Homepage > BBDC Newsletter > Vol. 10, No. 1 -- September 2009

BBDC Newsletter

BBDC NEWS   Vol. 10, No. 1 -- September 2009

UPCOMING EVENTS

RECENT ADVANCES IN BETA CELL BIOLOGY: SCIENTIFIC AND CLINICAL IMPLICATIONS

Register today to take advantage of the low advance registration fees. 
The Banting & Best Diabetes Centre is hosting this official academic satellite symposium of the International Diabetes Federation's 20th World Diabetes Congress  will be held October 16-17, 2009 at the Sheraton Centre Toronto Hotel.  The symposium 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.  The program will include guest speakers 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, as well as poster and oral abstract presentations.  The complete program and registration information is available on the symposium web site at www.betacell2009.ca. 

BBDC SEMINAR SERIES

The BBDC will be hosting diabetes-related seminars 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 will include:

October 30, 2009

Why Insulin Matters in the Heart and Vasculature
E. Dale Abel, MD, PhD, University of Utah School of Medicine

March 5, 2010

Gut-Brain Communication as a Drug Target for Obesity
Matthias Tschöp, MD, University of Cincinnati

April 23, 2010

Translating Insights From Human Genetics Into New Therapies For Dyslipidemia
Daniel J. Rader, MD, University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine

 3RD Annual university of Toronto Symposium on Incretin Biology – 2009

This event will be held on Friday, November 27, 2009 at the MaRS Centre, 101 College Street, Toronto.  Speakers will include Drs. Patricia Brubaker, Fiona Gribble, Klaus Kaestner, and Timothy Kieffer.  For the complete program and registration details, please see the symposium website at http://contact.mshri.on.ca/registration/NSoIB2009/ .  For more information contact Donna Doherty at 416-361-2661 or doherty@lunenfeld.ca


FUNDING OPPORTUNITIES

IMPORTANT NOTICE: The University of Toronto has announced a suspension of payments, effective April 2009, for income that would normally flow from endowed investments.  Since the vast majority of BBDC annual funding comes from endowment income, this poses a huge challenge for the Centre, namely how to try and continue operations while faced with a crippling cessation of funding that normally flows from our endowments. Due to the significant loss of income, we may make changes to the Centre's funding programs until the current fiscal challenges subside.  Changes may affect the number of programs offered, the number of awards disbursed, and/or the dollar value of individual awards.

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

This program provides funding of up to $10,000 per applicant for pilot projects which are one to two years in length.  It is intended to support novel and innovative research initiatives in the following general areas:  i) Diabetes care delivery  ii) Evaluation of diabetes education programs  iii) Practical issues in diabetes management.  This Pilot Grant 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.  The principal applicant must be a registered member* of the Banting and Best Diabetes Centre.  Staff at both fully and community affiliated University of Toronto institutions are eligible to apply.  Eligible applicants include physicians, nurses, dietitians, pharmacists  and others on the front line of diabetes care.  Those interested in submitting an application must first submit a 1-page letter of intent and brief estimated budget to the BBDC by September 29, 2009.   For complete award details and application instructions, please see the following web page:  http://www.bbdc.org/fundingOpp/pilot.htm .

TRAINEE TRAVEL AWARDS 2009/2010 (PERIOD 1)
FOR TRAVEL OCCURRING BETWEEN JULY 1 AND DECEMBER 31, 2009

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, 2009 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 6, 2009.  For complete award details and application instructions please see the following web page: http://www.bbdc.org/fundingOpp/travel.htm .

REUBEN & HELENE DENNIS SCHOLAR IN DIABETES RESEARCH 2010-2012

This award is intended to support a new investigator in the early stage of his/her career.  The award provides $10,000/year for two years and is to be used for diabetes research support and/or the salary of a clinician-scientist conducting diabetes-related research.   To be eligible, the applicant must be a principal investigator who holds or will hold a full-time faculty appointment at the University of Toronto as of July 1, 2010.  Faculty are eligible for this funding normally within five years of their first faculty appointment at any university. The applicant must be conducting diabetes-related research and must be a registered member* of the Banting and Best Diabetes Centre, although membership is not required for those who do not currently hold a U of T faculty appointment but expect to by July 1, 2010.  The deadline for receipt of applications is 5 p.m., October 27, 2009.  For complete award details and application instructions please see the following web page: http://www.bbdc.org/fundingOpp/dennis&new.htm .

DIABETES EDUCATOR OF THE YEAR AWARD 2009

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.  Educators at both fully and community affiliated University of Toronto institutions are eligible to be nominated.  The nominee must have a minimum 3 years of full-time or part-time experience as a diabetes educatorThe deadline for receipt of nominations is Tuesday, November 24, 2009.   For complete award details and nomination instructions please see the following web page: http://www.bbdc.org/fundingOpp/educator.htm .

