Photo courtesy of JDRF Southern & Central Ohio Chapter

During what proved to be an unforgettable celebration by the JDRF community in Cincinnati, NFL Super Bowl Champion and Bengals offensive lineman Orlando Brown, Jr. encouraged relatives of people with type 1 diabetes (T1D) to get screened by TrialNet to help advance research.

Amber Van Den Heuvel received low-dose anti-thymocyte globulin (ATG) in 2015 as a participant in a TrialNet clinical study for people newly diagnosed with type 1 diabetes (T1D). Five years later, she still had beta cell function. Today, at age 26, Amber is encouraging people at high risk for T1D to consider participating in a TrialNet prevention study using the same therapy.

The Gilchrist family loves to read. When Emmie (pictured bottom right) was first diagnosed with T1D at age 4, Amanda asked her school librarian for all the books that had characters with T1D. There weren’t a lot. Now, when Amanda and Emmie meet authors (in person or online), they ask them to put characters with T1D into their next stories.

As we near the release of findings from the Abatacept Prevention Study, two participants share how their experiences in TrialNet research helped shape their futures.

Meet Orlando Brown, Jr.: You may recognize the Kansas City Chiefs offensive tackle, also known as “Zeus”. It’s evident why, especially on the gridiron. More than 350 pounds of superhuman muscle and momentum sprinting downfield, Orlando inherited the name and strength of his father, also an NFL hero.

Meet Owen & Ella: As another modular plate locks into place Owen does a fist bump. Whenever he adds a new piece to enhance the armor on his super suit he loves making the pieces snap together, just like his favorite Legos. Always calm under pressure, Ella goes over detailed schematics for their next TrialNet T1D Heroes Academy mission.

Meet Citlaly & Maria: Super siblings united! Wind and water follow their command as Citlaly and Maria roam through downtown San Jose. Citlaly’s frisbee whistles as it whips through the air in a long arc circling the skyscrapers. In between TrialNet T1D Heroes Academy missions and studying to be a nurse, Maria tests her ability to manipulate water from the city fountains.

Meet Lilah: Foggy vapors rise from Lilah's icy, curly tendrils and little puffs of smoke gather about her fingertips as she twirls in relevé. Lilah glides across the room smooth as ice during dance class and finds it easy to keep her nerves cool before recitals.

Meet Tim: The smell of warm cinnamon and melted butter rises from Tim’s basket of award-winning cinnamon bread, wafting over northern California. He’s always ready to share a fresh-baked loaf before flying home to meet with his support group for families of children newly diagnosed with type 1 diabetes (T1D).

Meet Talia & Ali: Sisters Talia and Ali use their superhero powers to prevent health conditions from ending up as emergencies. Talia combines her health informatics skills with time travel to identify who’s headed for trouble. Ali jets through the clouds at superspeed to deliver the news.