I was delighted to be part of the opening keynote panel at the 2nd Patient Empowerment World Congress Europe in London today 💙 It’s a topic I’m always passionate about. Empowerment starts with community: people supporting people. Sharing experiences. Learning from each other. Feeling understood. It was a privilege to share the panel with Sailaja Maganti, Kayuri Odedra, Hamda Munawar - expertly chaired by Sarah Contiero. Together, we explored what it really takes to move from engagement to genuine partnership, recognising lived experience as lived expertise and creating opportunities for people to shape decisions, not just respond to them. I naturally brought a #Type1Diabetes and @BT1DUK @BreakthroughT1D perspective, but many of the themes were universal. When people are connected, informed and given meaningful opportunities to influence change it can only lead to better outcomes and choice. The message was clear: empowerment isn't about giving people a voice. People already have one - it's about creating the conditions for that voice to have influence. Community has always been at the heart of empowerment for me. Information gives people knowledge, but community gives people confidence. It was brilliant to spend time with so many people committed to making sure lived experience doesn't just inform decisions, but helps shape them. 💙 #PEWC26 @GBDocInfo #GBDoc #NIDoc

Just landed home from Philadelphia feeling inspired, energised and so excited about the future of #Type1Diabetes 💙 Over the last few days, @coracle1, Rachael Chrisp and I from the @BT1DUK team have had the privilege of being part of @BreakthroughT1D's inaugural Clinical & Research Congress in beautiful Philadelphia. This inaugural Congress brought together over 1,000 researchers, healthcare professionals, industry partners, advocates, funders and people living with #T1D from around the world - and it was such a powerful reminder of the strength of our global community. I'm incredibly proud to be part of the global Breakthrough T1D family - there's something super powerful about being part of a global organisation united by a singular focus: improving lives with T1D while driving progress towards cures. The science, innovation and passion has been inspiring: from early detection and disease-modifying therapies to advances in technology, AI, cell therapy and clinical care, there was such a sense of momentum throughout the Congress. What always makes these events so special though is the people: seeing the global T1D community come together to share ideas, challenge thinking, learn from one another and build new connections is a powerful reminder of whats possible when expertise, lived experience and a shared sense of purpose come together. It was fantastic to reconnect with familiar faces, make new connections and spend time with colleagues and partners from across the world 💙 We’ve arrived home filled with confidence in the progress being made and the vital role played by the international Breakthrough T1D family. Thank you to everyone who made #CRC2026 such a brilliant experience. Roll on next year’s conference in beautiful Washington DC!

What a way to kick off an exciting few days in beautiful Philadelphia 💙 Great to spend this morning at the “From Screening to Action: Building Your Clinical Playbook for Early Stage T1D” meeting, hosted by @BreakthroughT1D in partnership with Ask the Experts, with many more conversations and meetings ahead of Breakthrough T1D’s inaugural Clinical & Research Congress starting Friday. The workshop was a great reminder that scientific progress in #Type1Diabetes is moving at pace. What’s exciting is seeing how advances in screening, research and innovation are creating new opportunities to identify #T1D earlier and support people and their loved ones sooner. Over the next few days, we’ll be learning from global experts and innovators, exploring everything from early detection and disease-modifying therapies to technology, AI and the future of T1D care. As always, what I’m most looking forward to is the opportunity to learn from and connect with people from right across the T1D community. We know that progress happens when researchers, healthcare professionals, advocates, funders, industry partners and people living with T1D come together around a shared goal. That’s the real power of community. Excited to catch up with familiar faces, make new connections, and bring plenty of learning and inspiration back to support the UK T1D community. Let the congress begin! 💙 @BT1DUK

Delighted to be speaking at the Patient Empowerment World Congress Europe this October 💙 @BT1DUK Being part of the #T1D community is one of the most rewarding parts of what I do. For me community is about people: people supporting people. Sharing experiences. Learning from each other. Feeling understood. That’s something I see every day in the #Type1Diabetes community and it’s why I’m so passionate about ensuring lived experience helps shape the conversations around healthcare, research and support. Looking forward to meeting and learning from others and exploring how we can turn patient partnership into something that genuinely happens in practice, creating real impact for the communities we serve. See you in London 💙 #GBDoc #NIDoc @GBDocInfo