Homepage > BBDC Newsletter > Vol. 8, No. 2 -- December 2007

BBDC Newsletter

Vol. 8, No. 2-- December 2007

BBDC APPLICATION DELIVERY ADDRESS CHANGE

 

Important notice for those submitting applications for the following BBDC funding programs:

  • BBDC Postdoctoral Fellowships & Hugh Sellers Postdoctoral Fellowship(application deadline: January 15, 2008)
  • Pilot Grants for Innovative Activities Related to Diabetes Education, Management, and Care (application deadline: January 22, 2008)
  • Charles Hollenberg Summer Studentship Program  (application deadline: January 29, 2008)
  • Annual Trainee Awards  (application deadline: January 29, 2008)

Due to unexpected delays, the BBDC's move to the Eaton Wing at the Toronto General Hospital has been changed to early February.  Therefore, applications for the above funding programs should be delivered to the BBDC's current location on the 4th floor of the Max Bell Research Centre, and NOT to the 12th floor Eaton Wing as previously announced and indicated on the application forms.   Please address application forms, reference letters, transcripts, etc., for the above programs to our current address:

Banting and Best Diabetes Centre
Located at the Toronto General Hospital
200 Elizabeth Street
Max Bell Research Centre 4th Floor, Room 4R402 Research 2
Toronto, Ontario  M5G 2C4

Correspondence which has already been addressed and mailed to the Eaton Wing will be redirected to our current location.  We regret any confusion or inconvenience this may cause.

 

WEBSITE: WWW.BBDC.ORG

2006-2007 aNNUAL REPORT 

The BBDC’s annual report for the year ending June 30, 2007 is now available in PDF format in the ‘Annual Report’ section of our web site at http://www.bbdc.org/annualReport/index.htm.  The comprehensive report includes a financial statement of operations which details how our funds are generated and spent in support of diabetes research, training and education.  The report also describes the Centre’s funding programs, lists the year’s award recipients, and highlights the educational activities hosted by the BBDC during the past year.

 

UPCOMING EVENTS

BBDC SEMINAR SERIES

The BBDC will be hosting the following 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 416-978-4656 or at diabetes.bbdc@utoronto.ca

January 25, 2008
Fatty Acids and Pancreatic Beta-cell Function
Vincent Poitout, PhD
University of Montréal

April 18, 2008    
Regeneration of the Pancreatic Beta Cells:  The Role of Pancreatic Progenitors
Susan Bonner-Weir, PhD
Joslin Diabetes Center; Harvard Medical School

19TH ANNUAL SCIENTIFIC DAY

Mark your calendar.  The BBDC’s 19th Annual Scientific Day will be held on Friday, May 9, 2008 at Vaughan Estate, at the Estates of Sunnybrook.  The program will include presentations from this year’s guest speaker, Dr. Gerald Shulman, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, as well as University of Toronto faculty and staff. The complete program and registration information will be available in early 2008.

BBDC TO HOST SATELLITE MEETING

We are delighted to announce that the Banting and Best Diabetes Centre will be hosting an official satellite meeting of the International Diabetes Federation 20th World Diabetes Congress in 2009 on Recent Advances in Beta-Cell Biology: Scientific and Clinical Implications.  The meeting will be held October 16-17, 2009 in downtown Toronto.  More details will be provided in the spring of 2008.

 

FUNDING OPPORTUNITIES

BBDC POSTDOCTORAL FELLOWSHIPS AND HUGH SELLERS FELLOWSHIP 2008/2009

The Banting and Best Diabetes Centre will be awarding a number of postdoctoral fellowships, including one Hugh Sellers Postdoctoral Fellowship to qualified applicants.  The one-year fellowships (normally commencing on July 1, 2008) are to be used for full-time research training in diabetes.  To be eligible, the candidate's proposed supervisor must hold a full-time faculty appointment with the University of Toronto and must be conducting diabetes research.  The proposed supervisor must be a registered member* of the BBDC at the time of application submission.  Candidates must have received a Ph.D.  after July 2004, or an M.D. after July 1999 and must be within their first four (4) years of postgraduate research training.  The deadline for receipt of applications is 4 p.m., Tuesday, January 15, 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.

ANNUAL TRAINEE AWARDS 2007/2008

Undergraduate students, graduate students, and postdoctoral fellows are invited to submit an abstract for the BBDC’s Annual Trainee Awards competition.  The abstract must be directly related to an area of diabetes research, and the trainee must be first author.  The trainee’s supervisor must hold a full-time faculty appointment with the University of Toronto, and must be conducting diabetes research.  The trainee’s supervisor must also be a registered member* of the BBDC at the time of application submission.  Winners will receive their prizes at the BBDC Annual Scientific Day to be held on Friday, May 9, 2008 at Vaughan Estate (The Estates of Sunnybrook).  The deadline for receipt of abstracts is 4 p.m., Tuesday, January 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.

