Type 2 Diabetes Disparities in Ethnic Minorities

Speakers

Organizer

Mary Ann Banerji, MD

SUNY Downstate Medical Center

Mary Ann Banerji, M.D., F.A.C.P. is Professor of Medicine at SUNY Downstate Medical Center in Brooklyn. With an expertise in diabetes, she directs the Kings County Hospital Diabetes Clinic and SUNY Diabetes Treatment Center. She received her medical degree from Temple University School of Medicine in Philadelphia. She completed her residency in internal medicine and a fellowship in Endocrinology and Metabolism at SUNY Downstate Medical Center. Dr Banerji’s research interests are in type 2 diabetes among minorities, in particular African-American and South Asians. She described Flatbush Diabetes, an atypical form with features of both type 1 and type 2 diabetes among African Americans and is an expert in body composition. She pioneered the concept of long-term remission in type 2 diabetes induced by intensive treatment. In addition, she is actively involved in developing interventions to prevent diabetes and its complications at a community level. Dr. Banerji publishes and is actively involved in post graduate and graduate medical education.

Speakers

Ann Albright, PhD, RD

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

Dr. Ann Albright assumed the post of Director, Division of Diabetes Translation (DDT) in January 2007. As director, Dr. Albright leads a team of more than 100 who strive to eliminate the preventable burden of diabetes through leadership, research, programs, and policies that translate science into practice. Dr. Albright received her doctoral degree in Exercise Physiology from the Ohio State University. She completed a National Institutes of Health postdoctoral fellowship in nutrition at the University of California, Davis and a clinical internship in nutrition at University of California, San Francisco (UCSF). Prior to commencing her post at the CDC, Dr. Albright served as Chief of the California Diabetes Program for the California Department of Health Services, a position she held since 1995. Dr. Albright also held an academic appointment in the Institute for Health and Aging at UCSF. From 2003-2004, Dr. Albright served as the Senior Health Policy Advisor in the Office of the United States Surgeon General and led the Secretary of Health’s Diabetes Detection Initiative. Dr. Albright is well known for her work in diabetes including the implementation of evidence-based diabetes care guidelines, work on models of care in community clinics, and development of public awareness campaigns to increase the understanding of diabetes and importance of blood glucose, blood pressure, and lipid control. Dr. Albright is published in the areas of exercise, nutrition, body composition, diabetic nephropathy, the role of tissue glycosylation in diabetic complications, the feasibility of enhanced care among Medicaid recipients with type 2 diabetes, and public health practice in diabetes prevention and control. Dr. Albright has served in key leadership roles with the American Diabetes Association including her role as immediate-past President for Health Care and Education, the American College of Sports Medicine, the American Association of Diabetes Educators, and the American Dietetic Association.

Diana Berger, MD, MSc

NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene

Diana Berger, MD, MSc, is the Diabetes Medical Speciaist and founder of the Diabetes Prevention and Control Program, at NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene. She is on the faculty at the Mount Sinai School of Medicine. Dr. Berger’s interests in diabetes include the emerging epidemic of type 2 diabetes in children, coaching school nurses about diabetes in youth, and using physical activity and healthy eating for diabetes prevention. She attended Dartmouth Medical School and completed her Preventive Medicine residency at Mount Sinai. She was a research fellow at the Joslin Diabetes Center in Boston. She also has a Masters of Science in Community Medicine from Mount Sinai. She is a member of the NYS Diabetes Task Force.

Enrique Caballero, MD

Harvard Medical School

Dr Caballero is the Director of the Latino Diabetes Initiative, Director of Medical Affairs of Professional Education, Staff Endocrinologist and Clinical Investigator at Joslin Diabetes Center. He is Assistant Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School. Dr. Caballero developed the Joslin Latino Diabetes Initiative that was launched in the summer of 2002 and that integrates culturally oriented activities in the areas of patient care and education, community outreach, research and professional education. His research interests include type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease prevention, endothelial dysfunction and diabetes in minority populations. He is a co-investigator of the National Diabetes Prevention Program, the LookAhead Program and the Diabetes Education Study, all sponsored by the National Institutes of Health. He is the principal investigator in studies assessing vascular abnormalities in obese Hispanic children, adolescents and young adults. He is also principal investigator in a study assessing biological, psychological, social and cultural factors influencing adherence to treatment in Latinos with diabetes. Dr. Caballero has written various publications on pre-diabetes, obesity and endothelial dysfunction, diabetes in Latinos and the chapter of Diabetes in Minorities in the prestigious Joslin’s Diabetes Mellitus textbook. He is also a reviewer for multiple prestigious medical journals. Dr. Caballero frequently lectures nationally and internationally in the areas of diabetes, cardiovascular disease and diabetes in minorities. He has been appointed as the chair for the Latino Diabetes Education Program at the American Diabetes Association. He is also of the first tutors of the recently created Culturally Competent Care Curriculum at Harvard Medical School. Dr. Caballero graduated from the National University of Mexico Medical School where he was awarded with the “Gabino Barreda” medal for being the top student in his class. He then completed his residency in Internal medicine and fellowship in Endocrinology at the National Institute of Nutrition in Mexico, and went on to complete a master’s degree in Clinical Epidemiology in Mexico. In addition, he completed a fellowship program in Endocrinology and Metabolism at the Lahey Clinic/Deaconess Hospital/Joslin Diabetes Center and the Program on Clinical Effectiveness at the Harvard School of Public Health. Dr. Caballero is the 2009 recipient of the Alberto Houssay award by the National Minority Quality Forum for his work on health care disparities.

