Diabetes & Tech – Virtual Slipstream Session Recordings

Five trends to watch in Diabetes & Tech

Presented by Adam Brown

Session Description:

Get the latest updates and high level overviews on what is happening in the world of diabetes & tech and what we should keep our eyes on in the future.

Highlights from this session include updates on:

• Better CGMs
• Automated insulin delivery
• Smart pens & infusion sets
• Diabetes tech in the pharmacy
• Data, telemedicine & virtual care

About Adam Brown

Adam Brown, diagnosed with diabetes in 2001, is the author of Bright Spots & Landmines: The Diabetes Guide I Wish Someone Had Handed Me. As a journalist and editor at diaTribe and Close Concerns, Adam wrote about diabetes technology for nearly a decade – extensively covering CGMs, insulin pumps, automated insulin delivery, mobile apps, and connected care. He recently joined the team bringing Tidepool Loop to market. Adam is also pursuing a Master’s Degree in Counseling Psychology, ultimately towards becoming a licensed therapist focused on diabetes and mental health.

Future of Diabetes Technology

Presented by Lorraine Anderson

Session Description: 

Let’s take a look at some of the options we have available to us now and what we can expect to see for new technology to manage t1d going forward. There are exciting tools coming our way in the not-too-distant future that may help make daily life with diabetes easier and let us focus our time and energy elsewhere!

Highlights from this session include:

• A look at the current Canadian insulin pump market
• A look at the current Canadian CGM market
• Looking forward at what is coming to Canada in the future

About Lorraine Anderson

Lorraine Anderson, RD, CDE, is a Registered Dietitian and Certified Diabetes Educator. She has had the privilege of presenting workshops across Canada to both health care professionals and families who live with type 1 diabetes. When not at work, she is a busy mom and stepmom to six young adults and two golden retrievers. Lorraine can be found at a dog park, on a hiking trail, tennis court, golf course or ski hill. She celebrated her 30 year “diaversary” in March of last year and understands firsthand the ups and downs of daily life with diabetes.

DIY Diabetes Past, Present & Future

Presented by Kate Farnsworth

Session Description: 

Do you have a basic understanding of DIY pumping options and are looking to take things to the next level? Are you currently using a DIY solution and wanting to learn more about the future, connect with others in the community, and get your more technical questions answered? Join Kate Farnsworth to connect, discuss, and explore.

Highlights from this session include:

• The problem that led to the DIY solution
• Benefits of closing the loop
• An overview of nightscout and loop
• Unique features & the future

About Kate Farnsworth

Kate has been heavily involved in the Do-It-Yourself #wearenotwaiting movement since her daughter Sydney was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes at the age of 8. With a background in information technology and graphic design, Kate has lent her skillset to developing diabetes watch faces for remote monitoring used by patients worldwide. Kate has created an online patient-driven support community for people who are exploring DIY closed-loop solutions and continues to advocate for all people with diabetes to have access to the best tools to manage their diabetes

Five things to watch in Diabetes & Tech

Presented by Dana Howe

Session Description

Get the latest updates and high-level overviews on what is happening the world of diabetes & tech and what we should keep our eyes on in the future.

Lessons from this session include:

• Next-gen continuous glucose monitoring (CGM)
• Closing the loop
• New ways to administer glucagon
• Connected pens + better data
• Smart insulins + new delivery methods

About Dana Howe

Dana was diagnosed with Type 1 in 2002 at the age of 8. Driven by her T1D, Dana studied Biology and Community Health as an undergraduate and went on to complete an MS in Health Communication from Tufts University. In the past, Dana has worked as a communications specialist with major hospitals as well as small nonprofits on topics ranging from cancer to pediatric device innovation. At Beyond Type 1, Dana strives to use social media to amplify the voices of T1Ds and build community around living well with Type 1. When she’s not favoriting your tweets, you can find her skiing, hiking, biking or drinking coffee.

