Message from Norman Rosenblum, INMD Scientific Director
December 2024
It was a pleasure to attend the Diabetes Canada/Canadian Society of Endocrinology and Metabolism Conference (DC/CSEM), which took place November 21-23, 2023, in Halifax, Nova Scotia. Congratulations to the program committee for a high scientific quality of the program. Kudos as well to Dr. Tim Kieffer from University of British Columbia and Dr. Peter Senior from the University of Alberta who delivered the opening keynote, Advances in Islet & Stem Cell Transplant: Celebrating 25 Years of the Edmonton Protocol.
Congratulations to Dr. Erin Mulvihill from the University of Ottawa, who received the Diabetes Canada and CIHR INMD - Early Career Researcher (ECR) Partnership Award, recognizing outstanding contributions in the field by an ECR. Congratulations also to Dr. David Jenkins from the University of Toronto, who was awarded the Diabetes Canada Lifetime Achievement Award for his longstanding contributions to the Canadian diabetes community and his leadership in diabetes research.
In conjunction with the DC/CSEM conference, INMD, alongside representatives from the CIHR Institutes of Genetics and Infection and Immunity, Diabetes Canada, Fonds de recherche du Québec–Santé (FRQS), Breakthrough T1D Canada (formerly JDRF Canada), hosted a mid-term meeting for the Team Grant : Diabetes Mechanisms and Translational Solutions. This meeting brought together 38 people, including funders, researchers, trainees, and patient partners from across Canada.
Following updates on progress and challenges from the Principal Investigators, Dr. Padmaja Subbarao from The Hospital for Sick Children presented on Building Sustainable Research Collaborations: Strategies for success from the CHILD study. Dr. Subbarao emphasized how the CHILD study has remained sustainable by building a strong team with meaningful relationships, investing in training, mentorship, leadership, and communication from the outset, being persistent (as research takes time), sharing leadership, and focusing on transdisciplinary science.
The meeting concluded with a panel presentation and discussions on Knowledge Mobilization for Different Audiences. The panel featured author and science journalist Bob MacDonald, CBC host of Quirks & Quarks; Stacey Johnson, Manager, Clinical and Quality Standards at Ontario Health; and Dr. Bruce Verchere, Professor from the University of British Columbia. Their presentations contained great tips and insights that stimulated engaging discussions on the challenges of communicating nuanced science to different audiences, and the importance of knowledge mobilization.
Finally, I would like to thank the representatives from our external funding partners who participated in this meeting: Russell Williams, Vice President-Mission at Diabetes Canada, Kelly Lang, Manager, Research Programs, Diabetes Canada, Sarah Linklater, Chief Scientific Officer of Breakthrough T1D Canada (formerly JDRF Canada), and Lara Green, National Manager, Research & Training Programs, Breakthrough T1D Canada (formerly JDRF Canada), and Maxime Beaudoin, Program Manager, FRQS . I would also like to thank Christopher McMaster, Scientific Director of the CIHR Institute of Genetics, as well as Erin Mulvihill, CIHR-INMD IAB, and Andre Tchernof, CIHR-INMD IAB Vice-Chair for moderating sessions.
Wishing you all a joyful and restful holiday season!
Dr. Norman Rosenblum, MD, FRCPC, FCAHS
Scientific Director
CIHR Institute of Nutrition, Metabolism and Diabetes
- Date modified: