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BBDC Newsletter

BBDC NEWS Vol. 9, No. 1 -- September 2008

UPCOMING EVENTS

BBDC SEMINAR SERIES

The BBDC will be hosting four diabetes-related seminars this year which are held in conjunction with City-wide Endocrine Rounds.  The seminars are held on selected Friday mornings from 8 to 9 a.m. at the Mount Sinai Hospital, Lebovic Building, 60 Murray Street, 3rd floor conference room.  Faculty wishing to meet with any of the visiting speakers should contact the BBDC at diabetes.bbdc@utoronto.ca .  Speakers include:

September 12, 2008  
Neonatal Diabetes: From Bedside to Bench to Bedside, or There, and Back Again
Louis H. Philipson, MD, PhD, The University of Chicago

November 7, 2008
Glucose-Lowering and CVD: What Do We Know Now?
Hertzel C. Gerstein, MD, MSc, FRCPC, McMaster University
 

January 9, 2009
Functional Kinomics and Beta Cell Function: Role of TORC2 and the AMP Kinase Family
Robert Screaton, PhD, University of Ottawa

March 6, 2009

Gs-alpha Imprinting and Metabolic Control
Lee S. Weinstein, MD, NIDDK/NIH 
 

2ND ANNUAL NATIONAL SYMPOSIUM ON INCRETIN BIOLOGY - 2008

This event will be held on Friday, November 14, 2008 at the U of T Residence, 89 Chestnut Street, Toronto.  Speakers include Drs. Maureen Charron, Joseph Bass, Gerard Karsenty, Al Powers, and Christopher Rhodes.  For the complete program and registration details, please see the symposium website at https://contact.mshri.on.ca/registration/nsoib2008/.  For further information contact Donna Doherty: 416-361-2661 or doherty@mshri.on.ca .

DIABETES UPDATE 2009

Our next DIABETES UPDATE will be held on Friday, April 3, 2009 at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre.  DIABETES UPDATE is a biannual continuing education event which is attended by over 600 health care professionals including, but not limited to, physicians, nurses, dietitians, and pharmacists from across Ontario and beyond.  Our 2009 UPDATE will focus on advances and challenges in managing diabetes in an era of choice. The program will consist of several lectures and interactive sessions, and will include international and local  speakers.  For more information, please see our course outline and topics to be covered at http://static.cmetoronto.ca/support_file/2762/Diabetes_Update_09_Ad_Final.pdf   The complete program and registration information will be available on the Faculty of Medicine Continuing Education website in the fall of 2008.

NEW VENUE FOR BBDC ANNUAL SCIENTIFIC DAY

Our Members provided feedback and we listened.  Based on the comments and suggestions made by faculty and trainees on previous Scientific Day evaluations, we are moving the event to the more spacious Old Mill Inn.  Besides the added convenience of being next to the Old Mill subway station, the new venue will provide a larger screen with unobstructed views, more space for poster presentations and meals, plus increased guest capacity which means members will no longer be turned away.  We look forward to seeing you at our 20th Annual Scientific Day on Friday, May 8, 2009 at the Old Mill Inn.

RECENT ADVANCES IN BETA-CELL BIOLOGY:  SCIENTIFIC AND CLINICAL IMPLICATIONS

This official academic satellite symposium of the International Diabetes Federation 20th World Diabetes Congress  will be held October 16-17, 2009 at the Sheraton Centre in downtown Toronto, and will highlight very recent advances in our understanding of beta cell biology with a focus on translational relevance and implications for the treatment of both type 1 and type 2 diabetes.  Speakers will include Drs. Susan Bonner-Weir, Peter Butler, Marc Donath, Yuval Dor, Ele Ferrannini, Leif Groop; Andrew Hattersley; Kevan Herold, Steven Kahn, Michael Nauck, Constantin Polychronakos, Guy Rutter, Frans Schuit, and Susumu Seino. Please view the symposium’s website at www.betacell2009.ca for more information. 


FUNDING OPPORTUNITIES

pilot grants for innovative activities related to diabetes education, management, and care 2009/2010

The Banting and Best Diabetes Centre will provide up to $20,000 per applicant for pilot projects which are one to two years in length.  This program is intended to support new research initiatives in the following general areas:
a) Diabetes care delivery
b) Evaluation of diabetes education programs, and
c) Practical issues in diabetes management

This program is designed to encourage new academic research activities that would not usually be supported by traditional granting processes.  Specifically, we invite applications from frontline diabetes health care professionals working in University of Toronto affiliated institutions or working with University of Toronto faculty.  To be eligible, the principal applicant must be a health care professional whose primary appointment is with a University of Toronto affiliated institution or with the University of Toronto.  Eligible applicants include: physicians; nurses; dietitians; pharmacists and others on the front line of diabetes care.  Staff at both fully and community affiliated University of Toronto institutions are eligible to apply.  Interested individuals are asked to submit a 1-page letter of intent and a 1-page proposed budget to the BBDC by Monday, September 29, 2008.   For complete award details and application instructions, please see the FUNDING OPPORTUNITIES section of the BBDC’s web site at http://www.bbdc.org/fundingOpp/index.htm.

TRAINEE TRAVEL AWARDS – PERIOD 1
FOR TRAVEL OCCURRING BETWEEN JULY 1 AND DECEMBER 31, 2008

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, 2008 to present a first-author abstract.  The content of the abstract must be directly related to an area of diabetes research.  To be eligible, applicants must be registered graduate students, post-doctoral or clinical fellows conducting diabetes research at the University of Toronto or one of its affiliated institutions.  The trainee’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., October 7, 2008.  For complete award details and application instructions please see the FUNDING OPPORTUNITIES section of the BBDC’s web site at http://www.bbdc.org/fundingOpp/index.htm.

EQUIPMENT GRANTS FOR DIABETES RESEARCH 2008/2009

This is a biannual funding program.  A minimum amount of $5,000 and a maximum amount of $30,000 is available from the Banting and Best Diabetes Centre  to be used for the purchase of specific laboratory equipment for diabetes research.  To be eligible the principal applicant and all co-applicants must be full-time faculty members of the University of Toronto conducting diabetes research, and must also be registered members* of the BBDC.  The deadline for receipt of applications is Tuesday, October 28, 2008. For complete award details and application instructions please see the FUNDING OPPORTUNITIES section of the BBDC’s web site at http://www.bbdc.org/fundingOpp/index.htm.

DIABETES EDUCATOR OF THE YEAR AWARD 2008

Each year the BBDC presents one award to an individual who has demonstrated outstanding efforts and achievements in his/her role as a diabetes educator.  This award is meant to recognize those who educate at the patient/client and community/professional levels.  Candidates must be nominated for the award by a health care professional. To be eligible, the nominee must be a full-time or part-time diabetes educator or other health care professional employed by a University of Toronto-affiliated institution.  The nominee must have a minimum 3 years of full-time or part-time experience as a diabetes educator.  The deadline for receipt of nominations is Tuesday, November 25, 2008.   For complete award details and nomination instructions, please see the FUNDING OPPORTUNITIES section of the BBDC’s website at http://www.bbdc.org/fundingOpp/index.htm.

Upcoming Funding Opportunities:

  • BBDC Post-doctoral Fellowships 2009/2010 (application deadline January 2009)
  • Charles Hollenberg Summer Studentship Program 2009 (application deadline January 2009)
  • Annual Trainee Awards 2008/2009 (application deadline February 2009)

* 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.


