Diabetes research — NIH Funding Overview
Reviewed by Dr. Meng ZhaoLast reviewed June 9, 2026Data refreshed September 5, 2026Editorial standards
Diabetes research at NIH is led by NIDDK and supported by NHLBI, NEI, NIDDK, and NIA for complications. Funded work spans basic islet biology, type 1 immunology, type 2 metabolic dysfunction, gestational diabetes, complications (retinopathy, neuropathy, nephropathy), and prevention/lifestyle science.
Funding snapshot
Award data on this page reflects a snapshot of NIH RePORTER records last refreshed on September 5, 2026. For live numbers, use the interactive trends view.
Why this matters now
Diabetes affects more than 38 million Americans, drives complications across multiple organ systems, and intersects with obesity research and the GLP-1 therapeutic revolution. The Special Statutory Funding Program for Type 1 Diabetes Research provides supplemental T1D-specific appropriations.
How NIH funds this area
NIDDK mechanisms include R01, P01, P30 (DRC centers), U01 (cooperative), and U54 specialized centers. Type 1 awards often have R01 supplements from the Statutory Funding Program. The data below covers all NIH awards mentioning diabetes in title, abstract, or terms.
How to use this funding brief
Use this page to separate type 1, type 2, complication, prevention, and technology portfolios before judging funding momentum. Center grants can reveal shared institutional infrastructure, while narrower disease terms provide a cleaner view of investigator-level competition.
Official source: NIDDK: Diabetes research
Search tactics
- Search "type 1 diabetes" or "T1D" specifically — separate research community from type 2.
- For obesity-diabetes intersection, use "obesity" and "diabetes" both, then compare.
- NIDDK Diabetes Research Centers (P30) anchor institutional programs.
What the data shows
- Funding peaked in FY2025 at $3.7B. The FY2025 total of $3.7B is +18% versus FY2021.
- The number of awards fell about 11% in FY2025 even as total dollars grew — funding is concentrating in fewer, larger awards.
- About 82% of FY2026 dollars so far are non-Type-1 award actions, including competing renewals, supplements, non-competing continuations, and institutional changes. This is a descriptive record mix, not a measure of renewal activity alone.
- The average FY2025 award was $692K, and R01 was the most common mechanism in the recent window.
Editorial read
Diabetes funding has grown steadily rather than dramatically — about 18% from FY2021 to FY2025, with FY2024 the only down year in the snapshot. Roughly four of every five current-year dollars so far went to other award actions, including continuations, renewals, and supplements, which is typical of a mature portfolio where long-running cohorts, consortia, and centers absorb much of the base. Momentum is easier to find in sub-areas (technology, atypical diabetes, prevention) than in the headline number.
Yearly NIH Awards for Diabetes research
Counts and total funding per fiscal year from NIH RePORTER. Recent fiscal years may understate final totals because of reporting lag.
| Fiscal Year | Project Count | Total Funding | Avg Award |
|---|---|---|---|
| FY2021 | 6,138 | $3,158,771,167 | $514,625 |
| FY2022 | 6,123 | $3,364,178,696 | $549,433 |
| FY2023 | 6,273 | $3,510,781,779 | $559,666 |
| FY2024 | 6,046 | $3,364,712,379 | $556,519 |
| FY2025 | 5,386 | $3,728,347,738 | $692,229 |
| FY2026 | 3,841 | $2,329,483,410 | $606,478 |
Open the full interactive trends view for Diabetes research →
Top NIH Institutes (last 90 days)
Which NIH institutes funded the most Diabetes projects in the most recent 90-day window.
| Institute | Awards (90d) | Funding (90d) |
|---|---|---|
| NIH | 488 | $386,984,659 |
| FDA | 1 | $697,971 |
| VA | 11 | $0 |
Common Activity Codes (last 90 days)
Which grant mechanisms (R01, R21, U01, P30, etc.) appeared most often for Diabetes in the recent period.
Most Active Institutions (last 90 days)
Universities and research organizations with the most Diabetes awards in the most recent 90-day window.
- JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY — 14 awards
- STANFORD UNIVERSITY — 14 awards
- UTAH STATE HIGHER EDUCATION SYSTEM--UNIVERSITY OF UTAH — 12 awards
- COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY HEALTH SCIENCES — 11 awards
- MASSACHUSETTS GENERAL HOSPITAL — 10 awards
- DUKE UNIVERSITY — 9 awards
- UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA — 9 awards
- UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, SAN FRANCISCO — 8 awards
Recently Awarded Diabetes research Grants
Twelve most recent awards mentioning Diabetes, drawn from NIH RePORTER. Click through to Find PIs for the full investigator search.
