Welcome to the
Diabetes Research Centre
Bringing diabetes
research closer to home
Who are we
We are a community-focused diabetes research centre for Hampshire and the Isle of Wight. Designed to make research more accessible, inclusive, and relevant to the people who live with diabetes every day.
We embed research directly within patient care pathways by working across local specialist diabetes teams, primary care, and other community health and care services. This means more opportunities for people to take part, stronger links between clinical services, and faster access to innovation that can improve patient outcomes, experience, and quality of life.
I found the trial very interesting to take part in and the advice and support given throughout invaluable.
What we do
Our centre brings diabetes research into real-world healthcare settings. Rather than relying on a single hospital base, we work across community diabetes services, primary care and local sites across Hampshire and the Isle of Wight, helping more people access research closer to home.
We deliver research that supports prevention, early intervention, condition management and innovation in care. Alongside study delivery, we are building a centre that connects research, education, workforce development and service improvement in one joined-up model.
Why community diabetes research matters
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It makes research easier to access by bringing opportunities into community settings
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It gives patients more time, more support and more chances to learn about their condition and future treatments
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It improves services by helping teams stay current with evidence, offer more choice and test innovative approaches
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It supports staff development, recruitment and retention by creating meaningful research and learning opportunities
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It helps reduce pressure elsewhere in the system by improving prevention, self-management and earlier intervention.
Why people choose to get involved
For patients, research can offer simplicity, empowerment, hope and the opportunity to make a difference to future health. People may want to learn more about their condition, access more health professionals, support innovation, advocate for others or help shape the research itself.
For clinical services, research strengthens reputation, builds knowledge, supports cross-working, improves engagement and creates more choice in treatment and support pathways. For staff, it can bring career development, more varied roles, stronger relationships with patients and better opportunities across the system.
Impact at a glance
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22 Sponsors, including 7 commercial sponsors
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45 studies open, closed or in set-up
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2,400 patients recruited
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Average 545% of site target across all studies and 80% for commercial studies
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Sade-D set up in 10 days as first site nationally and first to recruit; average commercial set-up time 39 days
How we work
Our model is community-first. We are linked and embedded within four to five diabetes services across the region, with a large primary care footprint and the ability to work flexibly through different research locations.
We operate across Trust-owned buildings and community settings, with a flagship base at Moorgreen and spokes including Portsmouth, the New Forest and the Isle of Wight. We can also create pop-up research spaces where needed, helping us reach different communities and tailor access to local need.