JDRF Research Update Panel Discussion

Moderated by Dr Sarah Linkater of JDRF Canada

Session Description

Join JDRF for a panel discussion about the latest happenings in T1D research, from the researchers themselves

Key learnings from this session include:

• T1D is highly heterogeneous
• T1D starts well before clinical diagnosis
• Beta cells play an active role in disease
• Beta cells can be grown from stem cells in a petri dish
• Technology can reduce the burden
• Addressing psychosocial issues is crucial

About the Speakers

Dr. Sarah Linklater is Chief Scientific Officer (CSO) at JDRF Canada. In her previous role, she helped to launch The Lancet Diabetes & Endocrinology, now the leading clinical diabetes journal worldwide, and became Editor-in-Chief in 2017. Sarah has over a decade of extensive experience as a professional scientific editor and carried out research on mechanisms of immune regulation at UBC in Vancouver and at the San Raffaele Telethon Institute for Gene Therapy in Milan, Italy. In her role as JDRF Canada’s CSO, Sarah will lead the organization’s efforts to advance and expand its research partnerships and support its efforts to effectively engage the type 1 diabetes (T1D) community.

Bruce A Perkins, MD MPH is Professor, Endocrinologist and Diabetes Complications Clinician-Scientist at the University of Toronto appointed to the Faculty of Medicine and to the Institute of Health, Policy, Management and Evaluation. He holds the Sam and Judy Pencer Family Chair in Diabetes Clinical Research. He obtained his MD and Internal Medicine training at the University of Toronto, his endocrinology subspecialty training at Harvard University, his Masters of Public Health in Epidemiology at the Harvard School of Public Health, and a research fellowship in epidemiology at the Joslin Diabetes Center. Using longitudinal cohort methods as well as clinical trials, his research work has focused on 1) Early biomarkers of diabetes complications, and 2) Interventions for prevention of complications, including artificial pancreas technologies and disease-modifying adjunctive-to-insulin pharmacotherapies. In 2015 he was awarded the Canadian Diabetes Association/CIHR Young Scientist Award for his research. Among other projects funded by the NIH, JDRF, and Diabetes Canada, he leads an Innovations in type 1 Diabetes group within Diabetes Action Canada, a national patient-oriented research strategy.

Andrew Pepper, PhD is an Alberta Diabetes Institute Scientist and Assistant Professor in the Department of Surgery at the University of Alberta appointed to the Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry. He obtained his PhD at the University of Western Ontario, while a member of the Clinical Islet Transplantation Program at London Health Sciences Center, and a postdoctoral fellowship under the supervisor of Dr. James Shapiro at the University of Alberta. Dr. Pepper is an Early Career Investigator whose first academic appointment began in July 2018. His laboratory develops novel transplant modalities to improve pancreatic islet and stem cell derived beta-cell engraftment for the treatment of type 1 diabetes (T1D). Furthermore, his laboratory focuses on elucidating the relevant cell death pathways which contribute to beta-cell graft dysfunction and T1D onset. He has over 10 years of experience in islet and stem cell transplantation in both the academic and industry sector and has spearheaded several pre-clinical innovations that have gone on to Phase I/II clinical testing. His work has received funding from the JDRF, MITACS, Stem Cell Network, Alberta Innovates, New Frontiers in Research Fund, Alberta Diabetes Foundation, University Hospital Foundation and the Canadian National Transplant Research Program. Recently, the international standing of this work was highlighted by being the recipient of the JDRF International’s Career Development Award. He is an active member of The Transplantation Society (TTS), International Pancreas and Islet Transplantation Association (IPITA), Canadian National Transplant Research Program (CNTRP), Cell Transplantation & Regenerative Medicine Society (CTRMS) and the JDRF’s Beta Cell Replacement Consortium.

Kathy McCoy completed her PhD in Immunology at the Malaghan Institute of Medical Research and Otago University in Wellington, New Zealand. She then completed postdoctoral training and was a junior group leader at the Institute of Experimental Immunology, University of Zürich, Switzerland. In 2006, Kathy was recruited to McMaster University in Ontario, Canada as an Assistant Professor where she held a Canada Research Chair in Gastrointestinal Immunology. Kathy moved back to Switzerland in 2010 and joined the University of Bern where her lab studied the role of the intestinal microbiome in regulation of the immune system. In 2016, Kathy was recruited back to Canada where she is a Professor in the Dept. of Physiology & Pharmacology in the Cumming School of Medicine, member of the Snyder Institute of Chronic Diseases and Director of the International Microbiome Centre at the University of Calgary. Her research focusses on the dynamic interplay between the gut microbiota and the innate and adaptive immune systems and aims to understand how exposure to intestinal microbes, particularly during early life, influences immune development, immune responsiveness and susceptibility to diseases.