UTAS type 2 diabetes research takes step forward after COVID-19 stall

Now, the PhD student is picking up where she left off after her research was halted and she became stuck overseas for 11 months.

Through the University of Tasmania's School of Health Sciences, Ms Ansari had been exploring how blood glucose levels in people living with type 2 diabetes could be managed through different types of exercise.

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But after conducting 12 weeks of training with a group of participants in 2019, all human-related research activities at UTAS were suddenly halted with the onset of COVID-19.

To make matters worse, after returning home to Pakistan to visit family, Ms Ansari also became stuck overseas and was unable to return to Australia until December last year.

"I went back for a month to visit my mother and I was just about to come back when the pandemic hit," she said.

"Being in Pakistan, there was a lot pressure to keep yourself safe and protect those around you.

"So I was unable to come home for a really long time."

Now back in Australia and with limited time left to complete her research, Ms Ansari is again looking for participants living with type 2 diabetes to help.

The study will investigate two types of exercises for blood glucose management, and will consist of twice-weekly exercise sessions to be held over three months.

With up to 30 participants needed, she said the research had the potential to decrease the cost of managing type 2 diabetes and help prevent the side effects associated with medications.

"We talk about exercise being the new medicine, but more information is needed around the best types and how much," she said.

"We know, for example, that downhill walking as an exercise is less demanding on the body and more useful in controlling blood glucose."

Anyone interested in taking part in the study can email misha.ansari@utas.edu.au or call 0434 862 521.

Exercise sessions will be conducted at the School of Health Sciences' exercise clinic, at the UTAS Newnham Campus.