Habituation and dishabituation in Type 1 diabetes

Impaired awareness of hypoglycaemia (IAH) is defined as a diminished ability to perceive the onset of hypoglycaemia. IAH effects approximately 25% of people with type 1 diabetes and significantly increases their risk of severe hypoglycaemia. Since the seminal work of Heller [nearly 30 years ago we have known that the primary driver towards the development of IAH is prior exposure to repeated episodes of hypoglycaemia. However, we still do not know why repeated hypoglycaemia leads to a raising of individual thresholds (lower glucose) for the counterregulatory response (CRR) to subsequent hypoglycaemia. The principal outcome of the series of studies proposed in this PhD will be to establish that IAH develops through the process of habituation. Confirmation of this will provide the first clear explanation as to why IAH develops in people with T1 and long-duration T2D who are exposed to multiple episodes of hypoglycaemia. The candidate will use in vivo models to ask whether the organisms response to repeated hypoglycaemia meets the characteristics of a habituated response and whether it is possible to reverse or prevent this process. This work will be carried out in parallel with clinical studies in people with type 1 diabetes and so will be immediately translatable into clinical practice. There is the opportunity to learn in vivo techniques and to be part of a laboratory committed to working at the interface between human and bench translational research

Apply
To apply please send a cover letter, curriculum vitae and two references to: [Email Address Removed]