15 July 2026
Researcher Spotlight: Associate Professor Rae-Chi Huang
What if the pathway to type 2 diabetes begins long before symptoms appear – and even before birth?
For nearly two decades, Associate Professor Rae-Chi Huang has used Raine Study data to investigate one of Australia’s most pressing health challenges: the growing burden of type 2 diabetes.
As a consultant paediatrician at Perth Children’s Hospital and researcher affiliated with Edith Cowan University and The Kids Research Institute Australia, Associate Professor Huang has worked with Raine Study data since 2007. She has authored more than 100 publications using Raine Study participant information and been first author of 27 papers.
Her research focuses on Type 2 diabetes, maternal gestational diabetes during pregnancy and the intergenerational factors that influence metabolic health. This work builds on her longstanding interest in childhood obesity and early cardiovascular risk factors.
During National Diabetes Week, Associate Professor Huang wants people to know that “There is an urgent need for prevention of both development and progression of type 2 diabetes in children, which is often more aggressive in children. At the same time, our understanding of the drivers both epidemiologically and at a molecular level are increasing, which gives hope both for public health measures and pharmacotherapeutic agents in the future,” she advised.
She observes that one of the most important findings from her research is that diabetes prevention can begin much earlier than many people realise.
“Over my professional career as a paediatrician and researcher, the incidence of childhood diabetes has increased in the order or 30 times. Early detection is essential to prevent long term complications such as CVD, liver disease, kidney, cancers and other complications from occurring,” she said.
A shift from treatment to prevention
Much of Associate Professor Huang’s work focuses on identifying the factors that might contribute to a pathway towards diabetes long before diagnosis.
Instead of waiting until disease appears, her research seeks to identify opportunities for prevention over the life course and demonstrates the enduring value of longitudinal data in answering some of society’s most important health questions—and improving health outcomes across generations.
Why early childhood matters – findings from her research using the Raine Study data.
One of the key themes emerging from Associate Professor Huang’s research is the importance of what happens in early pregnancy.
One of her papers, published in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism in 2023, found that restricted fetal head circumference and abdominal circumference from early pregnancy are associated with higher relative insulin resistance in the offspring during adulthood. These data strengthen our understanding of the importance of the intrauterine environment and its effect on the risk of predisposition to adult diabetes and related metabolic disorders. This study assessed Generation 2 information at 20, 22 and 27 years of age. (1)
An earlier study published in the International Journal of Obesity in 2022 highlights the importance of understanding causes of the unique patterns of intrauterine growth. Different fetal growth trajectories from early pregnancy associate with subsequent adult adiposity and inflammation, which predispose to the risk of diabetes and cardiometabolic disease. The study assessed Generation 2 information from questionnaires, clinical assessments and biosamples at 20, 22 and 27 years.(2)
Associate Professor Huang has also contributed to research examining childhood adiposity trajectories and insulin resistance (a precursor to type 2 diabetes) during adolescence. The findings indicate a range of trajectories, with those children who maintained weight gain showing the greatest insulin resistance at the age of 14. This research helps inform public health policy and interventions to address excessive weight gain in early childhood and during pregnancy. This study used Generation 2 information at 14 years. (3)
Together, these studies highlight how growth patterns established before birth, during childhood during pregnancy, can influence longer-term metabolic health.
Breaking the intergenerational cycle
Another major focus of Associate Professor Huang’s research is understanding how gestational diabetes may impact future generations.
Her work has explored how maternal diabetes during pregnancy may influence a child’s future risk of obesity, type 2 diabetes and other health outcomes.
A 2026 study using explainable artificial intelligence to predict body mass index (BMI) from childhood to early adolescence helps predict obesity risk and identify opportunities for prevention. (4)
Associate Professor Huang has collaborated with other globally recognised cohort studies investigating the effects of maternal diabetes during pregnancy on childhood development. A large meta-analysis involving 200,000 mother-child pairs, including data from the Raine Study, found that children born to mothers with gestational diabetes had consistently higher ADHD symptoms aged 7 to 10 years. (5)
These findings demonstrate how maternal health during pregnancy can have lasting implications for the next generation and reinforce the importance of supporting healthy pregnancies and early childhood development.
Looking ahead
For Associate Professor Huang, the message for National Diabetes Week is clear: if we want to reduce the burden of type 2 diabetes, we must invest earlier – in healthy pregnancies, early childhood, and prevention.
Her message to policymakers is also clear if we wish to reduce the burden of type 2 diabetes; “Aim for targeted intervention for families with children at high risk of developing type 2 diabetes and cardiometabolic complications in both preschool years and through childhood and adolescence.”
The Raine Study thanks Rae-Chi for her generosity in sharing her research with us.
About Diabetes
What is diabetes and why is it so important?
Diabetes is a chronic condition characterised by high blood sugar levels in the body. It occurs when the body is unable to produce or use the hormone called insulin. Type 2 diabetes is the most common form of diabetes and often develops gradually, over time. Many people experience few or no symptoms and by the time they become noticeable which means that complications, such as cardiovascular, liver and kidney disease and cancers, may develop before the condition is identified.
Globally, diabetes is one of the fastest-growing health issues, affecting approximately 6.3% of the world’s population. In Australia, the prevalence of type 2 diabetes has increased from 5.1 to 6.6% per decade, with around 1 in 15 people (approximately 1.3 million) live with diabetes. The condition costs the Australian health system around $4.4 billion (6).
National Diabetes Week, held from 12-18 July 2026, aims to raise awareness of diabetes and encourage conversations around prevention, management and support for people living with the condition.
Sources:
(1) Yadav, Beilin, Huang, et al. (2023) Fetal Growth Trajectories and Measures of Insulin Resistance in Young Adults. https://doi.org/10.1210/clinem/dgad292
(2) Yadav, Beilin, Huang, et al. (2022) Relationships between intrauterine fetal growth trajectories and markers of adiposity and inflammation in young adults. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41366-022-01203-2
(3) Huang, de Klerk, Smith, et al.(2011) Lifecourse Childhood Adiposity Trajectories Associated With Adolescent Insulin Resistance. American Diabetes Association https://diabetesjournals.org/care/article/34/4/1019/38818/Lifecourse-Childhood-Adiposity-Trajectories
(4) Chen, Melton, Vinsen, et al. (2026) Longitudinal prediction of BMI using explainable AI: integrating polygenic scores, maternal, early-life and familial factors. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41366-026-02050-1
(5) Pretorius, Avraam, Guxens, et al. (2026) Is maternal diabetes during pregnancy associated with neurodevelopmental cognitive and behavioural outcomes in children? Insights from individual participant data meta-analysis in ten birth cohorts. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12887-024-05365-y
(6) Australian Bureau of Statistics, page updated 27 May 2026 https://www.aihw.gov.au/reports/diabetes/diabetes/contents/summary#introduction