John is an international authority on the prediction and prevention of type 1 diabetes.
John is an international authority on the prediction and prevention of type 1 diabetes. He leads national clinical trials of new therapies that turn off the immune attack that causes type 1 diabetes and preserve pancreas function. The ultimate aim of this work is to eliminate the need to use insulin injections to manage diabetes.
John completed his undergraduate medical degree in Queensland before completing PhD studies in Cambridge. He returned to Sydney in 1999 to complete core physician training before moving to RMH for fellowship training in endocrinology. He has since worked as a clinician-scientist, initially on obesity and type 2 diabetes before shifting focus to the immunology of type 1 diabetes in 2012.
John’s team was the first to develop an at-home finger prick blood test to detect diabetes antibodies. This test is now used throughout Australia to enable people with early type 1 diabetes access to new prevention therapies. This work has attracted over $15M in grant funding and was commended by the 2023 Victorian Health Public Healthcare Awards and recognised by the 2023 Jeff Flack Award and the 2024 Wikramanayake Award from the Australian Diabetes Society.