In September 2022, the Leona M. and Harry B. Helmsley Charitable Trust’s Type 1 Diabetes Program announced the launch of an initiative to support novel, real-world solutions to help people with Type 1 Diabetes exercise safely and to improve their quality of life. To help address knowledge gaps about the effect of exercise on T1D, Helmsley collaborated with the Jaeb Center for Health Research (JCHR) and a group of investigators to conduct two large observational exercise studies in people with type 1 diabetes (T1D): one in adults (T1-DEXI) and https://doi.org/10.25934/PR00008429. More than 500 adults took part in the study, and another 250 children in the pediatric study.
“The Helmsley Charitable Trust showed great foresight in how they took a long-range view to ensure the observational studies were available in a standardized format to ensure that researchers can understand and analyze this important data,” said Rebecca Li, Vivli CEO. “We were delighted to partner with them to support this RFP process and look forward to this next round of research continuing to drive forward the science in Type 1 Diabetes.”
The research collaboration collected observational data relevant to types of physical activity, heart rate, insulin use, CGM, diet, and genetics. After organizing the data in CDISC standards to maximize interoperability, Helmsley partnered with Vivli to make the data from T1-DEXI and T1-DEXIP publicly available, and launched a data challenge designed to encourage researchers, clinicians, and data scientists to explore the data and test novel solutions in people with T1D.
Researchers who have approved requests for the RFP
The table provides the information of researchers who have accessed the Jaeb Center for Health Research T1D Exercise Dataset via Vivli and indicated that they will be applying for the Helmsley request for proposal.
| Researcher | Institution |
|---|---|
| Emily Fox | Stanford University |
| Dale Morrison | University of Melbourne |
| Hector Romero Ugalde | Diabeloop SA |
| Marzia Cescon | University of Houston |
| Monia Rekik | Université Laval |
| Boomer Olsen | University of Utah |
| Janet Snell-Bergeon | University of Colorado |
| Ali Cinar | Illinois Institute of Technology |
| Jenna Wiens | University of Michigan |
| Arsalan Shahid | CeADAR: Ireland's Centre for Applied AI at University College Dublin |
| Daniel West | Newcastle University |
| Ahmad Haidar | McGill University |
| Temiloluwa Prioleau | Dartmouth College |
| Michelle Condren | University of Oklahoma |
| Joanna Davies | Ballad Research Institute |
| Marie Mouler | Schneider Children’s Medical Center of Israel |
| Marc Breton | University of Virginia |
| Garrett Ash | Yale University |
| Lisa Chow | University of Minnesota |
| Erin Tallon | Children's Mercy Kansas City |
| Norou Diawara | Old Dominion University |
| Giacomo Cappon | University of Padova |
| Konrad Mulrennan | Atlantic Technological University |
| Fabricio Garelli | National University of La Plata |
| Micaela Morettini | Università Poiltecnica delle Marche |
| Xiaohua Douglas Zhang | University of Kentucky |
| Eleonora Maria Aiello | University of Trento |
| Bryan Gibson | University of Utah |
| Roeland Middelbeek | Joslin Diabetes Center |
| Yao Qin | UCSB |
| Thomas Hawke | McMaster University |
Following review of concept notes and full proposals, Helmsley announced on February 13 that more than $12 million in grant funding would be awarded to support seven new projects. These will focus on a variety of initiatives relevant to helping people with T1D exercise safely and effectively, and will encompass innovations in education, devices, and insulin management, among others.