Diabetes New Zealand Research Foundation Award: The Second Fellowship
Recipient Ibrahim Mohamed’s research aims to identify effective type 2 diabetes prevention strategies for New Zealanders taking antipsychotic medications.
Ibrahim, a Postdoctoral Research Assistant at the University of Auckland, shared his appreciation for the Fellowship, stating, "Being selected for the 2026 Diabetes New Zealand Research Foundation Fellowship is a pivotal step in my development as an independent researcher. I'm deeply passionate about diabetes prevention, particularly in underserved populations such as those taking antipsychotic medications, and I'm truly grateful for the Foundation's support and belief in this work. I can't wait to get stuck in!"
Ibrahim's research project, titled Closing the Gap: Identifying Effective Type 2 Diabetes Prevention Strategies for New Zealanders Taking Antipsychotic Medications, will examine effective strategies and evidence-based interventions to prevent type 2 diabetes among New Zealanders, especially those taking antipsychotic medications, a currently underserved population.
Ibrahim explains that “Individuals taking antipsychotic medications face a type 2 diabetes (T2D) risk two to three times higher than those not taking these medications.”
Ibrahim has identified that “despite facing a substantially elevated T2D risk, individuals taking antipsychotic medications have been almost entirely absent from nutrition and T2D prevention research, particularly in New Zealand. This fellowship is the direct result of my own observation of that gap and my determination to address it.”
“My longer-term ambition is to build a research programme that meaningfully reduces the burden of T2D among some of New Zealand's most vulnerable and overlooked patient populations”.
Professor Jeremy Krebs, who chaired the Diabetes New Zealand Research Foundation Fellowship selection panel, said “there was a high standard of applications and several that were very fundable”. “It was a difficult decision for the panel, but in the end Ibrahim’s proposal stood out for the potential to make a real difference for an under-served group of New Zealanders”. “The foundation looks forward to see the results of Ibrahim’s work”.
The Diabetes New Zealand Research Foundation Fellowship will enable Ibrahim to further his research endeavors, which center's the wellbeing and dignity of people living with severe mental illness, with particular attention to the Māori and Pacific communities who face compounded disadvantage across both mental and metabolic health.
Supporting Ibrahim in his research is supervisor Doctor Jennifer Miles-Chan Professor of Human Nutrition & Metabolism, School of Biological Sciences; and Director, Human Nutrition Unit at the University of Auckland.
The Diabetes New Zealand Research Foundation Fellowship aims to support healthcare professionals and academic researchers in New Zealand who are focused on conducting diabetes research that helps to end the significant harm caused by diabetes in New Zealand.