The Iacocca Family Foundation was created to fund innovative and promising diabetes, primarily type 1 diabetes, research programs and projects that will lead to a cure for the disease and alleviate complications caused by it.Lee Iacocca established the Foundation in 1984 in honor of his late wife, Mary K. Iacocca, who died from complications of type 1 diabetes. Since its inception, the Foundation has funded more than $45 million in promising research projects.