BBDC Newsletter
| BBDC NEWS | Vol. 9, No. 2 -- December 2008 |
|---|
DIRECTOR'S UPDATE: BBDC SUPPORT FOR TRAINEES A PRIORITY
Supporting trainees involved in diabetes research has always been a high
priority for the Banting and Best Diabetes Centre. The number of
post-doctoral fellows, graduate students and summer students who
received support from the BBDC has been steadily increasing over the
years. Indeed, as a
percentage of our annual funding expenditures, support for students,
postdoctoral fellows, and new investigators, accounts for the majority
of funds disbursed by the BBDC.
As members of the BBDC are aware, current global economic conditions are
posing major challenges at many levels to individuals and organizations
that depend on realization of interest or dividend income to fund
ongoing operations. The University of Toronto has announced a likely
suspension of payments, effective April 2009, for income that would
normally flow from endowed investments. As
the vast majority of BBDC annual funding flows from payouts from
investment income, this poses a huge challenge for the BBDC, namely how
to try and continue operations while faced with a crippling cessation of
funding that normally flows from our endowment. The BBDC Executive will
consider many scenarios and will need to make some changes in the number
of programs and the funding available for such programs until the
current fiscal challenges subside. We have a modest amount of financial
flexibility due to our funding structure that will allow some of our
programs to continue. The BBDC will continue to communicate openly with
our community, and all our financial statements will, as in the past,
continue to be published annually on our Website to ensure transparency.
Despite the global economic uncertainty and the impact it may have on
the University’s financial operations, the BBDC remains committed to
supporting trainees at all levels.
At times like these, it is important to remember that the storm
clouds will pass, and we must not allow our students and fellows to make
important career decisions based on temporary periods of fiscal
uncertainty. Hence we will do everything we can to preserve the programs
directed at support of our trainees over the next few years.
With best wishes for the approaching holiday season.
Sincerely, Daniel Drucker
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 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
DIABETES UPDATE 2009 -
ADVANCES AND CHALLENGES IN
MANAGING DIABETES IN AN ERA OF CHOICE
Registration is now open! DIABETES UPDATE 2009 will be held on Friday, April 3, 2009 at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre. This 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. The program will consist of several lectures and interactive sessions and will include guest speakers Dr. Shazhan Amed and Ms. Josephine Deeks as well as local health care professionals Dr. Gillian Booth, Dr. Denice Feig, Mr. Henry Halapy, Dr. Amir Hanna, Dr. Bruce Perkins, Dr. Sharon Straus, Dr. Sheldon Tobe, and Dr. Catherine Zahn. The complete program and registration information are available on the Faculty of Medicine Continuing Education web page at http://events.cmetoronto.ca/website/index/BDC0901 .
ANNUAL SCIENTIFIC DAY
The BBDC’s 20th Annual Scientific Day will be held on
Friday, May 8, 2009 at The Old
Mill Inn, Toronto. This
year’s guest speaker will be Dr.
Bruce Spiegelman from Harvard Medical School
who will speak on the topic of Transcriptional Control of Adipogenesis
and Energy Homoestasis. The program will also include
University of
Toronto faculty and staff Drs. Denise Belsham, Gary Lewis, Alexey Podcheko, Ravi Retnakaran, and
Minna Woo. The complete
program and registration information will be available in February 2009.
SYMPOSIUM REGISTRATION NOW OPEN!
RECENT ADVANCES IN BETA-CELL BIOLOGY: SCIENTIFIC
AND CLINICAL IMPLICATIONS
Registration is now open.
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. Participants will be invited to submit abstracts for oral and
poster presentations of research relevant to the symposium themes.
Detailed information regarding abstract guidelines and submission
deadlines will be available in early January 2009.
Please go to the symposium website at
www.betacell2009.ca for
more information and to register for this event.
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.
The Core Laboratory will collaborate with the investigator to
establish new assays to carry out and enhance diabetes-related research
at the University. Please
see the Core Laboratory section of the BBDC’s website at
http://www.bbdc.org/laboratories/index.htm for a complete
description of assays and services currently available.
FUNDING OPPORTUNITIES
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 has been extended to January 12, 2009. For complete award details and nomination instructions, please see the following web page: http://www.bbdc.org/fundingOpp/educator.htm .
BBDC POSTDOCTORAL FELLOWSHIPS
and
HUGH SELLERS POSTDOCTORAL FELLOWSHIP 2009/2010
The Banting and
Best Diabetes Centre (BBDC) will be awarding a number of post-doctoral
fellowships to candidates at the post-PhD
or post-health professional degree stages. The one-year fellowships
(normally commencing on July 1, 2009) 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 2005, or an M.D. after
July 2000 and
must be within their first four (4) years of postgraduate research
training. The
deadline for receipt of applications is 5 p.m., Tuesday, January 20,
2009.
For
complete award details and application instructions, please see the
following web page:
http://www.bbdc.org/fundingOpp/fellowships.htm .
CHARLES HOLLENBERG SUMMER STUDENTSHIP PROGRAM 2009
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, 2009. 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 5 p.m., Tuesday, January 27, 2009.
For complete award details and application instructions see the
following web page:
http://www.bbdc.org/fundingOpp/summer.htm .
ANNUAL TRAINEE AWARDS 2008/2009
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 abstract submission. Winners
will receive their prizes at the BBDC Annual Scientific Day to be held
on Friday, May 8,
2009
at The Old Mill Inn, Toronto.
The deadline for
receipt of abstracts is
5
p.m., Tuesday,
February 3,
2009.
For complete award
details and abstract submission procedure,
please see the following webpage:
http://www.bbdc.org/fundingOpp/abstract.htm
.
