Top researchers, clinicians and educators will be recognized at the 79th Scientific Sessions for outstanding leadership and work to advance diabetes research, prevention, care and treatment.
The American Diabetes Association (ADA) is proud to announce the recipients of the ADA’s 2019 National Scientific and Health Care Achievement Awards. Individually and collectively, their exemplary leadership, mentorship and many achievements have advanced the field of diabetes care and improved health outcomes for people living with diabetes.
“This year’s National Scientific and Health Care Achievement Award recipients are distinguished global leaders in research, clinical care and academic medicine. Collectively, their incredible contributions and research discoveries have informed on important management strategies that helped us decrease the incidence of many serious complications of diabetes, address co-morbidities and improve quality of life for the millions of people living with diabetes,” said William T. Cefalu, MD, Chief Scientific, Medical and Mission Officer of the ADA. “Congratulations to this year’s honorees, and we look forward to recognizing them in-person next month for their extraordinary work.”
The following leaders will be recognized at the National Scientific and Health Care Achievement Awards Ceremony on Monday, June 10, at 10:10 a.m. PT, during the ADA’s 79th Scientific Sessions, June 7-11, 2019, at the Moscone Convention Center in San Francisco. Several award winners will present award lectures, as noted.
Banting Medal for Scientific Achievement
Stephen O’Rahilly, MD
Professor of Clinical Biochemistry & Medicine and Head of the Department of Clinical Biochemistry at the University of Cambridge
Banting Medal Lecture: Treasure Your Exceptions—Studying Human Extreme Phenotypes to Illuminate Metabolic Health and Disease, Sunday, June 9
Outstanding Scientific Achievement Award
Sadaf Farooqi, MB, ChB (Hons), PhD
Wellcome Trust Principal Research Fellow and Professor of Metabolism and Medicine at the Wellcome-MRC Institute of Metabolic Science, University of Cambridge, UK
Outstanding Scientific Achievement Award Lecture: Obesity and the Biology of Weight Regulation, Monday, June 10
Albert Renold Award
Rudolf L. Leibel, MD
Christopher J. Murphy Memorial Professor of Diabetes Research, Professor of Pediatrics and Medicine, Head of the Division of Molecular Genetics, and Co-Director of the Naomi Berrie Diabetes Center at Columbia University
Outstanding Achievement in Clinical Diabetes Research Award
John B. Buse, MD, PhD
Verne S. Caviness Distinguished Professor, Chief of the Division of Endocrinology, Director of the Diabetes Center, Director of the NC Translational and Clinical Sciences Institute, and Executive Associate Dean for Clinical Research at the University of North Carolina School of Medicine
Outstanding Educator in Diabetes Award
Virginia Valentine, APRN, BC-ADM, CDE, FAADE
Diabetes Specialist, Clinica La Esperanza; Faculty, University of New Mexico; and Faculty, Endocrinology TeleECHO Clinic (Endo ECHO)
Outstanding Educator in Diabetes Award Lecture: The Most Important Thing We Give to People is Hope— Overcoming Stigma in Diabetes and Obesity, Saturday, June 8
Outstanding Physician Clinician in Diabetes Award
David C. Klonoff, MD, FACP, FRCP Edin, Fellow AIMBE
Medical Director of the Diabetes Research Institute at Mills-Peninsula Medical Center and Clinical Professor of Medicine at the University of California, San Francisco
Harold Rifkin Award for Distinguished International Service in the Cause of Diabetes
Juliana C.N. Chan, MB, ChB, MD, FRCP
Professor of Medicine and Therapeutics and Founding Director of the Hong Kong Institute of Diabetes and Obesity at the Chinese University of Hong Kong
Kelly West Award for Outstanding Achievement in Epidemiology
Elizabeth Mayer-Davis, PhD
Cary C. Boshamer Distinguished Professor of Nutrition and Medicine and Chair of the Department of Nutrition at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Kelly West Award Lecture: Improving Outcomes—Translating Epidemiology to Clinical Trials, Sunday, June 9
The American Diabetes Association’s 79th Scientific Sessions, the world’s largest scientific meeting focused on diabetes research, prevention and care, will be held June 7-11, 2019, at the Moscone Center in San Francisco, California. More than 11,000 leading physicians, scientists and health care professionals from around the world are expected to convene at the Scientific Sessions to unveil cutting-edge research, treatment recommendations and advances toward a cure for diabetes. During the five-day meeting, attendees will receive exclusive access to more than 850 presentations and 2,000 original research presentations, participate in provocative and engaging exchanges with leading diabetes experts, and can earn Continuing Medical Education (CME) or Continuing Education (CE) credits for educational sessions. The program is grouped into eight thematic areas: Acute and Chronic Complications; Behavioral Medicine, Clinical Nutrition, Education and Exercise; Clinical Diabetes/Therapeutics; Epidemiology/Genetics; Immunology/Transplantation; Insulin Action/Molecular Metabolism; Integrated Physiology/Obesity; and Islet Biology/Insulin Secretion. Gretchen Youssef, MS, RDN, CDE, President of Health Care and Education, will deliver her address, “It’s All about Access!,” on Saturday, June 8, and Louis H. Philipson, MD, PhD, FACP, President of Medicine and Science, will address attendees on Sunday, June 9. Join the Scientific Sessions conversation on social media using #ADA2019.
About the American Diabetes Association
Approximately every 21 seconds, someone in the United States is diagnosed with diabetes. Nearly half of the American adult population has diabetes or prediabetes, and more than 30 million adults and children are living with the disease. The American Diabetes Association (ADA) is the nation’s leading voluntary health organization on a mission to prevent and cure diabetes, as well as improve the lives of all people affected by the disease. For nearly 80 years, the ADA has driven discovery by funding research to treat, manage and prevent all types of diabetes, while working relentlessly for a cure. Magnifying the urgency of this epidemic, the ADA works to safeguard policies and programs that protect people with the illness, those at risk of developing diabetes and the health care professionals who serve them by initiating programs, advocacy and education efforts that can lead to improved health outcomes and quality of life.