Investigating lipid droplet regulation and function in the developing neural tube
1R21HD123148-01Lee Niswander · UNIVERSITY OF COLORADO, CO · $430,375 · awarded Aug 28, 2026 · R21Summary The prevalence of lipid abnormalities and metabolic syndromes has increased significantly in recent years in the United States. These metabolic disorders affect not only the adult living with them but can also adversely affect the embryo and fetus during pregnancy. Maternal type two diabetes and obesity are associated with an increased risk for…
Low Cardiorespiratory Fitness and Chronotropic Incompetence in HIV: Risk Factors, Cardiovascular Implications, and Exercise Training as Treatment
5K23HL172699-04Matthew Durstenfeld · UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LOS ANGELES, CA · $197,748 · awarded Aug 28, 2026 · K23ABSTRACT This is a K23 Patient-Oriented Mentored Career Development award for Dr. Matthew Durstenfeld. His proposed research focuses on cardiorespiratory fitness and chronotropic incompetence and their implications for cardiovascular disease among people with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). Candidate: Dr. Durstenfeld is a board-certified internist and…
SGLT2i As Novel Gout Care (SAVE-Care): A Randomized Controlled Trial
5R61AR084188-02HYON CHOI · MASSACHUSETTS GENERAL HOSPITAL, MA · $219,637 · awarded Aug 28, 2026 · R61Gout is the most common inflammatory arthritis, affecting >12 million US adults (5.1%); its global disease burden continues to increase. As a metabolic-inflammatory condition, gout is strongly associated with multiple cardiometabolic and kidney comorbidities. The ‘modern gout epidemic’ and suboptimal gout care contribute to high rates of recurrent gout…
Type 1 Diabetes TrialNet Clinical Network Hub
5U01DK103282-12CARLA GREENBAUM · BENAROYA RESEARCH INST AT VIRGINIA MASON, WA · $1,000,000 · awarded Aug 28, 2026 · U01Type 1 Diabetes (T1D) affects 2.5 million children and adults in the US requiring life-long insulin therapy for survival, and carries enormous clinical, financial, and psychological burdens as well as a more than 10-year reduction in life expectancy. Thus, there is a significant unmet need for new therapies that focus on underlying immune mediated beta cell…
First taste, lasting impact: Early-life exposure to added sugars from infant formula and complementary foods on glucose variability and obesity risk.
1R01DK149491-01Kai Ling Kong · CHILDREN'S MERCY HOSP (KANSAS CITY, MO), MO · $532,087 · awarded Aug 28, 2026 · R01ABSTRACT: Obesity and type 2 diabetes are global public health crises with origins rooted in early-life nutrition. While breastfeeding confers long-term metabolic protection, most U.S. infants are introduced to formula within the first 6 months of life. Our recent work shows that infants consuming formula with higher added sugar content gain weight more…
Deep learning to assess cardiovascular disease risk from chest imaging
5K01HL168231-03Vineet Raghu · MASSACHUSETTS GENERAL HOSPITAL, MA · $175,230 · awarded Aug 28, 2026 · K01PROJECT SUMMARY Vineet Raghu, PhD is a computer scientist whose career goal is to improve early detection and prevention of chronic disease by applying artificial intelligence to large datasets of medical imaging, genomics, risk factors, and outcomes to better estimate risk and derive insight into etiology. Dr. Raghu is an Instructor of Radiology at Harvard…
Investigating the Role of Macrophages in Heart Failure with Preserved Ejection Fraction
5R00HL157689-05Niranjana Natarajan · UNIVERSITY OF PITTSBURGH AT PITTSBURGH, PA · $249,000 · awarded Aug 28, 2026 · R00CHALLENGE: Heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF) is a complex clinical syndrome that presents with heart failure symptoms, unaltered left ventricular ejection fraction, and is associated with comorbidities including obesity, diabetes and metabolic syndrome. HFpEF accounts for ~50% of all heart failure (HF) and is characterized by diastolic…
Precision imaging of electromechanical coupling for non-invasive cardiac arrhythmia mapping
5R01HL170606-03Elaine Wan · COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY HEALTH SCIENCES, NY · $707,787 · awarded Aug 28, 2026 · R01PROJECT SUMMARY Cardiac arrhythmias are a major cause of morbidity and mortality affecting over 5% of Americans. Arrhythmias have become increasingly prevalent due to an aging population with diabetes, heart failure and hypertension, which has led to an increasing number of invasive electrophysiology studies and catheter ablations. Our grasp of the cardiac…
Evaluating impacts of a food prescription program embedded into a health plan for dually-eligible older adults: A natural experiment
1R01NR022318-01Melissa Horning · UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA, MN · $595,958 · awarded Aug 28, 2026 · R01PROJECT SUMMARY/ABSTRACT Impacting 1 in 5 older adults with low incomes, food insecurity is the uncertain or insufficient access to enough food for an active, healthy life. Food insecurity has been linked to serious outcomes—like heart disease, diabetes, and premature death. Older adults with low incomes and dual eligibility for Medicare and Medicaid are…
Stepped Care, Peer-Delivered Intervention to Improve ART Adherence and SUD in Primary Care
3R01DA056102-04S2Jessica Magidson · UNIV OF MARYLAND, COLLEGE PARK, MD · $244,186 · awarded Aug 28, 2026 · R01Significance: This proposal is for a type 2 hybrid effectiveness-implementation trial to test an intervention and implementation strategy of a peer-delivered, stepped care approach for integrating HIV and substance use (SU) services in a resource-limited primary care setting. Globally, a SU treatment gap exists, with only 1-4% of individuals who need…
Water Contaminants and Cardiovascular Risk: the Jackson Heart Study
5R01HL175323-03April Carson · UNIVERSITY OF MISSISSIPPI MED CTR, MS · $1,015,175 · awarded Aug 28, 2026 · R01In Jackson, MS, decades of inadequate public water system infrastructure have resulted in disruptions to water access and diminished water quality. Jackson has been under a consent decree since 2012 for failing to meet operational and maintenance standards and continues to have boil water notices issued regularly, eliciting concern about the health effects…
The impact of dietary fatty acids and TNF-alpha on neuropathy associated with metabolic syndrome
1R01DK149012-01Amy Rumora · COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY HEALTH SCIENCES, NY · $798,942 · awarded Aug 28, 2026 · R01Abstract Peripheral neuropathy (PN) is a common complication of diabetes, prediabetes, and the metabolic syndrome. PN causes a progressive decrease in sensory function resulting in severe morbidity characterized by loss of sensation, poor balance, and can eventually lead to amputation of the effected limb. Despite the prevalence and debilitating nature of…
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