Chennai-based Madras Diabetes Research Foundation (MDRF) has been awarded a grant of £7million by UK’s National Institute of Health Research (NIHR) Global Health programme to establish a clinical partnership with University of Dundee, Scotland.

With the help of this grant, Madras Diabetes Research Foundation and University of Dundee will conduct joint research studies in India and Scotland to determine the common and specific problems related to diabetes, by accessing collated data of 650,000 diabetic patients.

The project commands access to two of the most advanced diabetes management systems in the world: Dr Mohan’s Diabetes Specialities Centres (DMDSC) and Scottish Clinical Care Information – Diabetes Care (SCI-DC). The SCI-DC provides a sophisticated shared electronic patient record for every individual with Type 2 diabetes in Scotland.

The project will also look at new ways of providing diabetes screening, using smartphone technology and retinal scans, which will provide valuable insights into how care providers can deliver more cost-effective and affordable diagnosis and treatment of diabetes, a major issue in India and across the world.