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BBDC Newsletter

Vol. 6, No. 3 -- March 2006

UPCOMING BBDC EVENTS 

NEW LONG-ACTING INSULIN ANALOGUES 
AN ADVANCED WORKSHOP FOR DIABETES EDUCATORS

The BBDC will be hosting this workshop on Friday, April 21, 2006 from 12:00 to 3:15 p.m., at Mount Sinai Hospital.  Educators responsible for diabetes education centre staff training are invited to attend (i.e. nurse managers; hospital pharmacists/practice leaders; clinical nurse managers). To limit the size to 30 registrants, this workshop is being offered to diabetes education centre managers/senior staff at University of Toronto fully and partially affiliated hospitals only, and no more than 2 staff members per hospital diabetes education centre should attend.  The registration fee is $25 per person and the deadline for registration is Friday, April 7.  The complete program and registration form are available on the BBDC’s website at http://www.bbdc.org/educationalAct/Workshop.htm.  The BBDC would like to thank Novo Nordisk Canada and Sanofi-Aventis for providing an unrestricted educational grant for partial support of this event.

BBDC SEMINAR SERIES

Friday, April 28, 2006:  Dr. David E. Cummings (Associate Professor of Medicine, University of Washington, Seattle) will be speaking on “Roles For Ghrelin in the Regulation of Body Weight and Glucose Homeostasis” at City-wide Endocrine Rounds.  The seminar will be held from 8 to 9 a.m. at the Mount Sinai Hospital, Private Dining Room, 2nd level below main.  The BBDC wishes to thank Merck Frosst Canada for providing an unrestricted educational grant for Dr. Cummings’ visit.

ANNUAL SCIENTIFIC DAY 2006

The BBDC’s 17th Annual Scientific Day will be held on Friday, May 12, 2006 from 8:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. at Vaughan Estate, The Estates of Sunnybrook. This year’s Charles Hollenberg Lecture will be presented by guest speaker Dr. Jens Juul Holst, Professor, Department of Medical Physiology, University of Copenhagen, The Panum Institute, Denmark.  His presentation is entitled “GLP-1 Based Therapy of Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus”.  The program will also include University of Toronto faculty and staff:  Drs. Patricia Brubaker, Adria Giacca, Jacqueline Koehler, Michael Wheeler and Thomas Wolever.  BBDC postdoctoral fellowship and graduate studentship recipients will present posters of their work, and winners of the Annual Trainee Awards Competition will be announced.  This event is open and free to BBDC Members and their trainees, however, registration is required by Wednesday, April 26. The complete program and registration form are available on the BBDC’s website at http://www.bbdc.org/educationalAct/scientificDay.htm. The BBDC would like to thank the following sponsors for partial support of this event:  MERCK FROSST CANADA LTD., AstraZeneca Canada, Eli Lilly Canada Inc., GlaxoSmithKline, and LifeScan Canada.  Prizes and plaques for the Annual Trainee Awards provided by Novo Nordisk Canada Inc.

 

FUNDING OPPORTUNITIES

graduate studentships competition

1. BBDC-Novo Nordisk Studentships (OSOTF)
2. Tamarack Graduate Award in Diabetes Research (OSOTF)
3. Yow Kam-Yuen Graduate Scholarship in Diabetes Research (OSOTF)

The BBDC is accepting applications for the above graduate studentships competition.  Students need only submit one application to be considered for all three awards.  To be eligible to apply, the applicant must be a full-time graduate student in the Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto who is carrying out studies in diabetes research.  The student's supervisor (and co-supervisor if applicable) must be a full-time faculty member of the University of Toronto and a member* of the Banting and Best Diabetes Centre.  In accordance with the OSOTF guidelines, the applicant must demonstrate financial need and must be either a Canadian citizen or have "permanent residence" status in Ontario by August 31, 2006.  The deadline for receipt of applications is 3 p.m., Tuesday, June 6, 2006.  For complete award details and application instructions, please see the FUNDING OPPORTUNITIES section of the BBDC’s website at http://www.bbdc.org/fundingOpp/index.htm. (OSOTF = Ontario Student Opportunity Trust Funds)

 

* Faculty who are new to the field of diabetes research and are not members of the BBDC can request free membership by contacting the Centre prior to submitting an application.  To be eligible for BBDC Membership, one must hold a full time faculty appointment with the University of Toronto and must be involved in diabetes research.  For more information about BBDC Membership, please view the MEMBERSHIP section of our web site.

