Endocrinology/Diabetes Trials Unit
About Us
The Endocrinology department at Box Hill conducts clinical trials to look at new and better treatments for lowering blood sugars in people with diabetes. Clinical trials are essential in the health care field, as all medical treatments that are available to us today are a direct result of this research.
Diabetes is a complicated disease. Our bodies need to convert glucose (sugar) from food into energy, for our bodies to work correctly. Insulin is essential for this conversion to take place. In people with diabetes, insulin is either not produced or not produced in sufficient amounts by the body. So when people with diabetes eat glucose, it isn’t converted into energy, instead it stays in the blood. This is why blood glucose levels are higher in people with diabetes.
Our team consists of diabetes specialists (endocrinologists), diabetes educators and dietitians.
Our research could not be conducted without the assistance of volunteers to participate in our research trials. If you would like to be involved, please contact us.
Volunteers
Our clinical research involves participants who have diabetes. Most volunteers find it a rewarding experience as they not only assist researchers in their endeavours to find new and improved treatments for diabetes and therefore future generations who have diabetes, but they also gain knowledge about their own health. Participants may also benefit from being involved in our trials, as they have their diabetes reviewed regularly by diabetes educators and diabetes specialists, as well as having the opportunity to discuss their diet with our dietitian
Participants must meet a specific criteria, which is different for every trial. Some of the criteria includes age, medical history, glucose control and diabetes treatment.
The requirements for studies vary, however some of the routine procedures are: blood donation, electrocardiograms (ECGs), physical examination checks done by medical trial staff, questionnaires and blood pressure measurements.
Participation is voluntary and individuals can withdraw at any time. All research projects are approved by a Human Research and Ethics Committee before commencing.
Participants are not paid for their involvement in the studies, however they are reimbursed for travel expenses associated with participating in studies.
Available Studies
People with Type 2 diabetes
- A new diabetes tablet that is looking at improving health of people that have heart and/or diabetes kidney problems
- A Study to Evaluate an injectable medication used to manage Type 2 diabetes and see whether it also has a benefit to prevent clotting.
- Feasibility and patient acceptance of a wearable device to monitor health behaviour, physiological parameters and continuous interstitial glucose in patients with diabetes
- A once weekly injectable medication versus a daily Insulin injection to improve the health of people with heart and circulation problems. This type of medication has already been shown to have significant benefit for people with a history of heart issues.
People with Type 1 diabetes
- A long acting insulin already available to people with Type 1 diabetes is being studied to see if it is better than the currently available insulin in pregnancy EXPECT study
- Comparison of a new fast acting insulin to the currently used Humalog in Adults with Type 1 Diabetes Using Insulin Pumps. PRONTO-Pump-2
People who have not received pneumococcal vaccination
- A study to compare a new pneumococcal vaccine to the currently available vaccine in Healthy Adults 50 Years of Age or Older (PNEU-TRUE)
Contact Us
Carolyn Harris
Ph: 61 3 9094 9521
Fax: 61 3 9899 9137
Email: carolyn.harris@monash.edu