Harold E. Lebovitz, MD

State University of New York

Harold E. Lebovitz, MD, FACE, is a professor of Medicine at the Division of Endocrinology and Metabolism/Diabetes at the State University of New York, Health Sciences Center at Brooklyn. Dr. Lebovitz is an internationally recognized authority in the field of diabetes. He and his colleagues have contributed to the understanding of the pathogenesis of type 2 diabetes, particularly as it relates to ethic and racial differences, to mechanism of action and clinical utility of therapeutic agents used in the treatment of type 2 diabetes, and to the effects of body composition on insulin resistance and its associated abnormalities. He has published approximately 200 articles in peer-reviewed journals and 75 book chapters or books. Dr. Lebovitz has served on review committees for the American diabetes Association, the National Institutes of Health, and Veterans Administration and currently serves on several editorial boards. He has been the recipient of many awards, including the Albert E. Renold Medal of the American Diabetes Association in 1994, the Samuel Moses Oration Award of the Research society for study of diabetes in India in 1993, and the Servier Medal of the Philippine Diabetes Association in 1999.

Cary S. Pollack, MD

Mount Sinai School of Medicine

Cary S. Pollack, MD, is a cardiologist and internal medicine physician. He is Cardiologist at Mount Sinai Medical Center and Assistant Clinical Professor at Mount Sinai School with vast experience in treating type 2 diabetes patients with cardiovascular complications. He has lectured nationally and internationally on Hypertension, Diabetes, and Hyperlipidemia. He also hold the distinction as being the first American Cardiologist to lecture at the University of Bagdad School of Medicine, in 2004, while being the Brigade Surgeon for the 800 MP and the 16 MP (Airborne) Brigades, Colonel in the U.S. Army.

Guillermo E. Umpierrez, MD

Emory University School of Medicine

Guillermo E. Umpierrez, MD, is Professor of Medicine in the Division of Endocrinology, Metabolism, and Diabetes and Associate Director of the General Clinical Research Center at Emory University School of Medicine in Atlanta, Georgia. He is also Director of the Diabetes Clinic and the Diabetes and Endocrinology Section of Grady Health Systems, also in Atlanta. Dr. Umpierrez received his medical degree in Ecuador and completed his internal medicine residency and endocrinology fellowship at Emory University School of Medicine. Dr. Umpierrez is the recipient of numerous teaching awards, including 4 Best Clinical Science Professor Awards, 3 Golden Apple Awards for Best Clinical Teacher, and the Silver Pear Award for Best Clinical Junior Faculty Mentor in the Department of Medicine at Emory University; the J. Willis Hurst Outstanding Bedside Teacher Award, from the Georgia ACP, and the AACE Outstanding Service Award for the Promotion of Endocrine Health of an Underserved Population. He has published more than 100 scientific papers and book chapters, and has presented over 100 research abstracts at national and international scientific meetings. Dr. Umpierrez’s current research interest includes mechanisms for β-cell dysfunction in African Americans; the effects of free fatty acids on insulin secretion, inflammation, and hypertension in obese patients; and management of hyperglycemia in critical and noncritical inpatients. His research program at Grady Hospital and Emory University is funded by the National Institutes of Health and the American Diabetes Association. Dr. Umpierrez also oversees funding of a bilingual diabetes education program for Latino patients in Georgia, and serves as the principal investigator for several multicenter research studies in the area of inpatient glycemic control.

Elizabeth Walker, PhD, RN

Albert Einstein College of Medicine

Elizabeth A. Walker, PhD, RN, CDE is a Professor of Medicine and Professor of Epidemiology & Population Health, and the Director of the Prevention and Control Core for the Diabetes Research and Training Center (DRTC) at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, New York. Dr. Walker is principal investigator of a large NIH-funded behavioral intervention study in minority diabetes populations, using telephonic interventions in Spanish and English to promote medication adherence, lifestyle change and other self-management behaviors. Since its inception, she has also been a behavioral scientist and co-investigator for the multi-center Diabetes Prevention Program (DPP) and Outcomes Study and she co-chairs the DPP Medication Adherence Workgroup. Through the Prevention and Control Core of the DRTC she provides or facilitates various intervention and evaluation services to multiple health disparities projects in academic centers and in the community. Elizabeth is also a diabetes nurse specialist and she has been a certified diabetes educator since 1986. In 2000, she served as the national President, Health Care & Education, of the American Diabetes Association. In 2008, she was named a Fellow of the American Association of Diabetes Educators (FAADE).

Lawrence H. Young, MD

Yale University

Dr. Young is Professor of Medicine in the Section of Cardiology at Yale University School of Medicine in New Haven, Connecticut, USA. He is a board-certified clinical cardiologist and a Fellow of the American Heart Association and American College of Cardiology. His interests center on cardiovascular disease in patients with insulin-resistance and diabetes and he has basic research interests on cardiac metabolism and the fundamental mechanisms by which cardiac cells adapt to stress and ischemia. Dr. Young has been the recipient of numerous research grants, including support from the National Institutes of Health, American Heart Association, American Diabetes Association and Juvenile Diabetes Foundation. He is co-principal investigator of the DIAD (Detection of Ischemia in Asymptomatic Patients with Diabetes) Study, which is developing new approaches to identifying and treating heart disease in patients with diabetes. He is the Cardiology Principal Investigator for the Insulin Resistance Intervention After Stroke Trial (IRIS), which is testing whether treating insulin resistance prevents stroke and myocardial infarction in non-diabetic patients. Dr.Young has held several leadership positions within the American Heart Association.