Like more than 25,000 children in the UK, Sam has type-one diabetes, an auto-immune condition that developed when his immune system mistakenly started attacking the cells in his pancreas that produce insulin.

There is currently no cure. Just to stay alive, the 350,000 people in this country who live with the condition face a lifetime of multiple daily finger-prick blood tests, and insulin injections or pump infusions.

Researchers are learning more about the genetic and environmental factors that cause type-one diabetes. Nothing that Sam or his parents did - or did not do - could have prevented his condition. He did not get it because he ate too much sugar, or for any of the lifestyle reasons that can contribute to other types of diabetes. Recent research has shown that cases of type-one diabetes in under-15s could be as much as 70% higher in 2020 than in 2005.

Last year the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF), the world's leading charitable funder of type-one diabetes research, committed £75m globally. It also works to bring together governments and industry to tackle this growing problem. Some of the most exciting projects are based in the UK. The JDRF Centre for Diabetes Genes, Autoimmunity and Prevention (D-GAP) was set up to understand the combined roles genes and the immune system play in causing type-one diabetes, drawing on genetic research at Cambridge University and in immunology research at King's College London. This is combined with the expertise of teams at Cambridge and Bristol University in studying large groups of people who have type-one diabetes or are at risk of developing the condition.

Science is developing technologies to help cope with type-one diabetes. Research towards an "artificial pancreas" aims to develop a computer program that can link two pieces of existing technology - insulin pumps and continuous glucose sensors. This would use information about glucose levels in the body to deliver exactly the right amount of insulin at the right time, without any input from the sufferer. Eight diabetes centres around the world, including one at Cambridge University, are working to develop the algorithms that are the key to making this a viable option. Other areas of research include regenerating insulin-producing cells and drug interventions to halt the onset of type-one diabetes.

• Sarah Johnson is director of policy and communications for the JDRF

• Anyone who would like to know more about the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation, type-one diabetes or the search for a cure can visit jdrf.org.uk or call 020 7713 2030