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BBDC Newsletter

BBDC NEWS	Vol. 10, No. 4 -- June 2010

FUNDING OPPORTUNITIES

TRAINEE TRAVEL AWARDS 2010/2011 (PERIOD 1)
FOR TRAVEL OCCURRING BETWEEN JULY 1 AND DECEMBER 31, 2010

Awards of up to $1,000 (Canadian) are available to trainees who will be traveling to a national or international meeting between July 1 and December 31, 2010 to present a first-author abstract.  The content of the abstract must be directly related to an area of diabetes research.  At the time of abstract submission to the meeting, the applicant must be either: A) a registered University of Toronto graduate student; B) a post-doctoral research fellow having received a PhD within the last 5 years; or C) a clinical fellow or medical resident having received an MD within the last 9 years. The applicant’s supervisor must hold a full-time faculty appointment with the University of Toronto and must also be a registered member* of the BBDC at the time of application submission.  The deadline for receipt of applications is 5 p.m., Tuesday, October 5, 2010.  For complete award details and application instructions please see the following web page: http://www.bbdc.org/fundingOpp/travel.htm .

Upcoming Funding Opportunities:
Information on the following programs will be posted on the BBDC’s web site soon:

• Pilot Grants for Innovative Activities Related to Diabetes Education, Management & Care.  Deadline to submit letters of intent: September 28, 2010.
• Diabetes Educator of the Year Award 2010.  Nomination deadline: November 23, 2010

* Those who are new to the field of diabetes research, education or care and are not members of the BBDC can request free membership by contacting the Centre prior to submitting an application. For more information about BBDC Membership, please view the MEMBERSHIP section of our web site at http://www.bbdc.org/membership/index.htm .

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AWARD RESULTS**

ANNUAL TRAINEE AWARDS 2009/2010

Prize	Applicant	Supervisor	Abstract Title
1st Prize	Safina Ali	Dr. Daniel Drucker	Genetic ablation of glucagon and GLP-1 receptors in Gcgr-/-;GLP-1r-/- mice reveals novel compensatory mechanisms upregulated to maintain insulin secretion
2nd Prize	Liang Xi	Dr. Gary Lewis	C-reactive Protein Induces Hepatic Insulin Resistance and Insulin Signaling Defects in Rats: Role of MAP kinases
3rd Prize	Linyuan Wang	Dr. Minna Woo	PTEN Deletion in Pancreatic Beta Cells Protects Against Type 2 Diabetes Without Promoting Tumorigenesis
Honourable Mention	Diana Choi	Dr. Minna Woo	Erythropoietin provides diabetes protection through direct effects on the pancreatic beta cells
Honourable Mention	Gavasker Sivaskandarajah	Dr. Susan Quaggin	Local vascular endothelial growth factor-A protects the diabetic kidney
Honourable Mention	Victor S.C. Wong	Dr. Patricia Brubaker	The role of R-spondin1 in pancreatic beta-cells in vivo

 

ARCHIE SOPMAN DIABETES RESEARCH AND EDUCATION AWARDS 2010

Recipient	Purpose	Amount
Lynn Baughan	Travel to diabetes meeting	Up to $1,000 CAD
Lucia Chan	Travel to diabetes meeting	Up to $1,000 CAD
Kathy Cohen	Travel to diabetes meeting	Up to $1,000 CAD
Margaret De Melo	Travel to diabetes meeting	Up to $1,000 CAD
Doreen Klar	Travel to diabetes meeting	Up to $1,000 CAD
Louisa Li	Travel to diabetes meeting	Up to $1,000 CAD
Kitty Mak	Travel to diabetes meeting	Up to $1,000 CAD
Ann Murphy	Travel to diabetes meeting	Up to $1,000 CAD
Ana Offenheim	Travel to diabetes meeting	Up to $1,000 CAD
Artee Srivastava	Travel to diabetes meeting	Up to $1,000 CAD
Mary Weiland	Travel to diabetes meeting	Up to $280 CAD

 

