Wellcome Trust PhD Programme for Clinicians at the University of Cambridge. (360G-Wellcome-097451_Z_11_Z)

Evidence suggesting a link between iron status and type 2 diabetes (T2D) comes from meta-analyses of observational studies showing consistent associations between higher ferritin levels, the main marker of body iron status, and T2D. In addition, secondary diabetes is a common manifestation observed in patients with hemochromatosis, a hereditary disease characterised by extreme iron overload. Iron status is a modifiable factor, and hence presents a potential target for the prevention and treatment of T2D. However, important questions regarding the causal nature and sequence, as well as the mechanisms underlying the association between iron status and T2D remain unanswered. Genetic determinants of iron status may help to address some of these questions, but have not been systematically identified in adequately powered studies. This PhD will study determinants and consequences of differences in iron status using detailed phenotypic and genotypic information from large scale population studies of T2D, including almost 70,000 individuals, to assess whether and how iron status may causally affect T2D risk.