Industry leaders on the centre

Australian Diabetes Council (ADC) President Dr Neville Howard

Dr Neville Howard with Vice-Chancellor Michael Spence

"We were inspired by the University of Sydney's vision to break down the barriers between traditionally individualistic disciplines, and their recognition that all facets of the community need to be engaged and working together to turn around the diabetes epidemic.

"The scale of the diabetes epidemic, and its cost both in human and monetary terms, is such that we have to continually think of new ways to try and combat the disease.

“We are delighted that the Centre will be researching diabetes as part of 'life cycle investigation' - recognising that the disease's incidence is, in many instances, caused or exacerbated by lifestyle factors and recognising that diabetes itself is at the source of any number of other serious problems such as heart, kidney, eye and limb diseases.

"Type 1 diabetes prevention and management is another area that needs to be addressed.''

NSW Heart Foundation CEO, Tony Thirlwell

“The responsibility of living a healthy life falls, not just on the individual, but also on the food supply and the built environment – often things that are far outside the individual’s control.

“Having a multidisciplinary approach provides a comprehensive and collaborative response in dealing with the big questions for cardiovascular disease in the 21st century.”