Diabetes Pro Quarterly - Summer 2020 - 6

Membership News

Association Announces 2020 Professional
Interest Group and WIN ADA Award Recipients
The American Diabetes Association (ADA) is pleased to announce the 2020 Professional Interest Group and Women's
Interprofessional Network (WIN ADA) award recipients. These individuals have made significant scientific contributions
and demonstrated an untiring commitment to the management, prevention, and care of diabetes.

Edwin Bierman Award-Presented by the Diabetes
and Cardiovascular Disease Interest Group
Rama Natarajan, PhD, FAHA, FASN, is the
recipient of the 2020 Edwin Bierman Award.
This award recognizes a leading scientist
who has made outstanding contributions to
the field of diabetes-related macrovascular
complications and related risk factors.
Dr. Natarajan is a professor and chair of the Department
of Diabetes Complications and Metabolism at Beckman
Research Institute of City of Hope in Duarte, CA. She is a
renowned leader in the field of diabetes-related vascular
complications and a pioneer in diabetes epigenetics who has
made major contributions within these areas.
Dr. Natarajan has published more than 200 articles in
prestigious journals and received numerous awards. Her
research on epigenetics and noncoding RNAs in diabetic
vascular complications has been internationally recognized.
She was among the first to demonstrate specific epigenetic
changes (histone modifications and DNA methylation) and
key noncoding RNAs that regulate inflammatory and fibrotic
genes related to diabetic vasculopathy. Her remarkable
studies also provided clinical evidence that persistent
epigenetic changes are associated with the phenomenon of
"metabolic memory," in which periods of prior hyperglycemia
predispose people with diabetes to long-term vascular
complications, despite subsequent glucose control. She also
evaluates novel translational approaches for the treatment of
diabetic complications.
Dr. Natarajan's work has been continually funded for more
than 25 years by the National Institutes of Health (NIH).
She has served in leadership roles for the American Heart
Association, including as chair of the Women's Leadership
and Mentoring Committee, and for the American Society
of Nephrology, as well as on peer review and advisory
committees for the NIH.

Norbert Freinkel Award-Presented by the Pregnancy
and Reproductive Health Interest Group
David Simmons, MA, MB, BS, FRACP,
FRCP, MD (Cantab), is the recipient of
the 2020 Norbert Freinkel Award, given in
memory of Norbert Freinkel, a dedicated
investigator and thought leader. This
award honors a researcher who has made
outstanding contributions to the understanding and treatment
of diabetes in pregnancy.

Prof. Simmons is a professor of medicine at Western
Sydney University, Macarthur Clinical School; Head of the
Endocrinology Department at Campbelltown Hospital; and
Director of the South Western Sydney Diabetes, Obesity, and
Metabolism Translational Research Unit, in Sydney, Australia.
The author of more than 330 publications, Prof. Simmons is
one of the most prolific researchers in the field of diabetes
and pregnancy, with major studies on the epidemiology,
prevention, and management of diabetes in pregnancy.
He was the DALI (Vitamin D and Lifestyle Intervention
for Gestational Diabetes Mellitus [GDM] Prevention) Trial
coordinator, a major pan-Europe randomized control trial
to prevent GDM, and he leads the TOBOGM (Treatment
of Booking Gestational Diabetes Mellitus) trial. He was a
member of the International Association of Diabetes and
Pregnancy Study Groups and World Health Organization
groups developing the new GDM criteria.
Prof. Simmons has served in various national and
international leadership roles, including as president of the
Australasian Diabetes in Pregnancy Society. He has won
several national and international awards and has been a
mentor for many early-career investigators in the field.

Lois Jovanovic Transformative Woman in Diabetes
Award-Presented by WIN ADA
Judith E. Fradkin, MD, is the recipient of
the 2020 Lois Jovanovic Transformative
Woman in Diabetes Award. This award is
given in honor of Lois Jovanovic, MD, a
leading woman scientist in diabetes, to a
woman who has made a significant impact
in diabetes care, research, education, or public health.
As director of the Division of Diabetes, Endocrinology, and
Metabolic Diseases at the NIH's National Institute of Diabetes
and Digestive and Kidney Diseases from 2000 to 2018, Dr.
Fradkin created and directed a diverse array of high-impact
clinical and basic research programs, including multicenter
clinical trials to evaluate new approaches to prevent and
treat diabetes and its complications; scientific consortia to
define the genetic and environmental triggers of diabetes and
elucidate β-cell biology; development of continuous glucose
monitoring and artificial pancreas systems; and formation of
diabetes research centers.
Dr. Fradkin served as a role model for women in diabetes,
including scientists in the division she led, as well as
women nationwide who benefited from training and career
development programs she fostered.
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DiabetesPro Quarterly | SUMMER 2020

Diabetes Pro Quarterly - Summer 2020

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