Diabetes Pro Quarterly - Spring 2021 - 2

A Word from ADA's Chief Scientific & Medical Officer

Dear Colleagues,
I am delighted to share with you some of the American Diabetes Association's (ADA's) recent impactful efforts on
behalf of people with diabetes.
In 2020, we pivoted our research portfolio to become more targeted in our approach. This initiative enabled us
to fund timely and critical research on COVID-19. Ten projects were selected and funded from a field of more
than 200 applications. These projects aim to further our understanding of the impact of COVID-19 on people
with diabetes in a variety of ways, including identifying biomarkers for disease severity; elucidating metabolic
contributors to organ failure; investigating the role of adipose tissue; characterizing and understanding the
immune response; using genetics to determine risk; and assessing the influence of sex, metabolic disease, and
inflammation on COVID-19 disease severity.
One area of great interest is the early reported potential of COVID-19 to lead to the development of new cases of
diabetes. Some of our funded research projects are tackling this issue in a variety of ways, from understanding the
impact of the coronavirus on human pancreatic endocrine cells to investigating β-cell survival and function after
COVID-19 infection. Overall, this research will have long-term implications in improving our understanding of the
fate of cells related to diabetes. I am eager to share the final results of these studies once they are complete later this
summer. Early results promise to spark important new ideas that can be applied to diabetes science more broadly.
While we are intently supporting research into both COVID-19 and health disparities, we are also continuing to
fund other important projects, including our many junior career and training awards. Investing in early-career diabetes
professionals is a focus we will maintain moving forward. Our aim is to uplift, support, mentor, and secure the next
generation of professionals as they prepare to care for the millions of people living with diabetes and prediabetes.
The 81st Scientific Sessions will be June 25-29, 2021, and I couldn't be more excited. As you know, based on Centers
for Disease Control and Prevention recommendations, we will be delivering what I believe is the greatest diabetes
meeting in the world virtually once again. Last year's meeting set a high standard for future virtual meetings, but our
team is still busy identifying ways we can outdo ourselves this time. The Scientific Sessions Planning Committee has
done an outstanding job identifying critically important areas of science and health care, with outstanding speakers,
posters, and the always-important late-breaking abstracts on up-to-the-minute research. This year, all registered
attendees will receive access to the content for 90 days, as we felt strongly that people need to be able to learn on their
own terms and have the ability to absorb the information over time. All attendees will have the opportunity to earn
34.25 continuing education credits for the live meeting, and up to 340 credits will be available in the post-meeting
archive. I encourage you to register and join me at this meeting, where we celebrate the best in science and innovative
care delivery in the field of diabetes. Research presented during the meeting will be disseminated to approximately
75,000 health professionals who attend the meeting, access the on-demand meeting archives, explore the curated
collections, and gather information on ADAMeetingNews.org.
The ADA is committed to improving care, supporting research, and helping
people with diabetes thrive. You can find a variety of our resources online,
from webinars to abstracts to podcasts. I encourage you to peruse our
DiabetesPro website (professional.diabetes.org) to learn more about the
work we do, the informative content we provide, and the ways we are pushing
the field of diabetes forward on behalf of all those affected by diabetes and
those who care for them.
Robert Gabbay, MD, PhD,
ADA Chief Scientific & Medical Officer

DiabetesPro Quarterly | SPRING 2021

http://www.ADAMeetingNews.org http://professional.diabetes.org

Diabetes Pro Quarterly - Spring 2021

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Diabetes Pro Quarterly - Spring 2021