies—as they are approved—to become immediately accessible to people with T1D most in need of a novel intervention for the treatment of their diabetes.”

-Michael Rickels, M.D., M.S., Medical Director, Pancreatic Islet Cell Transplant Program, Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania

“Breakthrough T1D is proactively working now to identify and remove current and future barriers to T1D cell therapy coverage. By working with payers and policymakers now, we will accelerate broader access to T1D cell therapies.”

-Aaron Turner-Phifer, Senior Director of Health Policy at Breakthrough T1D

“Centers of Reference can help prepare healthcare systems around the globe for future cell therapies in T1D by building the expertise and standards needed to deliver them safely. They also help share experiences and best practices so more hospitals are ready to adopt these treatments over time.”

-Carmen Hurtado del Pozo, Ph.D., Director of European Research at Breakthrough T1D

Steady progress towards our goal

Manufactured islet cell therapies are coming. It is not a matter of if, but when. We are at a critical moment and need to ensure that HCPs are ready. Teamwork will get these therapies into clinics so people with T1D don’t have to wait years to get them.

This is why Breakthrough T1D is acting now: when the first manufactured islet cell therapy becomes commercially available, multidisciplinary care teams around the world will be prepared. This is essential to our Project ACT initiative, which is accelerating islet cell therapies that do not require immunosuppression for the T1D community.

Our goal is to advance islet cell transplants and establish Centers of Reference around the world, so that people anywhere can access these therapies as they become available. Centers of Reference are leading the way for safe and effective integration of manufactured cell therapies into clinics. These annual meetings provide a platform for international experts to connect and refine these Centers over two days of idea-sharing and collaboration. We’re already looking forward to seeing what the team will have accomplished by this time next year!

Karen Shishino Jordan, a long-time volunteer leader in the greater California Bay area, will serve as Breakthrough T1D (formerly JDRF) International Board of Directors (IBOD) Chair, succeeding current Chair Lisa Fishbone Wallack. Carlton McMillan, also a dedicated volunteer leader in the greater California Bay area, will serve as Vice Chair, succeeding current Vice Chair Matt Varey.    

Karen’s and Carlton’s terms as Chair and Vice Chair, respectively, begin Wednesday, July 1, 2026.   

Breakthrough T1D’s IBOD is the organization’s governing body. The IBOD is tasked with accelerating the organization’s mission progress toward life-changing breakthroughs to cure, prevent, and treat T1D and its complications. Learn more about Breakthrough T1D’s volunteer and staff leadership. 

About the New Chair and Vice Chair

Karen Shishino Jordan became involved with Breakthrough T1D when her daughter Ali was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes (T1D) in 2008. In 2023, Karen was diagnosed with T1D which has added to her unique and deep understanding of what it means to live with the disease. 

Karen has served on Breakthrough T1D’s IBOD and several Board Committees for more than a decade. Karen has lent her time and expertise across the entire organization having served as Chair of the Research Committee, a member of the Audit & Risk Committee, and as the current Chair of the Finance and Investment Committee through June 30, 2026. In years prior, she served as Chair of IBOD’s Funding Committee. Karen also serves on the Board of Directors of the T1D Fund: A Breakthrough T1D Venture, and on the Board for Breakthrough T1D’s Northern California Chapters. She is a member of the Joint Steering Committee for The Breakthrough T1D Center of Excellence in Northern California, which combines the expertise of Stanford University’s School of Medicine and the University of California, San Francisco. She is the inaugural recipient of Breakthrough T1D’s John Brady Award for Innovation.   

Karen serves on the Board of Stanford Healthcare and is the recipient of the Stanford University Governor’s Award. She is also a Board member of Stroke Onward. Her previous nonprofit work includes service on various boards, committees, and councils, including the Stanford Athletics Board, Stanford Medicine Community Council, and the Portola Valley School District. Karen earned her Bachelor of Arts degree in Economics and Business from the University of California, Los Angeles; her Master of Business Administration degree from the Stanford Graduate School of Business; and a Genetics and Genomics Certificate from Stanford Medicine. She is a member of Forward Global and has worked as an investment banker. 

Carlton McMillan joined the IBOD in 2023. He previously served on the Finance & Investment Committee and currently serves on the Nominating and Governance Committee. He was also the Chair of Board Development and Nominating and the Chair of Corporate Development on Breakthrough T1D’s Northern California Chapters Board, where he served for five years.