 

AWARD RESULTS**

ARCHIE SOPMAN DIABETES RESEARCH AND EDUCATION AWARDS

The following have been offered an Archie Sopman Diabetes Research and Education Award to attend a national or international diabetes-related conference in 2006:

Applicant	U.H.N. Location and Position	Award
Ms. Lynn Baughan	Nurse Clinician, Diabetes Toronto General Hospital	Up to $1000
Ms. Marianne Beckstead	Clinical Nurse Specialist, Diabetes Toronto General Hospital	Up to $1000
Ms. Krista Burns	Dietitian Toronto Western Hospital	Up to $1000
Ms. Kathy Camelon	Practice Leader, Clinical Nutrition Toronto General Hospital	Up to $500
Ms. Joyce Chan	Clinical Pharmacist Toronto Western Hospital	Up to $1000
Ms. Kathy Cohen	Registered Dietitian Toronto Western Hospital	Up to $500
Ms. Ann Cook	Diabetes Educator Toronto Western Hospital	Up to $500
Ms. Margaret De Melo	Professional Practice Leader, Clinical Dietitian Diabetes Educator Toronto Western Hospital	Up to $1000
Ms. Anne Guilar	Clinical Dietitian Toronto General Hospital	Up to $500
Ms. Elizabeth Karaskov	Research Technician Toronto General Hospital	Up to $1000
Ms. Doreen Klar	Clinical Dietitian Toronto Western Hospital	Up to $500
Ms. Lorna Lawrence	Clinical Dietitian Toronto Western Hospital	Up to $500
Ms. Louisa Li	Clinical Dietitian Toronto Western Hospital	Up to $1000
Ms. Kitty Mak	Diabetes Nurse Educator Toronto Western Hospital	Up to $1000
Ms. Ann Murphy	Clinical Dietitian Toronto General Hospital	Up to $1000
Ms. Ana Offenheim	Diabetes Nurse Educator, Patient Care Coordinator, Toronto Western Hospital	Up to $500
Ms. Mary T. Weiland	Clinical Dietitian, Diabetes Educator Toronto Western Hospital	Up to $500
Ms. Martha Wright	Nurse Clinician, Diabetes  Toronto General Hospital	Up to $1000

DIABETES EDUCATOR OF THE YEAR 2005

The following nominee has been selected to receive the first annual Diabetes Educator of the Year Award for 2005.  The award will be presented to the recipient at the Toronto Diabetes Association's Annual Meeting to be held on Wednesday, May 3, 2006 at Mount Sinai Hospital.

Nominee	Award
Helen E. Jones, RN, MSN, CDE Clinical Nurse Specialist Manager, Leadership Sinai Centre for Diabetes Mount Sinai Hospital	$2,000

REUBEN AND HELENE DENNIS SCHOLAR IN DIABETES RESEARCH and 
new investigator awards for diabetes research

The following have been offered funding:

Applicant	Title of Research	Award
Dr. Gillian Booth	Gender-Related Differences in Diabetes Susceptibility:  The Relative Contribution of Social, Environmental, and Lifestyle Factors	Dennis Scholar Award $10,000 for 2006/2007 $10,000 for 2007/2008
Dr. Esteban Parra	Application of Admixture Mapping to Identify Type 2 Diabetes Susceptibility Genes	New Investigator Award $20,000 for 2006/2007 $20,000 for 2007/2008
Dr. Allen Volchuk	Examining Anti-Diabetic Properties of Oleanolic Acid in Pancreatic ß-cells	New Investigator Award $20,000 for 2006/2007 $20,000 for 2007/2008

Award results are also posted in the Funding Opportunities section of this website. 

**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 in relevant publications will be considered grounds for suspending future eligibility for BBDC funding programs.  

 

OTHER NEWS

DR. JACQUELINE JAMES RECOGNIZED FOR EXCELLENCE IN COURSE COORDINATION

Congratulations to Dr. Jacqueline James for being selected as this year's co-recipient of the Faculty of Medicine, Colin R. Woolf Award for Excellence in Continuing Education, Course Coordination for DIABETES UPDATE 2005 - Combination Therapies in the Management of Diabetes.  This highly successful, bi-annual continuing education event was held in April 2005 at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre and was attended by over 650 diabetes health care professionals from across Ontario and beyond.  Dr. James who is the Chair of our Diabetes Care and Education Committee, has been committed to organizing continuing education events in diabetes for the Centre for more than nine years.   We are truly grateful to have a person as dedicated as Dr. James is to providing high quality and relevant educational opportunities for diabetes health care professionals.  The award will be presented to Dr. James at the Faculty of Medicine Awards Ceremony in the spring of 2006. 

MAINTAINING BBDC MEMBERSHIP STATUS

Each January, the BBDC asks all members to provide a 1-paragraph description of their diabetes research highlights and references of papers published in the previous calendar year.  At the same time, members are also asked to update their diabetes research profile and contact information if changed.  The information provided is posted in the RESEARCH AT THE UNIVERSITY section of the BBDC’s website  (http://www.bbdc.org/research/index.htm) and is viewed by industry, the general public, and potential trainees interested in diabetes research.  It is the only method the BBDC uses to keep track of the diabetes research activities of our members. 

 Effective January 2006, in order to maintain BBDC membership status, members are required to provide the information described above for the BBDC’s website each January upon request.  Provision of both items is now a pre-requisite for maintaining eligibility for BBDC membership and funding:

1. Annual diabetes research highlights.  BBDC members must forward one or two brief descriptions of their diabetes research carried out, and if applicable, published during each calendar year.
2. Diabetes research profile and contact information.  Members are required to keep their diabetes research profiles and contact information current.

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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