Homepage > BBDC Newsletter > Vol. 10, No. 2 -- December 2009

BBDC Newsletter

BBDC NEWS   Vol. 10, No. 2 -- December 2009

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APPROACH TO THE MANAGEMENT OF DIABETES MELLITUS – 7TH EDITION

This publication of the Banting & Best Diabetes Centre was recently updated with the generous help of many diabetes health care professionals at U of T-affiliated hospitals.  The new 7th edition can now be viewed on the BBDC's website at http://www.bbdc.org/diabetesmanagement/index.html.  The Approach to the Management of Diabetes Mellitus is a guide to the current concepts and management strategies practiced by health care professionals at the University of Toronto and its affiliated hospitals in the care of individuals with diabetes. It provides an outline of standards of care and special topics in diabetes and gives readers practical management strategies based on local expertise.  The publication is meant to provide practical information to help medical students, residents, physicians, diabetes educators and other health care professionals in the management of individuals with diabetes.  We would like to thank everyone who contributed to the production of this publication. 


uPCOMING EVENTS

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:

January 22, 2010

Islet Amyloid, Cellular Stress and the Loss of Beta-cells
Steven E. Kahn, MB, ChB
, University of Washington
Supported by Merck Frosst Canada

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

U OF T DIABETES AND ENDOCRINOLOGY UPDATE FOR FAMILY PHYSICIANS 2010

Save the date.  The University of Toronto’s Division of Endocrinology & Metabolism together with the Banting & Best Diabetes Centre will be hosting the first  Diabetes and Endocrinology Update for Family Physicians on Friday, April 30, 2010 at 89 Chestnut Street Conference Centre in Toronto.   The Update is an accredited, full-day continuing medical education course for family physicians.  The program will consist of plenary lectures plus interactive workshops designed to facilitate the use of insulin in primary care.  Additional diabetes and endocrine topics will include: selection of oral hypoglycemic medications; emerging treatments for osteoporosis; new lipid guidelines; thyroid disease; polycystic ovarian syndrome; BP and lipid targets; and more.  In order to ensure maximum interaction, registration will be limited to approximately 45 family physicians.  The complete program and registration information will be available soon on the  Continuing Education and Professional Development website at http://www.cepd.utoronto.ca. Search course code MED1021.

BBDC ANNUAL SCIENTIFIC DAY

Mark your calendar.  The BBDC’s 21st Annual Scientific Day will be held on Friday, May 14, 2010 at The Old Mill Inn, Toronto.  This year's Charles Hollenberg Memorial Lectureship will be presented by Dr. Alan Saltiel from the University of Michigan who will speak on the topic of Inflammatory Links Between Diabetes and Obesity.  The program will also include University of Toronto faculty and staff Drs. Richard Gilbert, David Jenkins, Tony Lam, Yi Sun and Derek van der Kooy.  The complete program and registration information will be available on the BBDC’s website in February 2010.


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.

CHARLES HOLLENBERG SUMMER STUDENTSHIP PROGRAM – 2010

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, 2010. 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.  A list of potential supervisors and their e-mail addresses is available on the BBDC’s web site at http://www.bbdc.org/pdf/2010_Potential_supervisors.doc    Students may also directly contact faculty with whom they are interested in working to discuss the possibility of a summer position.  A list of BBDC members, their diabetes research interests, and contact information can be found on the BBDC's web site at http://www.bbdc.org/research/index.htm The deadline for receipt of applications is 5 p.m., Tuesday, January 26, 2010.  For complete award details and application instructions see the following web page: http://www.bbdc.org/fundingOpp/summer.htm .

ANNUAL TRAINEE AWARDS 2009/2010

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 2, 2010.  For complete award details and abstract submission procedure, please see the following web page: http://www.bbdc.org/fundingOpp/abstract.htm .