He became involved with Breakthrough T1D through his wife Ansley, who was diagnosed with T1D at age five. In prior years, Carlton spearheaded a corporate partnership between Airbnb and Breakthrough T1D and served as Team Captain of Airbnb’s Corporate Walk team. In addition, he and Ansley served as co-chairs of the San Francisco Walk committee in 2016 and 2017. 

Carlton is Head of Finance & Operations at Watershed, an early-stage technology company focused on sustainability and carbon reduction for large global enterprises.  Prior to Watershed, Carlton spent 10 years at Airbnb, where his time was split between scaling the company from its earliest stages through a public offering and building and launching Airbnb.org, a standalone 501c3 focused on emergency housing for the displaced. Prior to joining Airbnb, Carlton worked in public accounting and financial advisory services in Atlanta, GA. Carlton also serves on the Board of Directors and the Finance and Investment Committees of the San Francisco School in San Francisco, CA. Carlton received his Bachelor of Science degree in Business Management from the Georgia Institute of Technology (Georgia Tech). 

An Era of Unprecedented Breakthroughs

This new leadership coincides with an era of unprecedented T1D breakthroughs championed by Breakthrough T1D. 

“We are in a golden age of advanced medicine and are witnessing incredible progress in T1D cures research in all areas we support—especially cell therapies,” said Aaron J. Kowalski, Ph.D., Breakthrough T1D Chief Executive Officer.  

“As the leaders of our International Board of Directors, Karen and Carlton will ensure we continue to drive cures and other life-changing breakthroughs forward through scientific advancements, advocacy, and clinical care,” he added.      

“We thank Lisa and Matt, who were instrumental in helping us launch Project ACT (Accelerate Cell Therapies) among other accomplishments. Project ACT will dramatically help speed cell therapy products as cures through coordinated efforts to advance research, development, regulatory, access, and adoption,” he said. 

“There has never been a more exciting time for our mission. People in clinical trials of cell therapies that we support are making insulin again, and many have been able to stop taking insulin therapy,” Kowalski said. “The potential for transformation is nothing short of electrifying and we look forward to the progress to come during Karen’s and Carlton’s time leading our International Board of Directors.”      

Marilyn and Dr. Gerald Fishbone knew first-hand how incredible research changes the lives of people with type 1 diabetes (T1D). For more than 50 years, they were pillars in the T1D community, dedicating their lives to helping advance innovative research.

Marilyn and Gerald became deeply involved with Breakthrough T1D (then JDF and later, JDRF) in 1969 after their then-18-month-old son, Scott, was diagnosed with T1D.

 “I had never heard of diabetes. No one in our family, before Scott, had diabetes,” Marilyn said in a 2021 interview with Breakthrough T1D. 

Gerald passed away January 16, 2023. Marilyn, his beloved wife, passed away March 31, 2026.

After Scott’s diagnosis, Marilyn went on to found the New Haven, CT, Chapter, and remained an engaged volunteer and donor. Gerald served in many roles at Breakthrough T1D, including Chair of the Breakthrough T1D International Board of Directors (IBOD), Medical Advisor, Research Committee member, and donor.

The Fishbones created a legacy of service which is being carried forward by their children and grandchildren. 

Their daughter, Lisa Fishbone Wallack, became Chair of IBOD in 2024 and had previously served as Vice Chair. She had also served as President of the Greater New England Chapter. 

Their son, Scott, is a dedicated Breakthrough T1D volunteer leader who serves on the New Jersey Chapter Board and on the Chapter’s Executive Committee as Advocacy Co-chair. 

“We believe in being involved and giving back,” said Marilyn. “Our kids joke that they never ate on a clean dining table because it was always covered in Breakthrough T1D fundraising envelopes. Most of the time, it was. We worked extremely hard and committed ourselves as a family to giving our time and energy to Breakthrough T1D and to inspiring others to join us.”

In 2001, the Fishbones’ then 5-year-old grandson, Harris Wallack, was diagnosed with T1D. 

“His diagnosis, while still devastating, was so different. The technology available to make it safer and easier to manage T1D was drastically improved from when Scott was diagnosed,” explained Marilyn. “That is all thanks to the strategic leadership of Breakthrough T1D.”

The Fishbones are greatly missed. Their dedication and generosity to Breakthrough T1D will be felt by all members of the T1D community for decades to come. 

Read more about Dr. Gerald Fishbone’s life. 

Read more about Marilyn Klugman Fishbone’s life.