ARCHIE SOPMAN DIABETES RESEARCH AND EDUCATION
AWARDS 2009
(Funding Program For University Health Network
Employees Only)
This funding program is only open to University Health
Network (UHN) staff physicians,
dietitians, nurses, social workers, pharmacists, scientists, research
technicians, or clinical trial coordinators who are involved in diabetes
research, education, or clinical care. Funding is
available for travel to one national or international diabetes
meeting occurring in the year 2009, or to support a visiting lecturer in
diabetes or metabolic disorders visiting in the year 2009.
To be eligible to apply, applicants must be employed by the UHN
on either a full-time or part-time basis.
NEW:
The principal applicant must also be a registered member*
of the Banting and Best Diabetes Centre at the time of application
submission. Those who are
working at a UHN site but are not paid employees of the UHN are not
eligible to apply. Research
and clinical fellows, residents, graduate and undergraduate students are
not eligible to apply.
The deadline for
receipt of applications is 5 p.m., Tuesday, February 24, 2009.
For complete award details and application instructions, please see the
following webpage:
http://www.bbdc.org/fundingOpp/sopman.htm .
PILOT
AND FEASIBILITY GRANTS 2009/2010
The program provides funding of up to $30,000 per applicant, for one year, to enable eligible investigators to explore new initiatives in the area of diabetes research. This funding is not to be used as bridging or emergency funding, nor is it intended as funding for ongoing studies. To be eligible, the principal applicant must be a full-time faculty member of the University of Toronto. The principal applicant must also be a registered member* of the Banting and Best Diabetes Centre at the time of application submission. The following individuals would qualify for grant support:
- New faculty members who have not yet obtained their own independent funding.
- Established investigators in non-diabetes related fields who are entering into new pilot and/or feasibility studies related to diabetes.
- Established
investigators in an area related to diabetes research who are
proposing new pilot and/or feasibility diabetes-related studies that
are completely unrelated to current lines of research.
Applicants must be exploring a completely new research direction
entirely unrelated to their current or past research.
The deadline for receipt of applications is 5 p.m., Tuesday, March 10,
2009.
For complete award details and application instructions, please see the
following webpage:
http://www.bbdc.org/fundingOpp/pilotfeas.htm
TRAINEE TRAVEL AWARDS – PERIOD 2
FOR TRAVEL OCCURRING BETWEEN JANUARY 1 AND JUNE 30,
2009
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, 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
* 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, 2008
The following have been offered a Trainee Travel Award of up to
$1,000 Canadian:
|
Name |
Supervisor(s) |
Abstract Title |
|
Taila Hartley |
Dr. Allen Volchuk |
Analysis of the ER Stress Response in an INS-1 Pancreatic Beta-Cell
Clone Expressing an Inducible Folding Deficient Insulin 2 (C96Y) Gene |
|
Sayed Mohsen Hosseini |
Dr. Andrew Paterson |
Genome-wide association study of intraocular pressure in 1304
diabetic individuals |
|
Joanne Hsieh |
Dr. Khosrow Adeli |
Glucagon-Like Peptide-2 (GLP) Stimulates Intestinal ApoB48-Containing
Lipoprotein Overproduction via CD36 |
|
Ya-Chi Huang |
Dr. Herbert Gaisano |
A study of glucagon secreting cells by a novel whole pancreas tissue
slice approach: NADH
desensitization of alpha cell KATP channel contributes to
glucose-inhibited glucagon release. |
|
Marie Jeansson |
Dr. Susan Quaggin |
Angiopoietin-1 is critical for vascular development and renal repair
in diabetes mellitus |
|
Lina Lauffer |
Dr. Patricia Brubaker |
Oleoylethanolamide stimulates glucagon-like peptide-1 secretion from
the intestinal L cells in a GPR119 receptor-dependant manner |
|
Sylvia Hyunji Ley |
Dr. Anthony Hanley |
The Metabolic Syndrome and Incident Type 2 Diabetes in an Aboriginal
Canadian Population |
|
Gareth Lim |
Dr. Patricia Brubaker |
The Rho GTPase, Cdc42, regulates glucagon-like peptide-1 secretion
from the enteroendocrine L cell |
|
Andrei Oprescu |
Dr. Adria Giacca |
Bisperoxovanadate Prevents Fat-Induced Beta-Cell Dysfunction in Vitro
and In Vivo |
|
Angela Rutledge |
Dr. Khosrow Adeli |
Mechanisms Targeting Apolipoprotein B100 to Proteasomal degradation:
Roles of the ER Chaperone, BIP, and the Cytosolic AAA-ATPASE, p97 |
|
Adam Sirek |
Dr. Dominic Ng and Dr. Tianru Jin |
Transcriptional Regulation of ChREBP: Controlling a Key Player in
Lipogenesis |
|
Tracy Teodoro |
Dr. Allen Volchuk |
Analysis of the Activity of Some Naturally Occurring Protein Variants
of the ATF6 Endoplasmic Reticulum Stress Sensor |
|
Garry Thomas |
Dr. I. George Fantus |
Bradykinin acts via Soluble Guanylate Cyclase/cGMP/cGMP-Dependent
Protein Kinase to Blunt Insulin-Mediated Phsphorylation of JNK |
|
Robert Hugh Wallace |
Dr. Philippe Poussier |
Type 1 Diabetes in the BBDP Rat; A Complex Polygenic Disease |
|
Ling Xia |
Dr. I. George Fantus |
The Tyrosine Kinase Src is a Critical Mediator of High
Glucose-induced EGF Receptor (EGFR) Transactivation, MAPK
Phosphorylation and Collagen Accumulation in Mesangial 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 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