Session Information
Session Information
Session 1: Opening Session
Friday, July 19, 2024
11:00 AM — 11:15 AM
Lauren Kim, Allison Kim, and Dr. Jason Kim
The Opening Session introduces the Diabetes Virtual Camp team (Lauren Kim, Allison Kim, and Dr. Jason Kim) and discusses the program goals, session format, Zoom policies, learning objectives, pre-session Q&A period, and post-session tasks of our program.
Session 2: Introduction to Diabetes
Friday, July 19, 2024
11:15 AM — 12:15 PM
Dr. Jason Kim
University of Massachusetts Chan Medical School
This session introduces diabetes: different types and diagnostic criteria of diabetes, characteristic features of type 1 and type 2 diabetes, diabetic complications and co-morbidities, the importance of glucose homeostasis and how insulin regulates glucose metabolism, insulin resistance and pre-diabetes, and progressive events during the development of type 2 diabetes. The session further discusses how to prevent and manage type 2 diabetes using lifestyle modifications (diets and exercise) and different drugs for treating diabetes.
Session 3: A Career in Diabetes Research as a Physician-Scientist
Monday, July 22, 2024
11:00 AM — 11:35 AM
Dr. Raghu Mirmira
University of Chicago
I will talk about how my career was influenced by my mentors and how my career path progressed to evolve into a “bench-to-bedside” approach to finding new treatments and cures for people living with diabetes. My session will end with a discussion of some of my most exciting research, which has allowed me to develop a drug that was screened in a fish model of diabetes, then progressed to mouse models, and is now the focus of a new company that is bringing the drug to human clinical trials.
Session 4: NIH Support for Diabetes Researchers and People with Diabetes
Monday, July 22, 2024
11:40 AM — 12:15 PM
Dr. Maren Laughlin
National Institutes of Health
This session will provide an overview of the NIH, its roles in providing health information for patients, funding research that provides health information as well as new therapies for diabetes, and training for young researchers. Its relationship with the U.S. government, universities, the American people, and researchers around the world will be described.
Session 5: Pancreatic Beta Cell Regeneration: Perspectives of a Physician-Scientist
Wednesday,
July 24, 2024
11:00 AM — 11:35 AM
Dr. Laura Alonso
Weill Cornell Medical College
As a physician-scientist studying ways to regenerate pancreatic beta cells to restore the body’s capacity to make insulin, I have the best job in the world. Each week I spend some of my time helping patients try to keep their diabetes under control using existing therapies, and the rest of my time leading a research laboratory seeking better treatments. In this session I’ll review the path to becoming a physician-scientist, along with some of our advances in beta cell biology.
Session 6: A Parallax View of Type 1 Diabetes
Wednesday
July 24, 2024
11:40 AM — 12:15 PM
Dr. Carmella Evans-Molina
Indiana University School of Medicine
Type 1 diabetes occurs when the immune system becomes activated against the pancreatic β cells, leading to deficiency of the hormone insulin and chronically elevated blood glucose levels. Our research is focused on understanding the molecular pathways in the β cells that contribute to type 1 diabetes development, with the goal of targeting these pathways to help preserve insulin secretion in those with or at risk of type 1 diabetes.
Session 7: Role of mRNA Modifications in Diabetes
Friday, July 26, 2024
11:00 AM — 11:35 AM
Dr. Rohit Kulkarni
Harvard Medical School
Recent studies suggest that changes in the decoration of the mRNA molecule are important in metabolism. For example, they can directly regulate proteins to alter the ability of insulin-secreting cells to survive and/or to improve insulin secretion. How these changes play a role in the initiation and progression of diabetes will be discussed.
Session 8: Adapting to Metabolic Stress
Friday, July 26, 2024
11:40 AM — 12:15 PM
Dr. Alan Saltiel
University of California San Diego
This session will discuss how metabolically active cells control energy storage and utilization in response to hormones and nutrients in health and disease.
Session 9: Insulin - 100 Years Old: Trying to Figure Out How It Works and How to Make It Better
Monday, July 29, 2024
11:00 AM — 11:35 AM
Dr. C. Ronald Kahn
Harvard Medical School
When Banting and Best discovered insulin in 1921, they had no idea of what the molecule really was. Since that time, many other important researchers, including several who won the Nobel prize, have figured out what insulin is, and how to improve it for human therapy. It’s has been 50 years since the discovery of the insulin receptor, the first step in insulin signaling. We are still learning how this process works and what goes wrong in type 2 diabetes. These topics will be discussed during the session.
Session 10: Type 2 Diabetes in Youth: Differences from Adults
Monday, July 29, 2024
11:40 AM — 12:15 PM
Dr. Leslie Soyka
University of Massachusetts Chan Medical School
Type 2 Diabetes (T2D) is a more aggressive disease when the onset is in youth compared with onset in adulthood. This session will review the key findings from published multi-center clinical trials and observational studies including Treatment Options for Type 2 Diabetes in Youth (TODAY), the Search for Diabetes in youth (SEARCH) study and the Restoring Insulin Secretion (RISE) study. This session will also provide an overview of approved pharmacologic therapies and strategies for managing T2D in youth.
Session 11: A Quest for Impact
Wednesday
July 31, 2024
11:00 AM — 11:35 AM
Dr. Robert Gabbay
American Diabetes Association
The field of diabetes research and care is vast. As I reflect on the nearly 40-year journey, I will share the drive to improve the lives of people affected by diabetes and maximize impact. It has been a journey from the micro to the macro. Along the way, you can see the many opportunities that being involved in the world of diabetes presents for your future career journeys.
Session 12: Good Actions of Fat Cells to Prevent and Treat Diabetes
Wednesday
July 31, 2024
11:40 AM — 12:15 PM
Dr. Barbara Kahn
Harvard Medical School
This session will focus on how adipose (fat) cells can regulate insulin sensitivity, pancreatic beta cell mass, insulin secretion, and inflammation. We will discuss how these effects can be important for both Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes.
Session 13: Obesity & Type 2 Diabetes: Marriage Made in Clinic
Friday, August 2, 2024
11:00 AM — 12:00 PM
Dr. Jason Kim
University of Massachusetts Chan Medical School
This session introduces the topic of obesity and its role in type 2 diabetes: why we are so prone to become obese and what may drive the current obesity pandemic, and hormonal regulation of body weight. The session discusses obesity as a major cause of type 2 diabetes, current paradigms explaining the molecular link, our recent findings on metabolic liver disease, and the clash between diabetes and COVID-19 involving inflammation. The session ends with a discussion on lessons from the past, how we failed to control obesity, and what we must do now and in the future to prevent obesity and type 2 diabetes.
Session 14: Preparing for a Career in Science and Medicine
Friday, August 2, 2024
12:00 PM — 12:30 PM
Dr. Jason Kim
University of Massachusetts Chan Medical School
This session introduces how high school and college students can explore their interests in science and medicine, and how college curriculum and extracurricular activities can be organized to prepare for medical school and graduate school. The session further presents a bird’s-eye view of the medical school and graduate school admissions process. The session ends with a discussion on what to expect and what challenges lie ahead in a winding path to a career in academic medicine and research, and the passion and service that define this lifelong profession.
Session 15: Closing Session
Friday, August 2, 2024
12:30 PM — 1:00 PM
Lauren Kim, Allison Kim, Dr. Jason Kim, Caroline Blanco, and Danielle Gordon
The Closing Session summarizes the program and the process of receiving a program certificate, collects attendee evaluations and polls, and discusses future opportunities.