BBDC POSTDOCTORAL FELLOWSHIPS aND
HUGH SELLERS POSTDOCTORAL FELLOWSHIP 2010/2011

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, 2010) 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 2006, or an M.D. after July 2001 and must be within their first four (4) years of postgraduate research training.  The deadline for receipt of applications is 5 p.m., Tuesday, February 23, 2010.   For complete award details and application instructions, please see the following web page: http://www.bbdc.org/fundingOpp/fellowships.htm .

ARCHIE SOPMAN DIABETES RESEARCH AND EDUCATION AWARDS 2010
(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 2010, or to support a visiting lecturer in diabetes or metabolic disorders visiting in the year 2010.  To be eligible to apply, applicants must be employed by the UHN on either a full-time or part-time basis.  Note: The principal applicant must also be a registered member* of the BBDC 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, March 23, 2010.   For complete award details and application instructions, please see the following web page:  http://www.bbdc.org/fundingOpp/sopman.htm .

TRAINEE TRAVEL AWARDS 2009/2010 (PERIOD 2)
FOR TRAVEL OCCURRING BETWEEN JANUARY 1 AND JUNE 30, 2010

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, 2010 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., Tuesday, March 30, 2010.  For complete award details and application instructions please see the following web page: http://www.bbdc.org/fundingOpp/travel.htm .

Upcoming Funding Opportunities:

The following programs will be announced in the coming months:
  • Graduate Studentships 2010/2011 (application deadline June 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**

TRAINEE TRAVEL AWARDS 2009/2010 pERIOD 1
FOR TRAVEL OCCURRING BETWEEN JULY 1 AND DECEMBER 31, 2009

The following were offered a Travel Award of up to $1,000 Canadian:

Applicant Supervisor Title of Research

Margot Arntfield

Dr. Derek van der Kooy

The Adult Mammalian Pancreas Contains Distinct Pancreatic and Neural Precursor Cells

Shlomit Boguslavsky

Dr. Amira Klip

α-Actinin4: from bundling actin filaments to acting as a “sensor” of insulin

Grace Flock

Dr. Daniel Drucker

GPR119 activation regulates glucose hemeostasis through mechanisms requiring incretin receptor activation

Claudia Gordijo

Dr. Xiao Y. Wu

A New Bio-inorganic Nanocomposite Membrane for Glucose-modulated Release of Insulin

S. Mohsen Hosseini

Dr. Andrew Paterson

Genome-wide association study of serum lipoprotein(a) concentration in the Diabetes Control and Complications Trial identifies multiple associated SNPs in addition to the kringle repeat polymorphism

Ya-Chi Huang

Dr. Herbert Gaisano

In situ a-cell electrophysiological characterizations using a novel whole pancreas tissue slice approach

Marie Jeansson

Dr. Susan Quaggin

Multiple roles of Angiopoietin-1 in Renal Health Disease

Ekta Lakhani

Dr. Carol Westall

Assessment of Neuro-Retinal Dysfunction in Adolescents with Type 1 Diabetes Using Multifocal Electroretinography

Sylvia Ley

Dr. Anthony Hanley

Assessing the association of HNF1A G319S variant with C-reactive protein among individuals with and without diabetes

George C. Liu

Dr. James Scholey

Deletion of the Gene for p47phox Attenuates Glomerular Injury in the Diabetic Akita Mouse

Adam Millar

Dr. Baiju Shah

The impact of diabetes education on blood glucose self-monitoring among older adults

Matthew Parrott

Dr. Carol Greenwood

Memory impairments associated with a high fat diet can be prevented by an insulin-sensitizing drug

Monika Patel

Dr. Carolyn Cummins

Examining the Effect of LXR Activation on Diabetic Nephropathy in db/db Mice

Rayzel Shulman

Dr. Mark Palmert

The Effects of Telemedicine for the Management of Type 1 Diabetes in Children and Adolescents: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis
Gavasker Sivaskandarjah

Dr. Susan Quaggin

Loss of local vascular endothelial growth factor-A accelerates diabetic nephropathy

** 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 website 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 (examples: 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 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