Celebrate Diabetes Pioneers on International Women’s Day

Celebrated every year on 8^th March, today we recognise the achievements of 7 women whose contributions have transformed how diabetes is managed today.

Dorothy Crowfoot Hodgkin (UK)

Contribution:

Determined the three-dimensional structure of insulin using X-ray crystallography (1969).

Impact:                      

Provided the scientific basis for modern insulin engineering and biotechnology.

Dorothy Crowfoot Hodgkin is regarded as one of the most important scientific pioneers connected to diabetes because she revealed the molecular structure of insulin. Working at the University of Oxford, Hodgkin used X-ray crystallography to map the three-dimensional arrangement of atoms within the insulin molecule. This achievement, completed in 1969 after decades of research, gave scientists a precise understanding of how insulin is structured. The work provided the foundation for later advances in synthetic insulin and insulin analogues that are widely used in diabetes treatment today. 

Hodgkin received the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1964 for her contributions to crystallography. Her research helped transform insulin from a life-saving discovery into a therapy that could be improved and refined through modern biotechnology.

Kathleen Culhane Lathbury (UK)

Contribution:           

Worked on standardising insulin potency and safety testing during the early years of insulin therapy (1920-1930s).

Impact:                      

Helped ensure insulin produced in the UK was consistent and biologically active, at a time when manufacturing methods were still developing.

Kathleen Culhane Lathbury played an important role in the early decades of insulin therapy. In the years following the discovery of insulin in 1921, producing reliable and safe insulin preparations was a major challenge. Culhane Lathbury worked as a biochemist responsible for testing insulin batches to ensure their biological potency and consistency. At a time when pharmaceutical manufacturing processes were still developing, this work was essential to protect patients from ineffective or unsafe medicines. Her contribution helped establish the laboratory standards that allowed insulin to become a dependable treatment for people with diabetes.

insulin to become a dependable treatment for people with diabetes.

Rosalyn Yalow (USA)

Contribution:           

Developed radioimmunoassay, a technique to measure hormones such as insulin in very small concentrations.

Impact:                      

Revolutionised endocrinology research and clinical diagnostics that became standard in laboratories worldwide (1960s).

Rosalyn Yalow transformed diabetes research through the development of radioimmunoassay. Before her work in the 1950s and 1960s, scientists struggled to measure very small amounts of hormones circulating in the body. Yalow’s technique made it possible to detect and quantify insulin at extremely low concentrations in blood samples.

This method opened the door to new understanding of endocrine physiology and diabetes. Researchers could study how insulin levels change in different types of diabetes and how treatments affect hormone levels. Radioimmunoassay quickly became a standard laboratory method used around the world. Yalow received the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1977 for this work.

Dr Sheila Reith (UK)

Contribution:           

Co-invented the first insulin pen device (late 1970s).

Impact:                      

Replaced glass syringes and reusable needles, leading to modern insulin pens used worldwide.

 

The development of insulin pens is often wrongly attributed to Novo Nordisk in the 1980s, however, Scottish doctor, Sheila Reith pioneered the technology in the late 1970s after her daughter was diagnosed with type 1. She was struck by the impracticality of the traditional glass and steel syringes used for insulin injections and through collaboration with engineers developed a pen-style injection device that allowed insulin to be delivered in a more controlled and convenient way.

The device simplified dosing and made injections easier to administer outside clinical settings. It was available commercially in 1983 before larger medical companies entered the market.

Modern insulin pens used worldwide trace their design lineage to these early developments. Pen devices have become the standard insulin delivery method for many patients, offering portability, accuracy and ease of use.

Reith’s work represents an important step in the shift from purely clinical treatment towards patient-friendly medical technology.

Helen Murphy (UK)

Contribution:           

Led clinical trials using continuous glucose monitoring in pregnancy.

Impact:                       

Showed CGM improves glucose outcomes for pregnant women with type 1 diabetes.

Professor Helen Murphy is a leading UK clinician-scientist whose work helped establish the role of CGMs in pregnancy. This is particularly important for T1s during pregnancy as both hyperglycaemia and hypoglycaemia can affect maternal and foetal outcomes.

Murphy played a key role in major clinical trials evaluating the use of CGM during pregnancy. One of the most influential studies was the CONCEPTT trial, which showed that CGM use in pregnant women with type 1 diabetes improved glucose control and neonatal outcomes. The results demonstrated that CGM could reduce complications such as large-for-gestational-age infants and neonatal intensive care admissions.

These findings had a significant influence on clinical guidelines in the United Kingdom and internationally. CGM is now widely recommended for pregnant women with type 1 diabetes in many healthcare systems, including the NHS.

Murphy’s work helped move CGM from a specialist technology into mainstream diabetes care for pregnancy.

Shanta Persaud (UK based)

Contribution:           

Research into pancreatic beta-cell function and insulin secretion.

Impact:                      

Shanta’s work helps explain how insulin release is regulated and informs drug development of new treatments for diabetes.

Shanta Persaud represents a modern generation of diabetes researchers working in the UK. Her research focuses on pancreatic beta cells, the cells responsible for producing insulin. By studying how these cells function and how their activity is disrupted in diabetes, Persaud’s work contributes to the scientific knowledge needed to develop new treatments and therapies. Her research also supports understanding of how metabolic diseases affect insulin secretion.

Dana Lewis (USA)

Contribution:          

Demonstrated real-world automated insulin dosing using CGM data and algorithms.

Impact:                      

Accelerated development of commercial hybrid-closed loop systems.

Dana Lewis is recognised for pioneering patient-driven diabetes technology innovation. In 2014 she helped develop OpenAPS, an open-source automated insulin delivery system created by people living with diabetes. The project demonstrated that continuous glucose data and insulin pump technology could be combined with algorithms to automate aspects of insulin dosing. OpenAPS influenced the development of commercial hybrid-closed loop systems and helped accelerate innovation in diabetes technology. Lewis’s work also showed the role patients themselves can play in advancing medical technology.