POST-DOCTORAL FELLOWSHIPS 2010/2011

Applicant	Supervisor	Title of Research	Award
Robert Bandsma (DECLINED)	Dr. Gary Lewis	The role of glucagon-like peptides on intestinal lipid metabolism	BBDC Postdoctoral Fellowship
Christina Basford	Dr. Michael Wheeler	The functional and molecular characterization of insulin-producing cells derived from embryonic stem cells	BBDC Postdoctoral Fellowship
Shlomit Boguslavsky	Dr. Amira Klip	alpha-Actinin-4: from bundling actin filaments to acting as a “sensor” of insulin	BBDC Fellowship in Diabetes Care
Danna Breen	Dr. Tony Lam	Nutrient Sensing in the Brain	BBDC Postdoctoral Fellowship
Jonathan Campbell	Dr. Daniel Drucker	Defining the tissue specific role(s) of Glucose-Dependent Insulinotropic Polypeptide on whole body glucose metabolism	BBDC Postdoctoral Fellowship
Karen Eny	Dr. Andrew Paterson	Diet, genetics, HbA1c and long-term complications in subjects with type 1 diabetes (T1DM): A genome-wide association study (GWAS) approach	BBDC Fellowship in Diabetes Care
Claudia Gordijo	Dr. Xiao Yu (Shirley) Wu	Development of a Chemically Controlled Closed-Loop Insulin Delivery Device Prototype for Treatment of Type 1 Diabetes	BBDC Postdoctoral Fellowship
Sara Hamilton	Dr. Pamela Ohashi	Role of the Hyaluronan Receptor, Rhamm in T cell Function and Autoimmune Responses	Hugh Sellers Postdoctoral  Fellowship
Girish Kewalramani (DECLINED)	Dr. Amira Klip	Interplay between monocytes/macrophages and cardiomyocytes in diet-induced diabetes	BBDC Fellowship in Diabetes Care
Min-Suk Kim (DECLINED)	Dr. Daniel Drucker	The role of incretins and dipeptidyl peptidase-4 in the pathophysiology of athersclerosis	BBDC Postdoctoral Fellowship
Ganesh Sangle	Dr. Patricia Brubaker	Role of clock genes in the regulation of glucagon-like peptide-1 secretion	BBDC Fellowship in Diabetes Care
Jessica Yue	Dr. Tony Lam	Glucagon action in the control of glucose homeostasis	BBDC Postdoctoral Fellowship
Dan Zhu	Dr. Herbert Gaisano	Rescuing insulin exocytotic deficiency in Type 2 diabetes	BBDC Postdoctoral Fellowship

 

PILOT GRANTS FOR INNOVATIVE ACTIVITIES RELATED TO DIABETES EDUCATION, MANAGEMENT, AND CARE 2010/2011

Applicants	Title of Research	Amount
Margaret De Melo Enza Gucciardi Lina Amaral Dr. Denice Feig	Exploring Sex Differences in Diabetes Preventative Care in Canada	$10,000

 

TRAINEE TRAVEL AWARDS - PERIOD 2
FOR TRAVEL OCCURRING BETWEEN JANUARY 1 AND JUNE 30, 2010

**An essential condition of all BBDC programs is the acknowledgement of BBDC support, where appropriate, in all publications relevant to the BBDC-supported research program. Failure to appropriately acknowledge the BBDC’s support in relevant publications will be considered grounds for suspending future eligibility for BBDC funding programs.

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BBDC CORE LABORATORY

The BBDC Core Laboratory provides analytical and technical support to the University of Toronto diabetes research community.  A wide range of research quality assays are provided for investigator initiated clinical or basic research as well as for industry sponsored trials. Please see the Core Laboratory section of the BBDC’s web site at http://www.bbdc.org/laboratories/index.htm for a complete description of assays and services currently available.

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

We would like to express our sincerest gratitude and appreciation to the following:

• The members of our Research Committee and our Diabetes Care and Education Committee who volunteer their time to review applications for the Centre’s funding programs and to organize educational events on behalf of the BBDC.
• The members of our Executive Committee.
• Everyone who participated in our Recent Advances in Beta Cell Biology-Scientific and Clinical Implications Satellite Symposium which was held in October 2009.
• Everyone who participated in our 21^st Annual Scientific Day which was held in May 2010.
• Everyone who participated in our Bariatric Surgery Workshop–Which Patients to Refer and Why which was held on June 11.
• Dr. Tony Lam, our 2010 Charles Hollenberg Summer Studentship Program Coordinator.
• Supporters who helped make our educational events possible over the past year: University Health Network, Bristol-Myers Squibb/AstraZeneca, Eli Lilly, Merck, Novo Nordisk, Pfizer, and Sanofi-Aventis.

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BBDC News is published in September, December, March and June of each year.
Current and past issues are available on our website.

DIRECTOR: DANIEL J. DRUCKER, MD, FRCPC
Banting & Best Diabetes Centre
Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto
Located at the Toronto General Hospital
200 Elizabeth Street
Eaton Building, 12th Floor, Room 12E248
Toronto, Ontario M5G 2C4
Phone: (416) 978-4656 • Fax: (416) 978-4108
E-mail: diabetes.bbdc@utoronto.ca • Website: www.bbdc.org