Breakthrough T1D is back from Barcelona! The final two days of ATTD were jam-packed with more incredible updates across all areas of our mission. Breakthrough T1D staff chaired and participated in many sessions—including Breakthrough T1D Senior Vice President of Research, Esther Latres, Ph.D.; Vice President of Medical Affairs Anastasia Albanese O’Neill, Ph.D., APRN, CDCES; Senior Director of Research, Jonathan Rosen, Ph.D.; and more.

Screening

Screening is important! From preventing life-threatening diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA) at diagnosis, to giving people the opportunity to intervene with Tzield or disease-modifying therapies in clinical trials, to having more time to plan and prepare for type 1 diabetes (T1D) onset—screening and early detection are essential to our mission. And it must happen at a large scale if we’re going to achieve cures—which is why it was so heavily represented at ATTD 2026.

Vice President of Medical Affairs Anastasia Albanese-O’Neill, Ph.D., APRN, CDCES, chaired yet another panel where screening was again discussed. To repeat from our earlier recap, T1D Screening and Early Detection is a key mission priority for Breakthrough T1D. Multiple presentations illustrated how important it is, and why we need to screen more people to achieve our vision of a world without T1D.

One theme, and why it came up over and over again, is that we need more public education about screening, the benefits of early detection, and how mission-critical it is. It’s not an accident that there were many sessions that all hammered this home.

What can you do? Tell your community about screening!

Disease-modifying therapies

There were several exciting presentations from some key Breakthrough T1D collaborators. This includes Jay Skyler M.D., MACP, FRCP, who outlined the challenges and obstacles that must be overcome at every stage in T1D in order to fulfill his personal mission to eradicate T1D before he retires. This includes disease-modifying therapies at different stages of T1D.

Another noteworthy lecture came from Chantal Mathieu, M.D., Ph.D. (who happens to be on the advisory committee for the Breakthrough T1D Clinical and Research Congress!). She focused on C-peptide, which is natural biomarker of insulin production.

Breakthrough T1D believes C-peptide should be a validated clinical trial endpoint. Dr. Mathieu agrees! Currently, metrics like HbA1c are used to evaluate the efficacy of therapies for early-stage T1D. In Dr. Mathieu’s opinion, HbA1c as a clinical trial endpoint will mean, simply, that it will be a very long time before another DMT joins Tzield as FDA an approved therapy for this disease.

And, most importantly, there are real benefits to maintaining beta cell mass and, therefore, having increased C-peptide function! We know this! And it’s up to Breakthrough T1D, academia, and others to persuade regulators that it’s time for it to be accepted as a clinical trial endpoint so there can be more options for people with T1D.

Cell therapies

Cell therapies, which place insulin-producing cells inside people with T1D, are a huge Breakthrough T1D priority, as exemplified by Project ACT.

Senior Vice President of Research, Esther Latres, Ph.D., chaired a session titled “Islet Cell Therapy: Cure for Type 1 Diabetes – How Far Are We?” This session highlighted Breakthrough T1D’s approach to cell therapies in pursuit of our ultimate goal: manufactured islets, produced at scale, transplanted without the need for chronic immunosuppression.

Update on Eledon’s tegoprubart

Let’s start with the topic everyone is talking about: the use of Eledon’s tegoprubart with deceased donor islet cell transplants.

Breakthrough T1D is funding a trial at the University of Chicago evaluating the use of the targeted immunosuppressive therapy tegoprubart, instead of standard, broad immunosuppressants like tacrolimus, in islet cell transplants. The data so far has been very encouraging—and Principal Investigator, Piotr Witkowski, M.D., Ph.D., was at ATTD to share more.

All 12 recipients are off external insulin or on target to stop external insulin.

To date, 12 people with T1D have received deceased donor islet transplants and are receiving tegoprubart infusions every three weeks. All of the individuals are doing exceptionally.

Here’s some stats to back it up:

• All 12 subjects immediately experienced improved blood sugar levels and control.
• As of today, 10 of the 12 individuals are entirely off insulin therapy. The other two are on that trajectory.
• There have been zero unexpected adverse events, severe hypoglycemic episodes, thrombotic events, opportunistic infections, signs of rejection, or gastrointestinal symptoms.
• Crucially, there have been no signs of kidney and neurotoxicity, which is something that is observed in individuals who receive islet transplants and use tacrolimus.

The next step for this therapy is a study testing deceased donor islet cells in people with T1D and chronic kidney disease, funded by Breakthrough T1D.

