Programme Committee

The World Diabetes Congress 2015 Vancouver Programme Committee is composed of the following members:

Programme Committee Chair

 Bernard Zinman is Director of the Leadership Sinai Centre for Diabetes and holds the Sam and Judy Pencer Family Chair in Diabetes Research at Mount Sinai Hospital and the University of Toronto, Canada. He is Professor of Medicine at the University of Toronto and Senior Scientist at  the Samuel Lunenfeld Research Institute, Mount Sinai Hospital. Dr Zinman was Director of the  Banting and Best Diabetes Centre (1993-2000) and is involved with diabetes care and research at  both national and international levels. Dr Zinman is the Principal Investigator of the University of  Toronto Centre and Vice Chair for the DCCT/EDIC (Diabetes Control and Complications  Trial/Epidemiology of Diabetes Interventions and Complications) study. Dr Zinman completed his    medical degree at McGill University, where he also received his postgraduate training in internal medicine. He undertook further training at the University of Toronto in Endocrinology.

Dr Zinman has authored more than 400 publications in national and international journals, and over 60 book chapters and editorials. He is the recipient of numerous awards including the Charles H. Best Medal for Distinguished Service in the Cause of Diabetes (awarded to the DCCT Investigators), the Alois Beringer Lecture Award, the Frederick G. Banting Award and the Gerald S. Wong Service Award of the Canadian Diabetes Association (CDA). In August 2003, Dr Zinman delivered the Banting and Best Memorial Lecture at the International Diabetes Federation’s World Diabetes Congress in Paris, France. In 2006, Dr Zinman received the American Diabetes Association’s Outstanding Physician Clinician Award. In 2009, Dr Zinman was awarded the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Canadian Diabetes Association and the Novartis Prize in Diabetes and in 2010 he delivered the Charles H. Best Lecture at the Toronto Diabetes Association’s Annual Scientific Meeting. Most recently, in December 2011, Dr Zinman was appointed to the Order of Canada, in recognition of his achievements in diabetes patient care and research.

His main research interests include the long-term complications of diabetes mellitus, the development of new therapies for Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes, diabetes in Aboriginal communities, and studies directed at the prevention of diabetes.

Stream Lead, Basic and Clinical Science

Steven Kahn, MB, ChB, is professor of medicine in the Division of Metabolism, Endocrinology  and Nutrition at the VA Puget Sound Health Care System and University of Washington, Seattle.  Additionally, he is director of the Diabetes Research Centre at the University of Washington.

 Dr Kahn received his medical school training at the University of Cape Town in South Africa. He did fellowships in endocrinology and metabolism with the Diabetes and Endocrine Research Group  in the Department of Medicine at the University of Cape Town and the Division of Metabolism,  Endocrinology and Nutrition at the University of Washington. Dr Kahn’s research interests include  the role of beta-cell function in the pathogenesis and treatment of prediabetes and type 2 diabetes.  He has performed physiological studies characterizing beta-cell function in individuals with diabetes and those at increased risk and is an active participant in a number of large multicentre clinical trials in which interventions are being tested to prevent and treat type 2 diabetes.  Aside from his clinical studies, he has an extensive basic research programme examining the role of islet amyloid in the loss of ß-cells in type 2 diabetes.

Among his numerous awards for his research are the Novartis Young Investigator in Diabetes Award, American Diabetes Association Distinguished Clinical Scientists Award, The Endocrine Society Clinical Investigator Award and the United States Department of Veterans Affairs John B. Barnwell Award. He is an elected member of the American Society for Clinical Investigation and the American Association of Physicians, and currently serves as associate editor of the Journal of Diabetes and Its Complications. He has published more than 400 manuscripts in peer-reviewed journals and numerous reviews and book chapters related to his research.

Stream Lead, Diabetes in Indigenous Peoples

Malcolm King, a member of the Mississaugas of the New Credit First Nation, is a health researcher at Simon Fraser University, joining the Faculty of Health Sciences in September 2012. In his career in pulmonary research, beginning at McGill University and then at the University of Alberta, Dr King has developed new approaches to treat mucus clearance dysfunction in chronic lung disease, and is now working on addressing issues in airborne disease transmission, as well as research aimed at dealing with the respiratory health inequities facing Aboriginal people. At the University of Alberta, he served as Chair of the Aboriginal Healthcare Careers Committee from 1993 to 2009. This training programme has graduated more than 70 health professionals. Dr King served as President of the Canadian Thoracic Society in 1999-2000, and from 2000-2004 was a member of the Governing Council of the Canadian Institutes of Health Research. In his role as Scientific Director of the CIHR Institute of Aboriginal Peoples’ Health, he leads the development of a national health research agenda aimed at improving wellness and achieving health equity for First Nations, Inuit, and Métis Peoples. His achievements have been recognised by the Alberta Lung Association (1999), the National Aboriginal Achievement Foundation (1999), and the University of Alberta, Board of Governors (2003).

Stream Lead, Education and Integrated Care

Unn-Britt Johansson, is professor in Nursing Science at Sophiahemmet University and at Karolinska Institutet, Department of Clinical Science and Education, Södersjukhuset, Stockholm, Sweden. She is also Chairman, Board of Education at Sophiahemmet University and Chairman, Board of the National Clinical Final Examination of Bachelor´s programme in Nursing, Sweden.

