The Leona M. and Harry B. Helmsley Charitable Trust’s Type 1 Diabetes Program has launched an initiative to support innovative and practicable solutions to help people with type 1 diabetes (T1D) exercise safely and to improve their quality of life. To help address knowledge gaps about the effect of exercise on T1D, Helmsley supported a research collaboration centered on two large observational exercise studies in people with T1D: one in adults (T1-DEXI) and one in children (T1-DEXIP). More than 500 people took part in the adult study, and another 250 in the pediatric study. Both studies were recruited and conducted fully remotely by design, enabling full monitoring and data collection which was unimpeded by COVID-19 pandemic restrictions.
The data from these studies include information about types of physical activity, heart rate, insulin use, CGM, diet, and genetics. The research collaboration collected and organized the observational data to maximize interoperability, and Helmsley has partnered with Vivli to make the data from T1-DEXI and T1-DEXIP publicly available. Sharing study data publicly will enable a range of researchers to access and explore the data from a variety of perspectives and research specialties.
In addition to facilitating public access through the Vivli platform, Helmsley has also opened a request for proposals (RFP) to support researchers, clinicians, and data scientists interested in analyzing the data and testing novel solutions in people with T1D. The RFP aims to fund projects that will improve the understanding of how exercise impacts T1D and that will provide people with T1D and their healthcare providers practical management solutions and clinical guidelines. The overarching purpose of this initiative is to move real-world data towards real-world solutions.
Concept notes for the RFP are due by April 30, 2023, and full proposals will be invited for submission later in 2023. Researchers interested in exploring the T1D dataset on Vivli in order to prepare concept notes for submission can search data publicly available through Vivli’s search portal, and submit a data request using the standard process. Complete information about the RFP, including key dates and submission criteria, is available on The Helmsley Charitable Trust site.
Deniz Dalton, Program Officer in T1D at Helmsley, said, “People with T1D face many burdensome challenges in their daily lives, including complex decisions around exercise, diet, monitoring glucose levels, and administering insulin. We are excited to make this data publicly available and to launch this RFP, to advance the understanding of how exercise affects glucose management, and ultimately to help create real-world solutions to challenges faced by people with T1D around exercise.”
For more information, please watch Dalton’s presentation on this initiative at the Vivli 2022 Annual Meeting, or contact Vivli User Support directly at support@vivli.org with any questions