The main takeaway? This remains a very promising alternative to current immunosuppression.

Check out a conversation between Breakthrough T1D CEO, Aaron Kowalski, Ph.D., and Dr. Witkowski to learn more!

Sana’s gene-edited islets continue to make insulin

Per-Ola Carlsson, M.D., Ph.D., presented early results from a novel cell therapy approach designed to help transplanted islet cells evade immune attack while continuing to produce insulin.

The strategy uses gene editing to create hypoimmune islet cells—cells engineered to avoid detection by the immune system while maintaining their insulin-producing function. This approach is one of several next-generation cell therapy strategies being prioritized by Breakthrough T1D to help overcome one of the biggest barriers to cell replacement therapies: immune rejection.

Prior to this study, the concept had been demonstrated in non-human primates. Carlsson and his team have now taken the next step by testing the approach in a person living with T1D.

In this first-in-human study, deceased donor islets were genetically modified to become immune-evasive and then transplanted into the forearm. Because this was a phase 1 trial, the primary goal was to assess safety, while also monitoring islet function through C-peptide, a marker of the body’s own insulin production.

Importantly, the transplant included only about 5% of the number of cells typically needed to fully restore insulin production, reflecting the exploratory nature of the study.

The results so far are encouraging. After 60 weeks, there have been no severe or unexpected adverse events, meeting the trial’s primary safety endpoint. At 14 months after transplantation, the participant continued to produce detectable C-peptide, indicating that the transplanted cells remained alive and functional.

Researchers also observed that C-peptide levels temporarily declined after about one year, likely due to beta cell exhaustion, but subsequently recovered. This is an encouraging signal that the transplanted cells may be capable of regaining function.

While still very early, these findings provide important proof of concept that gene-edited, immune-evasive islet cells can survive and function in a person with T1D. If confirmed in larger studies, this approach could help move the field closer to cell therapies that work without long-term immune suppression—a major goal for the future of T1D cures.

Addressing challenges in cell therapies

Holger Russ, Ph.D. explored a key problem that must be overcome: manufacturing islets at a large scale is hard to do! He shared the processes that his team at the University of Florida uses and noted a secondary problem: we make all these cells, and a significant portion are lost post-transplantation. To solve that, he presented his work on different gene-editing strategies to keep these cells alive.

Katy Digovich, CEO of Minutia, discussed a different problem that needs to be solved: how do we monitor the transplanted islets? Minutia’s approach is to integrate gold (yes, gold) nanoparticles into the islet clusters, which allows them to safely monitor the cells and track graft survival and rejection.  

All of this work is supported by Breakthrough T1D and/or the T1D Fund.

More to come soon for Vertex’s manufactured islets

Data from Vertex Pharmaceutical’s phase 1/2/3 clinical trial for zimislecel was presented by Trevor Reichman, M.D. This data is not new, but it reinforces the reasons for optimism around this manufactured islet cell therapy.

This therapy consists of fully differentiated, manufactured islet cells, infused into the portal vein using an approach similar to traditional donor islet transplantation. Participants are on immunosuppression, and the safety profile is consistent with the use of immunosuppressive medications.

Unfortunately for the T1D community, we’re not going to get new data for Vertex for some time because the data currently being collected will be used for their upcoming FDA submission. However, stay tuned for a Q&A with Vertex in the near future!

Improving Lives

Breakthrough T1D Director of Research, Jonathan Rosen, Ph.D., chaired the session “Bridging the Gap Between Academia and Industry in T1D.” This is an important priority area for us as we see ourselves as “gap fillers.” There is a pipeline from academia to industry to people with T1D, and Breakthrough T1D’s strategy is to identify these gaps and ensure that the pathway is as smooth—and complete—as possible.

This session featured several leaders from biotech illustrating how, ideally, everyone can work together to move products along. Some key points:

• Academia, startups, and big pharma companies all have strengths and weaknesses. All roles are important and it’s crucial to understand the limitations and capabilities of each player.
• Other key players: governments and non-profit organizations. Thanks to the Breakthrough T1D Advocacy team, there has been billions of funding to T1D research over the past few decades. All these products must undergo regulatory review. All play a part!
• What Breakthrough T1D can do is identify the shared objectives. Industry and Academia are not opposing forces, and it’s up to Breakthrough T1D to ensure everyone is bringing their strengths to the table and row in the same direction.

The use of adjunctive therapies, including GLP-1s, is a priority of the Breakthrough T1D’s Improving Lives Portfolio. The use of these drugs, which is often off-label and includes semaglutide and tirzepatide, is increasing in the T1D community.

