BBDC Newsletter
Vol. 8, No. 1-- September 2007
ANNOUNCEMENTS
NEW BBDC-UNIVERSITY HEALTH NETWORK PARTNERSHIP
An innovative new partnership between the University Health Network and the University of Toronto ’s Banting & Best Diabetes Centre will enhance diabetes education, research and patient care. A major focus of the new BBDC-UHN collaboration will be the provision of additional resources for graduate students and research fellows working with UHN-based investigators. There are also plans for expanding joint fundraising efforts and support of islet and stem cell biology. To review the August 3 press release describing this new initiative, please see http://www.news.utoronto.ca/bin6/070803-3322.asp .
BBDC MOVING IN THE FALL OF 2007
The administrative offices of the Banting and Best Diabetes Centre will be relocating to the 12th floor of the Eaton Wing, Toronto General Hospital in the fall of 2007. The move will likely occur sometime in November, and the exact date will be announced and posted on our website as soon as it is known. Please check the home page of the BBDC’s website www.bbdc.org or call (416) 978-4656 to confirm the address prior to submitting an application for a funding program or visiting the Centre.
FIRST EVER C&SS/CDA LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD TO BE PRESENTED TO DR. MLADEN VRANIC
Congratulations to Dr. Mladen Vranic (Professor of Physiology and Medicine, and longstanding BBDC member) who has been selected to receive the first C&SS/CDA Lifetime Achievement Award. In the Fall of 2006, the Clinical and Scientific Section (C&SS) of the Canadian Diabetes Association (CDA) supported the implementation of a new award recognizing Canadian achievement for a lifetime of commitment to research excellence. The award is bestowed upon a Canadian MD or PhD medical scientist who is recognized and nominated by his/her peers for long-standing contribution to the Canadian diabetes community, and who is a leader in diabetes research. The award will be presented to Dr. Vranic at the 2007 CDA/CSEM Professional Conference and Annual Meetings to be held in Vancouver , October 24 - 27, 2007.
UPCOMING EVENTS
BBDC SEMINAR SERIES
The BBDC will be hosting four diabetes-related seminars this year 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 . Speakers include:
November 2, 2007
DPP-4 Inhibitors as a Novel Incretin-based Antidiabetic Therapy - Pathophysiological and Pharmacological Background and Clinical Results
Michael Nauck, MD, PhD
Diabetes Centre, Bad Lauterberg , Germany
December 14, 2007
Molecular and Neural Mechanisms of Leptin Action
Martin G. Myers, Jr., MD, PhD
University of Michigan Medical School
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
National Symposium on Incretin Biology
This event will be held on Friday, November 16, 2007 at the U of T Residence, 89 Chestnut Street , Toronto . Speakers include Drs. Doris Stoffers, David D’Alessio, Frans Schuit, Chris McIntosh, and Ralph DeFronzo. For more information and registration details, please see https://contact.mshri.on.ca/Registration/NSoIB2007/ or e-mail Donna Doherty at doherty@mshri.on.ca
FUNDING OPPORTUNITIES
pilot grants for innovative activities related to diabetes education, management, and care
The Banting and Best Diabetes Centre will provide up to $20,000 per applicant for pilot projects which are one to two years in length. This program is intended to support new research initiatives in the following general areas: a) Diabetes care delivery; b) Evaluation of diabetes education programs; and c) Practical issues in diabetes management. This 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 to apply, the principal applicant and all co-applicants must be full-time health care professionals working at a University of Toronto-affiliated institution or with University of Toronto faculty. Eligible applicants include: Full-time physicians; nurses; dietitians; pharmacists and others on the front line of diabetes care. Full-time staff at both fully and partially affiliated University of Toronto institutions are eligible to apply. Interested individuals are asked to submit a one-page letter of intent and estimated budget to the BBDC by Tuesday, September 25, 2007. 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 1
FOR TRAVEL OCCURRING BETWEEN JULY 1 AND DECEMBER 31, 2007
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 July 1 and December 31, 2007 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., October 2, 2007. For complete award details and NEW application instructions please see the FUNDING OPPORTUNITIES section of the BBDC’s web site at http://www.bbdc.org/fundingOpp/index.htm.
