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Professor Frances Ashcroft discovered a link connecting an increase in blood sugar to the secretion of insulin in 1984. She also found a genetic mutation that causes neonatal diabetes. Children suffering from this form of diabetes can now be treated by pill rather than injection thanks to Ashcroft's work.
Educated at Cambridge University, Ashcroft holds BA, Ph.D., and ScD degrees. She is the Royal Society GlaxoSmithKline Research Professor at the University of Oxford. Her main areas of research include insulin secretion, type 2 diabetes, and neonatal diabetes. She authored a textbook, Ion Channels and Disease.
Ashcroft discovered the ATP-sensitive potassium channel in 1984. The channel allows potassium ions to move out a cell. The channel is closed when glucose breaks down - stimulating insulin secretion. This was the missing link connecting glucose to insulin secretion.
In 1995 Ashcroft was part of a team that discovered the DNA sequence for the ATP-sensitive potassium channel. DNA screening enables people to determine if they have a common gene variant that causes an increase in the risk for type 2 diabetes.
Further research in 2003 led to the discovery of a mutation in the channel that can cause neonatal diabetes. It can be treated by sulphonylurea drugs. Treatment in pill form improves the quality of life for many diabetes patients; previously treatment was limited to injectable forms.
Ashcroft was named European Laureate at the L'Oreal-UNESCO For Women in Science Awards on March 30, 2012. The awards are presented annually and there is one winner from each major continent. Today Ashcroft's studies focus on obesity.
Watch a video of Frances Ashcroft describing her work.
Read more about diabetes on CR4.
Resource:
Wikipedia: Frances Ashcroft
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Re: Frances Ashcroft: Award-Winning Diabetes Researcher