The data backs this up. Satish Garg, M.D., presented research showing these medications may support weight loss, lower insulin requirements, and improved blood glucose, specifically including better time in range. We also heard again from Viral Shah, M.D., who gave a recap of the Breakthrough T1D-funded ADJUST-T1D study, which showed that the GLP-1 receptor agonist semaglutide (Ozempic) can improve weight and glycemic outcomes in people with T1D.

It’s true: GLP-1s are increasingly being used off-label in the T1D community, as demonstrated by the Breakthrough T1D-funded work of Francisco Pasquel, M.D., MPH. Using large-scale patient datasets from electronic health records, Dr. Pasquel found that rates of GLP-1 use are highest in people living with T1D and obesity in addition to those with cardiovascular disease (CVD) or kidney disease. While this class of drugs has potential to improve weight and blood sugar management, we need larger clinical trials to confirm safety, identify less-common side effects, and get a better idea of the non-glycemic benefits that GLP-1s may have for the T1D community.

To make some headway on the benefits of GLP-1s beyond glucose management, Janet Snell-Bergeon, Ph.D., MPH walked us through cardiovascular outcomes that were measured as a part of the ADJUST-T1D study. People treated with semaglutide had significant decreases in cholesterol and blood pressure. After plugging participant data into a cardiovascular risk prediction tool, Dr. Snell-Bergeon reported that people with T1D treated with semaglutide have a 20% reduced CVD event risk after five and ten years. We need more therapies to address CVD in T1D—while large-scale clinical trials are needed, this data demonstrates the potential for GLP-1s to improve cardiovascular outcomes in people with T1D. 

One key thing to keep in mind when it comes to GLP-1s: safe implementation. Clinicians must work hard to avoid hypoglycemia while also preventing the onset of ketones and DKA. Breakthrough T1D has led this work for years, and is currently helping promote several clinical trials, including the SUPRASS-T1D study.

The risk of DKA also exists for a class of drugs known as SGLT inhibitors, which have proven to be effective for heart and kidney disease in type 2 diabetes (T2D) and people without diabetes, but are still being tested in T1D. Breakthrough T1D-funded researcher Ahmad Haidar, Ph.D., presented his work on changing ketone levels dependent on treatment with empagliflozin, an SGLT inhibitor, and lifestyle factors. Participants wore a continuous ketone monitor (CKM), and data showed that empagliflozin, in addition to lower-carbohydrate diets and greater physical activity, can increase ketone variability and the risk of ketosis. Dr. Haidar suggested that people with T1D may benefit from clinical time in range targets for ketones, and his studies demonstrate the potential of tracking ketone levels to predict and avoid DKA.

Thomas Danne wins an award

Breakthrough T1D Chief Medical Officer Thomas Danne, M.D., Ph.D., received the Children with Diabetes (CWD) President’s Award for Innovation. The award acknowledges a healthcare professional who exemplifies extraordinary leadership in using innovation and advancements in technology for devices that help people with diabetes thrive. An internationally recognized leader in endocrinology and pediatric diabetes, Dr. Danne has spent decades advancing research, clinical care, and global collaboration in the field.

“Breakthrough T1D is incredibly proud of Dr. Danne’s achievements and this well-deserved award for innovation and leadership in diabetes health care,” said Aaron Kowalski, Ph.D., Breakthrough T1D CEO. “Thomas’ many contributions to driving breakthroughs in type 1 diabetes therapy development and care have had a tremendous impact on the global T1D community and are instrumental in moving our mission forward, faster.”

Adios from Barcelona!

The next scientific conference we’ll be covering is the Annual American Diabetes Association (ADA) Scientific Session, which takes place from June 5-8 in New Orleans.

And, don’t forget, Breakthrough T1D will be hosting our first ever Clinical and Research Congress in Philadelphia in October! Over two and a half inspiring days, clinicians, researchers, scientists, healthcare professionals, industry leaders, and the T1D community will explore cutting-edge advances in T1D discovery science, immunotherapies, automated insulin delivery, islet cell therapies, psychosocial care, health equity, and more. Designed to foster collaboration and spark innovation, CRC 2026 will provide translational insights, interactive learning, and meaningful dialogue, all with one shared goal: improving lives and driving toward a world without T1D. Register today—and submit abstracts!

This article was written by Brian Herrick and Sandy Vogt, Ph.D.