She has been a RN since 1989 and and started her research in 1997 and finished her doctoral degree in 2000 at Karolinska Institutet. Her main research interest is patient education, psychosocial support for persons living with diabetes and development and evaluation of questionnaires. She is supervisor for several doctoral students. Currently she is also programme leader for the masterprogramme in Nursing Science –Diabetes Care at Sophiahemmet University College. Unn-Britt is also a member in FEND Executive Committee and since 2013 member of Diabetes Education Consultative Section (DECS) of the International Diabetes Federation (IDF).

Stream Lead, Global Challenges in Health

James Gavin III graduated from Livingstone College in Salisbury, North Carolina, in 1966 with a degree in chemistry. He earned his PhD in biochemistry from Emory University in 1970 and his MD from Duke University School of Medicine in 1975.

He is a former president of the Morehouse School of Medicine, beginning that position in 2002.

Dr. Gavin belongs to a number of organizations. He serves on the board of trustees for Baxter Healthcare International, Amylin Pharmaceuticals, Duke University, trustee emeritus of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, and is past chairman of the board of the Equidyne Corporation. He has published more than 200 articles and abstracts in such publications as Science, Journal of Applied Physiology, Diabetes, and the American Journal of Physiology. He is national programme director of the Harold Amos Medical Faculty Development Program.

He has received the Daniel Hale Williams Award, the E. E. Just Award, the Herbert Nickens Award, the Daniel Savage Memorial Award, the Emory University Medal for Distinguished Achievement, the Banting Medal for Distinguished Service from the American Diabetes Association, the Distinguished Alumni Award from Duke University School of Medicine, and the Internist of the Year from the National Medical Association. He was elected a term trustee in 2003.

Stream Lead, Living with Diabetes

Gordon Bunyan from Australia is currently a Vice-President of the International Diabetes Federation (IDF) for the 2009-2012 triennium. In the past, he has been Chair of the IDF Western Pacific Region (2006-2009). Mr. Bunyan has been involved in diabetes advocacy for almost as long as he has been living with type 1 diabetes. He has held positions on the Boards of Diabetes Australia since 1976 as a Vice-President and honorary legal counsel of the national organisation, been a Director of the Diabetes Australia Research Trust, a delegate to the IDF Western Pacific Region (WPR) Council since 1989, and a member of the IDF Executive Board and Board of Management since 2005.

Mr Bunyan's interests are diverse, but in his 20 years of involvement with the international diabetes community, he has focused his attention on management and organisational improvements, research funding, particularly in areas which deliver improvements to people with diabetes, and ensuring that people with diabetes and their support networks are properly recognised and represented. His key aim is to ensure a balance between the professional, educational, medical, and scientific arms of IDF, and the interests and needs of people with diabetes.

His work has improved management and governance structures for the Western Pacific Region Council and its business operations, and resulted in an increased involvement and representation of people with diabetes in the activities of the region. Mr. Bunyan played a role in the development of the WPR Diabetes Declaration and, during his time as Chair of the Region, focused on the Declaration as a key mechanism for the promotion and implementation of initiatives to improve the lives of people with diabetes in the WPR. As a member of the IDF Executive Board and Board of Management, Mr. Bunyan has been actively involved in regional and organisational development, including a structural review of the Federation's governance structure. He also sits on the Executive Committee of the IDF BRIDGES translational research grant programme.

Stream Lead, Public Health and Epidemiology

Edward Boyko, MD, MPH, is Professor of Medicine and Adjunct Professor of Epidemiology at the University of Washington and Staff Physician at VA Puget Sound Health Care System in Seattle.  He received his B.A. degree from Columbia University in 1975, and his M.D. degree from the University of Pittsburgh in 1979. He completed an internal medicine internship and residency at the University of Chicago in 1982, and fellowship training in the Robert Wood Johnson Clinical Scholars Program in Seattle in 1984. He is the former Director of the VA-funded Seattle Epidemiologic Research and Information Center (ERIC).  He has held several national positions including Associate Editor of the journals Diabetes Care and the American Journal of Epidemiology; former Chair of the NIH Kidney, Nutrition, Obesity, and Diabetes (KNOD) study section; Chair of the ADA Epidemiology and Statistics Interest Group; Member of the ADA Scientific Sessions Planning Committee; Public Health and Epidemiology Deputy Stream Lead for the 2013 World Diabetes Congress held in Melbourne, Australia; and past President of the International Diabetes Epidemiology Group.

Dr Boyko’s research programme focuses on the epidemiology type 2 diabetes and its complications, associated metabolic disorders, and obesity. Dr Boyko’s best-known research was conducted in the Japanese American Community Diabetes Study, a prospective study that followed Japanese-American residents of King County, Washington State for 10 years for the development of diabetes and related conditions. In 2013, he received the Kelly West Award from the American Diabetes Association in recognition of his significant contributions to the field of diabetes epidemiology. In addition to his research interests, he also provides care for a primary care patient panel at VA Puget Sound in Seattle. He has mentored over 50 trainees and junior faculty members over the course of his career. In 2004 he received the University of Washington Medicine Award for Outstanding Mentorship.