CHARLES HOLLENBERG SUMMER STUDENTSHIP PROGRAM 2008

This program provides an opportunity for qualified undergraduate and/or medical students to carry out full-time summer research in diabetes in the laboratory of a member* of the BBDC.  Successful students will be required to work for a minimum of 12 weeks between May 1 and August 31, 2008. The proposed supervisor must hold a full-time faculty appointment with the University of Toronto, and must be conducting diabetes research.  The proposed supervisor must also be a registered member* of the BBDC at the time of application submission.  To find a supervisor, students should approach professors with whom they are interested in working to discuss the possibility of a summer position.  A list of BBDC members, their research interests, and contact information can be found on the BBDC’s web site at http://www.bbdc.org/research/profiles.htm .   This competition is not restricted to University of Toronto students.  The deadline for receipt of applications is 4 p.m., Tuesday, January 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.

ARCHIE SOPMAN DIABETES RESEARCH AND EDUCATION AWARDS 2008
For University Health Network Employees Only

This funding program is only open to University Health Network staff physicians, dietitians, nurses, social workers, pharmacists, scientists, research technicians, or clinical trial coordinators who are involved in diabetes research, education, or clinical care.  Applicants must be employed by the University Health Network on either a full-time or part-time basis.  Funding is available for travel to one national or international diabetes meeting occurring in the year 2008, or to support a visiting lecturer in diabetes or metabolic disorders visiting in the year 2008.  Please note that research fellows, clinical fellows, students, and those working at a U.H.N. site but are employed by the University of Toronto or other institution are not eligible to apply.  The deadline for receipt of applications is 4 p.m., Tuesday, February 19, 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 2
FOR TRAVEL OCCURRING BETWEEN JANUARY 1 AND JUNE 30, 2008

A limited number of travel awards of up to $1,000 (Canadian) are available to trainees who will be traveling to a national or international meeting between January 1 and June 30, 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 4 p.m., March 26, 2008For 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.

Upcoming Funding Opportunities:  
The following funding programs will announced and information posted on our web site in March 2008:

  • Graduate Studentships 2008-2009

* 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**

TRAINEE TRAVEL AWARDS – PERIOD 1
FOR TRAVEL OCCURRING BETWEEN JULY 1 AND DECEMBER 31, 2007

The following have each been offered a Trainee Travel Award of up to $1,000 Canadian:

Name

Supervisor

Abstract Title

Abdullah Alguwaihes

Dr. Baiju Shah

There Is No Association Between Level of Education and Health Care System Utilization by Diabetic Patients

George Bikopoulos

Dr. Maria Rozakis-Adcock

Ex vivo transcriptional profiling of human pancreatic islets following chronic exposure to monounsaturated fatty acids

Roman Iakoubov

Dr. Patricia Brubaker

Retrograde intracolonic infusion of free fatty acids as a novel approach to directly stimulate GLP-1 release by rat intestinal L-cells in vivo

Shuhei Ishikura

Dr. Amira Klip

Rabs 8A and 14, but not Rab8B are Required for GLUT4 Translocation in L6 Muscle Cells

Alexandra Koshkina

Dr. Amira Klip

Filamin involvement in insulin action

Elida Lai

Dr. Allen Volchuk

Role of Endoplasmic Reticulum Stress in Palmitate-Induced Apoptosis in Pancreatic Beta-Cells

Andrew Lee

Dr. Maria Rozakis-Adcock

Identification of a Novel Cytoskeletal Protein That Binds and Regulates IRS1 Signalling in Muscle Cells

Elodie Masson

Dr. George Fantus

TxNIP-deficient Mice are Resistant to Streptozotocin-induced Diabetes

Abigale Miller

Dr. Khosrow Adeli

Dietary cholesterol induces chronic LXR activation leading to dyslipidemia and development of an insulin resistant state:  Evidence for synergistic interaction with dietary fat and fructose

Andrei Oprescu

Dr. Adria Giacca

In vivo Salicylate Treatment Prevents Beta-Cell Dysfunction Induced by Prolonged Lipid Infusion:  A Potential Role for Inflammation in Beta-Cell Lipotoxicity

Alexey Podcheko

Dr. Maria Rozakis-Adcock

Identification of a WD-40 Repeat-containing Isoform of PHIP as  a Novel Regulator of Beta-cell Growth and Survival

Simon Smukler

Dr. Derek van der Kooy

The Adult Mouse And Human Pancreas Contain Insulin-Expressing Multipotent Stem Cells

Qiaozhu Su

Dr. Khosrow Adeli

Co-translational misfolding and endoplasmic reticulum accumulation of apolipoprotein B induced hepatic insulin resistance

Jane Sun

Dr. Tianru Jin

Canonical Wnt and mTOR Signalling Pathways are Both Involved in Insulin-Stimulated Cell Proliferation and c-myc Expression in Intestinal Epithelia

Tracy Teodoro

Dr. Allen Volchuk

Oleanolic Acid Enhances Insulin Secretion and Content in INS-1 Pancreatic Beta Cells

** 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
Max Bell Research Centre, 4th Floor, 4R402
Toronto, Ontario M5G 2C4
Phone: (416) 978-4656 • Fax: (416) 978-4108
E-mail: diabetes.bbdc@utoronto.ca • Website:
www.bbdc.org