Upcoming Funding Opportunities:

The following programs will be announced in the coming months:
  • Charles Hollenberg Summer Studentship Program 2010 (application deadline January 2010)
  • Annual Trainee Awards 2009/2010 (application deadline February 2010)
  • Post-doctoral Fellowships 2010/2011 (application deadline February 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 .


AWARD RESULTS**

gRADUATE AWARDS 2009/2010

BBDC Graduate Studentships:
Student Supervisor(s) Title of Research

Kevin Foley

Dr. Amira Klip

Cellular regulation of Na+-K+-ATPase traffic in response to insulin treatment under normal and insulin resistant conditions.

Hui Jun (June) Guo

Dr. Adria Giacca

Treatment of restenosis and atherosclerosis with insulin and insulin sensitizers.

Khajag Koulajian

Dr. Adria Giacca

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

Kimberly Kyle

Dr. Marc Grynpas

Comparative Analysis of the Effects of Pharmacological Inhibition vs Genetic Ablation of DPP-4 Activity on Murine Bone Quality

Michelle McFarlane

Dr. Carol Westall

Short-wavelength electroretingram (sERG) abnormalities in adolescents with Type 1 Diabetes and no clinically evident retinopathy

Andrew Mulherin

Dr. Patricia Brubaker

Mechanism of action of metformin to stimulate GLP-1 secretion

Monika Poreba

Dr. Patricia Brubaker

Role of CD36 in the stimulatory effects of fatty acids on glucagon-like peptide-1 secretion

Laura Sardone

Dr. Marc Grynpas

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

Gavasker Sivaskandarajah

Dr. Susan Quaggin

The paradoxical role of angiogenesis and diabetic complications

Stephanie Tung

Dr. Denise Belsham

Glucose sensing neurons: Regulation of Neuropeptide Synthesis by Glucose

BBDC-University Health Network Graduate Awards:
Student Supervisor(s) Title of Research

Safina Ali

Dr. Daniel Drucker

Role of the GLP-1 receptor in the metabolic phenotype of the Gcgr-/- mice
Wing Chee (Grace) Cheung Dr. Tony Lam Mechanisms of Small Intestinal CCK Signaling

Joshua Columbus

Dr. Tianru Jin

Expression and Function of TCFs in Pancreatic and Intestinal Endocrine Cells
Andrea Kokorovic Dr. Tony Lam Mechanisms of small intestinal nutrient sensing

Ying Kwan Aaron Ming

Dr. Jonathan Rocheleau

Revealing the mechanism behind glucose modulated beta-cell coupling in pancreatic islets

Anu Shah

Dr. I. George Fantus

The role of TxNIP in the development of ROS in presence of high glucose, Angiotensin II, and/or TGF-β

Madura Siva

Dr. Allen Volchuk

Examining the role of homocysteine-inducible ER stress protein (Herp) in the ER stress response of pancreatic beta cells

Akansha Tiwari

Dr. Allen Volchuk

Role of SDF2L1 and protein O-mannosylation in pancreatic beta-cells

POSTDOCTORAL FELLOWSHIPS 2009/2010

The BBDC Fellowships in Diabetes Care have been made possible by a $100,000 contribution from Eli Lilly Canada as well as the efforts of and cooperation from the University Health Network.  We are grateful to both Eli Lilly Canada and the University Health Network for their generous support.

Applicant Supervisor(s) Title of Research Award

Weijuan Shao

Dr. Tianru Jin

Role of crosstalk between insulin and Wnt signaling pathways in GLP-1 production BBDC Fellowship in Diabetes Care

Dongzhe Song

Dr. Gary Lewis

Effects of CB1 receptor modulation on whole body and tissue specific insulin sensitivity BBDC Postdoctoral Fellowship

Yi Sun

Dr. Amira Klip

Crossover of Two Signalling Pathways in Insulin Action:  The Missing Link Regulating GLUT4? BBDC Fellowship in Diabetes Care

Ravi Vellanki

Dr. Allen Volchuk

The Role of OASIS in Endoplasmic Reticulum Stress Signaling in Pancreatic Beta Cells. BBDC Fellowship in Diabetes Care

Dan Zhu

Dr. Herbert Gaisano

Rescuing insulin exocytotic deficiency in Type 2 diabetes BBDC Postdoctoral Fellowship

** 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 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.


BBDC Membership is free and open to individuals involved in full or part-time diabetes research, education, and patient care who are 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