What Can Pancreatic Cell Transplants Do For People With Diabetes Today? How are new technologies enabling women to better manage diabetes during pregnancy? Could science soon prevent type 1 diabetes completely?
These are just a few questions that diabetes experts from around the world addressed in a series of online presentations marking the 100th anniversary of the discovery of insulin at the University of Toronto.
The presentations are free and available to anyone registering for the university’s Insulin100 Scientific Symposium, which will culminate in live online panel discussions on April 15-16. More than 4,500 people have signed up for the event, which will focus on managing diabetes and its complications, tips on improving patient care, and putting the latest research into practice.
“It is gratifying to see the interest that has really come from all over the world,” he said Daniel Drucker, Chairman of the Organizing Committee of the Symposium and Professor in the Medical Department of the Temerty Faculty of Medicine and Senior Researcher at Sinai Health’s Lunenfeld-Tanenbaum Research Institute.
“It was a bit of a disappointment going virtual after years of planning, but the upside is that we reach thousands, not hundreds.”
Drucker, who recently received the Gairdner International Award for his research, said the feedback on the recorded presentations has been positive. Many thank you for the brevity of the discussions – they last around 25 minutes on average – and for the fact that they are held by experts from all over the world.
Daniel Drucker, chair of the organizing committee of the Insulin100 Scientific Symposium and professor in the medical division, says the online format of the event means it will reach thousands of people instead of hundreds (photo by Johnny Guatto).
The journal of the European Association for Diabetes Research, Diabetologia, has selected 13 symposium speakers to write review articles and publishes them with links to the Insulin100 videos.
The live discussions will feature many of the same speakers, with each panel moderated by a U of T faculty member and a trainee.
Topics on the first day will include the discovery of insulin, advances in autoimmunity of beta cells and islets, and the use of insulin in the real world. The latter event is hosted by Jacqueline James, Professor at the medical faculty, with four speakers:
- John Buse, Professor and Executive Associate Dean of Clinical Research in the University of North Carolina’s School of Medicine, was President of Medicine and Science for the American Diabetes Association
- Irl Hirsch, past chair of the American Diabetes Association’s Professional Practice Committee, has researched best practices for insulin therapy and better technology in diabetes
- Jean Claude Mbanya, Professor of Medicine and Endocrinology at the Faculty of Medicine and Biomedicine at Yaoundé 1 University, is Honorary President of the International Diabetes Federation and from 1997 to 2012 Chairman of the Insulin Task Force
- Hannele Yki-Järvinen, Professor of Medicine at the Medical Faculty of the University of Helsinki and Head of the Department of Diabetes at the Central Hospital of the University of Helsinki, studies insulin resistance in patients
The live event will also introduce young researchers. Four young researchers receive awards that recognize and support their work, including Steven Millership from Imperial College of London, Rebecca Cheung and Grazia Pizza, Marie Pigeyre from McMaster University and Aviroop Biswas, an assistant professor at U of T’s From the Lana School of Public Health.
Eight postdocs and doctoral students present their research results and receive awards to finance their studies.
Saad KhanOne of the winners is a fourth-year graduate student in immunology who studies the links between the immune system, inflammation, and obesity in metabolic disorders.
Khan and colleagues recently found that B cells located in the gut and liver contribute to the insulin resistance associated with obesity in mice. He will present these results along with other findings relating this work to intestinal permeability, pathogenic bacteria, and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease in patients.
“The event is a platform to showcase the research I’ve been working on for several years, so I’m excited about it,” said Khan, whose academic director he is Daniel Winer, Assistant Professor of Laboratory Medicine and Pathobiology and Immunology with a laboratory on the University Health Network.
Khan said he will be attending the live panels on both days and is looking forward to the intense educational experience they offer.
“Toronto is a great place for new frontiers in diabetes and metabolism research, and I love the story of Banting and Best,” said Khan. “As a PhD student and Canadian, that’s very motivating.”
