Pioneers of Diabetes

Frederick Banting is one of the most famous pioneers of diabetes - he co-discovered insulin with Charles Best

The following people have achieved extraordinary things. They may not all be famous - at least, not as famous as they should be - but their stories are towering achievements in the field of diabetes.

Some have made breakthroughs in scientific research, others have inspired through their extraordinary stories; all have changed the way we think about diabetes.

• Frederick Banting - Nobel Prize winner who co-discovered insulin and was the first person to use insulin on humans
• William Banting - pioneer of the low carb approach to type 2 diabetes
• Charles Best - Banting's assistant and one of the co-discoverer of insulin
• Leonard Thompson - first person to receive an insulin injection
• Eva Saxl - who made her own insulin during WW2
• Ernest Sterzer - only reported case of somebody with type 1 diabetes surviving the Holocaust
• Dr Elliott Joslin - a pioneer in diabetes treatment
• Dr Robert Lawrence - founder of the British Diabetic Association
• Frederick Madison Allen - devised the starvation diet, before insulin was isolated
• C Ronald Kahn - pioneered research into insulin receptors and insulin sensitivity
• Apollinaire Bouchardat - founder of diabetology
• James Collip - worked with Banting and Best, vital in producing the first insulin dose for use on humans
• Oskar Minkowski - known for his discovery of pancreatic diabetes
• George F Cahill Jr. - investigated how the starvation diet affected obesity and diabetes
• Priscilla White - pioneered research into diabetic woman during pregnancy