AWARD RESULTS**

GRADUATE STUDENTSHIPS

The following have been offered a one-year studentship commending September 2008:

BBDC-Novo Nordisk Studentships:

Applicant Supervisor Title of Research

Margot Arntfield

Dr. Derek van der Kooy

Characterization and Expansion of Adult pancreas-derived Multipotent Precursors

George Bikopoulos

Dr. Maria Rozakis-Adcock

Control of hepatic gluconeogenesis through the transcriptional coactivator PHIP

Gary Chao

Dr. Philippe Poussier

The identification and mapping of disease related pre-T1D phenotypes using the BioBreeding rat model

Diana Choi

Dr. Minna Woo

The role of Fas in pancreatic B-cells in type 1 diabetes

Gregory Gaisano

Dr. Michael Wheeler

Identifying Novel Interactors of Incretin Hormone Receptors

Hui Jun (June) Guo

Dr. Adria Giacca

Treatments with insulin and insulin sensitizers of atherosclerosis and restenosis

Ellen Koo

Dr. Herbert Gaisano

Elucidating the roles of Syn-2 and Syn-3 in insulin granule-granule fusion underlying compound exocytosis

Khajag Koulajian

Dr. Adria Giacca

Mechanisms of Oxidative Stress Mediated Beta Cell Glucotoxicity and Lipotoxicity in Vivo

Kimberly Kyle

Dr. Marc Grynpas

Studies of DDP4/CD26 gene deletion on the skeleton of wild type and KO mice

Ekta Lakhani

Carol Westall

Association between functional markers and structural retinal changes in adolescents with Type 1 Diabetes

Rachel Masters

Dr. Anthony Hanley

Associations of whole grain and cereal fibre intake with inflammatory and prothrombotic proteins in diabetic and non-diabetic subjects

Laura Sardone

Dr. Marc Grynpas

Effect of Rosiglitazone Treatment on Bone Loss and Bone Quality in Rat Models of Type 2 Diabetes and Osteoporosis.

Meghan Sauvé

Dr. Daniel Drucker

The role of DPP-4 inhibition in the cardiovascular system

Adam Sirek

Dr. Dominic Ng &
Dr. Tianru Jin

Transcriptional Regulation of ChREBP Expression:  Controlling a Key Player in Lipogenesis

Sobia Sultan

Dr. Michael Wheeler

Beta-cell function in beta-cell specific Uncoupling Protein-2 (UCP2) knock-out mice

Liyuan Wang

Dr. Minna Woo

The in vivo Role of Neuronal PI3K Signaling in Modulating Adipocyte Differentiation and Systemic Insulin Sensitivity

Jessica Yue

Dr. Mladen Vranic &
Dr. Adria Giacca

Diminished counterregulation to hypoglycemia in diabetes:  Impact of somatostatin receptor type 2 inhibition

BBDC-University Health Network Graduate Awards:

Applicant Supervisor Title of Research

Nathan Chang

Dr. Herbert Gaisano

FRET Analysis of SNARE-K+ channel interaction reveals their actions in insulin secretion

Madhu Chari

Dr. Tony Lam

Hypothalamic Glucotoxicity and Nutrient Sensing

Grace Cheung

Dr. Tony Lam

Mechanisms of small intestinal nutrient sensing

Taila Hartley

Dr. Allen Volchuk

Examining the role of ER stress in Pancreatic beta-cell apoptosis

Garry Thomas

Dr. I. George Fantus

Insulin Sensitivity is Enhanced Through Jun NH2-Terminal Kinase Inhibition by Guanylate Cyclase/cGMP/Protein Kinase G Signalling in Rat Adipocytes

Tamarack Graduate Award in Diabetes Research:

Applicant Supervisor Title of Research

Geoffrey Paltser

Dr. Hans-Michael Dosch

Lymphocytes in adipose tissue control obesity and insulin resistance

Yow Kam-Yuen Graduate Scholarship in Diabetes Research:

Applicant Supervisor Title of Research

Madura Siva

Dr. Allen Volchuk

Examining the role of ER stress in pancreatic beta-cell dysfunction

** 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.


BBDC Membership is free and open to individuals involved in full or part-time diabetes research, education, and patient care and employed at the University of Toronto or its affiliated institutions. (E.g. scientists, physicians, nurses, dietitians, pharmacists, and other allied health care professionals.) Staff at both fully and partially affiliated institutions are eligible to apply for membership. For more information about BBDC Membership, please view the MEMBERSHIP section of our web site at http://www.bbdc.org/membership/index.htm.

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

DIRECTOR: DANIEL J. DRUCKER, MD, FRCPC
Banting and 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