1) NEW INVESTIGATOR AWARDS FOR DIABETES RESEARCH (2008-2010) and
2) REUBEN & HELENE DENNIS SCHOLAR IN DIABETES RESEARCH (2008-2010)
Up to three awards are available for new investigators to be used for diabetes research support and/or the salary of a clinician-scientist conducting diabetes-related research. The New Investigator Awards provide funding of $20,000/year for two years, and the Dennis Scholar award provides $10,000/year for two years. 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, 2008. 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, 2008. The deadline for receipt of applications is 4 p.m., Tuesday, October 30, 2007. 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.
DIABETES EDUCATOR OF THE YEAR AWARD (2007)
Each year the BBDC will present one award to a diabetes educator 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 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 4 p.m., November 27, 2007. For complete award details and nomination instructions, please see the FUNDING OPPORTUNITIES section of the BBDC’s website 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 October:
- BBDC Post-doctoral Fellowships 2008/2009
- Charles Hollenberg Summer Studentship Program 2008
-
Annual Trainee Awards 2007/2008
* 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 STUDENTSHIPS
The following have been offered a one-year studentship commencing September 2007:
BBDC/Novo Nordisk Studentships:
Applicant |
Supervisor(s) |
Title of Research |
Margot Arntfield |
Dr. Derek van der kooy |
Characterization and expansion of Pancreas-derived Multipotent Precursors |
Diana Choi |
Dr. Minna Woo |
Investigating the role of PTEN in the spontaneous development of type 1 diabetes |
Gregory Gaisano |
Dr. Michael Wheeler |
Metabolic NADPH Production and the Regulation of the Delayed Rectifier Potassium Channels in Beta Cells |
Sylvia Ley |
Dr. Anthony Hanley |
Adipokines and prediction of incident diabetes in an Aboriginal Canadian population |
Sandra Pereira |
Dr. Adria Giacca |
Effects of prolonged free fatty acid elevation on hepatic insulin sensitivity |
Katherine Rowland |
Dr. Patricia Brubaker |
Role of insulin-like growth factor-1 and its receptor in glucagon-like peptide-2-associated intestinal adaptation in diabetes |
Meghan Sauvé |
Dr. Daniel Drucker |
The role of DDP-4 inhibition in the cardiovascular system |
Tracy Teodoro |
Dr. Allen Volchuk |
Examining naturally occurring ATF6 variants and their functional properties in pancreatic beta-cells |
Garry Thomas |
Dr. George Fantus |
Role of Src in the Complications of Diabetes |
Linyuan Wang |
Dr. Minna Woo |
The role of hypothalamic and pancreatic beta cell PTEN in type 2 diabetes models |
Jessica Yue |
Dr. Mladen Vranic and |
Mechanism of diminished counterregulation to hypoglycemia: Impact of antagonizing somatostatin receptor type 2 |
Tamarack Graduate Award in Diabetes Research:
Applicant |
Supervisor |
Title of Research |
Carol Lam |
Dr. Tony Lam |
CNS nutrient sensing, food intake and glucose homeostasis |
Janice Sarmiento |
Dr. Philippe Poussier |
Investigating the contribution of allelic variation in PTPN22 to Type 1 Diabetes Susceptibility in the BioBreeding Rat |
Yow Kam-Yuen Graduate Scholarship in Diabetes Research:
Applicant |
Supervisor |
Title of Research |
Joseph Chan |
Dr. Herbert Gaisano |
Molecular Mechanisms of Sequential and Compound Insulin Exocytosis |
Jane Sun |
Dr. Tianru Jin |
Examination of Crosstalks Between Insulin and Wnt Signaling Pathways |
Award results are also posted in the Funding Decisions section of the BBDC’s web site.
** 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
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