Thank You for Another Year of Moving Diabetes Research into Action (2025)
As we close out 2025, we want to say thank you to everyone who is part of the Diabetes Action Canada (DAC) Network. This work moves forward because people show up, with their expertise, lived experience, and a real willingness to work together across disciplines and sectors.
The holidays are a chance to slow down and recharge, but it is also a moment to look back on the year we have had and what is ahead. We have accomplished a lot together, and I wanted to share a few highlights with you here.
2025 Highlights
- Published three DAC-led papers on patient-oriented research and patient engagement, including the 4Ls Framework (Diabetes in Four Dialects).
- Research-to-Action Fellowship resources from our inaugural cohort surpassed 100,000 downloads across 130 countries.
- Welcomed a new Fellowship cohort and launched this year’s projects at the Diabetes Canada Conference in November 2025.
- Deepened our partnership with the Indigenous Diabetes Health Circle (IDHC), including signing a collaborative relationship agreement in Thorold, Ontario.
- Hosted three DAC Network Action Sessions on diabetes remission, peer support in type 1 diabetes, and islet and stem cell innovation.
- Save the date: our next Network Action Session is January 12, 2026 at 2:00 PM ET (Best Practices in Knowledge Mobilization with Drs. Monika Kastner and Diana Sherifali).
Evidence and Community Learning in 2025
Publications
This year, DAC published several papers that reflect how we approach patient-oriented research in practice. The 4Ls paper gives us a common way to talk about why lived, loved, learned, and laboured experience matters in shaping better research and care. Our Workshop paper reflects on eight years of planning academic meetings alongside Patient Partners and what we’ve learned along the way. We also released a new paper that looks at how Patient Partner feedback and co-design helped us strengthen the DAC Patient Engagement Program as the Network evolved. It’s been meaningful to see this work resonate, with these papers downloaded more than 2,000 times so far.
Read: Diabetes in Four Dialects (4Ls Framework) 👉: Diabetes in Four Dialects: A Global Call for Equity
Read: Partnering for Impact (Workshop paper) 👉: Partnering for impact: best practices for planning in-person academic events with Patient Partners involvement– Lessons learned from Diabetes Action Canada
Read: Optimizing patient partner engagement and integration in research (Patient Partner feedback + co-design)👉: Optimizing patient partner engagement and integration in research
Community learning and conferences
We spent a lot of this past year connecting with the broader diabetes and health research community, including at the Diabetes Canada Professional Conference, American Diabetes Association (ADA), International Diabetes Federation (IDF), Research Canada, International Society for Pediatric and Adolescent Diabetes (ISPAD), National Indigenous Diabetes Association (NIDA), Canadian Association for Health Services and Policy Research (CAHSPR), and the TIMED Consortium meeting in the Netherlands, to name a few.
These spaces matter. They are where ideas are tested, partnerships take place, and help us stay focused on issues that matter to patients, providers, and communities.
Capacity-Building and Key Partnerships
Research-to-Action Fellowship
The Research-to-Action Fellowship has become a cornerstone of DAC’s work and is shaped from start to finish with our Patient Partners. In the inaugural cohort, Fellows worked with community and health organizations to co-create practical resources (found here), including self-advocacy tools, comics, culturally tailored education materials, and infographics, all grounded in lived experience and community priorities. These projects were featured at eight national and international conferences and have been downloaded more than 100,000 times across 130 countries.
In May, we welcomed a new Fellowship cohort, who will complete their projects in January 2026. Showcased at the Diabetes Canada Conference in November 2025, this year’s projects focus on diabetes stigma, misdiagnosis and self-advocacy, women’s health and diabetes, cell therapy education, and diabetes technology decision-making. Partner organizations include the Australian Centre for Behavioural Research in Diabetes, Indigenous Diabetes Health Circle, Tidepool, Alberta Diabetes Institute, and Children with Diabetes.
A selection of tools is available for early testing here👉: https://linktr.ee/diabetesactioncanada
Indigenous Diabetes Health Circle Partnership
This year, we continued to deepen our long-standing partnership with the Indigenous Diabetes Health Circle (IDHC) and formally signed a collaborative relationship agreement at their head office in Thorold, Ontario.
Our work together spans many years and initiatives, including diabetic retinopathy screening, lower limb preservation, and collaboration through the Research-to-Action Fellowship. This relationship is grounded in trust, reciprocity, and a shared commitment to Indigenous-led approaches to diabetes wellness.
Over the past year, it has continued to grow through our involvement in Karihwahstha, an Indigenous-governed initiative supporting culturally grounded diabetes care, knowledge sharing, and community-defined priorities. We are grateful for IDHC’s leadership and guidance and for the opportunity to continue walking this path together.
From Conversation to Action
This year, DAC hosted three Network Action Sessions, bringing patient partners, researchers, clinicians, and system leaders together to focus on shared priorities and practical next steps.
Together, we explored islet and stem cell innovation, diabetes remission, and peer support in type 1 diabetes, grounding conversations in lived experience, feasibility, and impact. The goal was simple: connect evidence to lived experience and identify what could realistically move forward.
Missed a session? You can find short summaries and the YouTube recordings here:
Diabetes Remission: An Implementation and Knowledge Mobilization Opportunity
CommuniT1D / CommunauDT1
Islet & Stem Cell Transplants for Diabetes: Fact, Fiction, or Fantasy?
Save the date! Our next Network Action Session is on January 12, 2026 at 2:00 PM ET, featuring Drs. Monika Kastner and Diana Sherifali.
We’ll take a practical look at Best Practices in Knowledge Mobilization: A Case Study in Type 2 Diabetes Remission, and explore how DAC’s knowledge mobilization program helps move evidence into community settings.
Register here 👉: https://us06web.zoom.us/meeting/register/KfilbfVXQwmYj12WoO8pzQ
Selected DAC-supported Publications (2025)
DAC supports research across the supports diabetes research through our patient engagement, digital health, and knowledge mobilization programs. This work is driven by people across the Network who bring lived experience and expertise to the questions being explored.
Below are a few examples of publications DAC contributed to this year. These publications span type 1 diabetes, type 2 diabetes, complications, health services, and equity.
Looking Ahead
Global End Diabetes Stigma Summit (March 2026)
In 2026, our team is contributing to planning and Canadian representation at the Global End Stigma Summit (March 28–29, 2026), in Jaipur, India. It’s an opportunity to share what we’re learning in Canada and learn alongside partners working to change how diabetes is understood and discussed.
In November, we submitted our application to CIHR for continued funding for Diabetes Action Canada over the next two years. We are grateful to see strong partner commitment and new partners joining the Network. More to come on this and other exciting plans ahead – 2026 is shaping up to be an important year.
With Gratitude
Thank you to our Patient Partners, Fellows, researchers, clinicians, community organizations, and supporters for your time, insight, and commitment. It is a privilege to do this work together. Wishing you a restful holiday season and a strong start to 2026.
