Researcher Spotlight - Dr Aveni Haynes
Dr Aveni Haynes, a Senior Research Fellow based at The Kids Research Institute Australia in Western Australia, where she leads the epidemiology research in the Rio Tinto Children’s Diabetes Centre; a JDRF Global Centre of Excellence.
This year Dr Haynes has been awarded the prestigious JDRF International Career Development Award as well as a Telethon Trust grant.
How long have you been working in diabetes research for?
For a long time! I started working with Prof Tim Jones in the early 2000s when he kindly gave me the opportunity to do some research to understand what children being diagnosed with T1D in WA looked like e.g. how many boys vs girls, their age, where they lived etc. so that we could identify risk factors for why more children were developing the condition over time. Since then I have been working part-time in diabetes research with a few years taken off in between to look after my children.
Why did you get into T1D research?
My first experience with medical research after working as a doctor was the work I did with Prof Jones. This fuelled a passion in me to understand why some children develop type 1 diabetes and others don’t. The more research I have done trying to answer this question, the greater my curiosity and passion have grown. T1D is a very complex condition, and we now know that different people develop T1D in likely different ways and due to different factors. I have not given up in continuing to try and solve some of the puzzle, and hope that my work and findings will continue to improve knowledge so that along with all the other researchers working so hard in this field, there will be a time when we can “make type 1 type none” and be able to prevent it from occurring.
What are your current research projects you are working on?
My research projects are all related to helping identify risk factors for developing T1D with the ultimate goal being to prevent it in the future. Currently, I am an investigator in the Environmental Determinants of Islet Autoimmunity (ENDIA) study which is following 1,473 children with a first degree relative living with T1D from pregnancy or birth to 10 years of age. Within ENDIA, I am leading a sub-study using continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) to detect when and how glucose levels begin to change in children with persistent islet autoimmunity before they have any symptoms or signs of T1D. I am also an investigator in the Australian Type 1 Immunotherapy Collaborative (ATIC) which is establishing the infrastructure and expertise to facilitate access to clinical trials as they become available, and involved in the Australian T1D general population screening pilot program which aims to identify children with early-stage T1D from the general population, who do not have a family history of the condition. A new project this year is to co-design a clinical pathway for Western Australian families and children with early-stage T1D, working together to identify the needs of such families and health care providers responsible for managing their clinical care, and develop a pathway that is fit-for-purpose.
What do you think will be the biggest T1D research breakthroughs in the next 10 years?
I am incredibly excited and grateful to be a T1D researcher in current times. In the next 10 years, I think disease modifying therapies will become part of T1D management and care be it for delaying or preventing progression from the early stages to needing daily lifelong insulin, or to helping preserve the insulin-producing cells and their function close to the time of diagnosis so that the longer term outcomes for people diagnosed are improved. There is also the possibility for screening becoming more widespread either for the genetic risk or signs that the autoimmune condition is underway by testing for T1D related antibodies in the blood. Some important primary prevention trials currently underway will have results available between 2025 and 2027 and if found to be successful will be game changers.
What do you like to do outside of your work?
I love spending time with my family and boys, beach walks, bush walks and camping. I also love markets, taking photos, reading and listening to podcasts on all things science and making sense of the world.