Elizabeth R. Seaquist, MD, has been selected to receive the American Diabetes Association’s (ADA’s) first Lois Jovanovic Transformative Woman in Diabetes Award. This new award in honor of Lois Jovanovic, MD, an iconic scientist and physician who passed away in September 2018, recognizes a woman who has made a significant impact in diabetes care, research, education or public health. Dr. Seaquist will be recognized with this award during the ADA’s 79th Scientific Sessions, June 7–11, 2019, at the Moscone Convention Center in San Francisco. Dr. Seaquist will give remarks at the Women’s Interprofessional Network of the American Diabetes Association (WIN ADA) Reception on Friday, June 7.
Dr. Seaquist holds the Pennock Family Chair in Diabetes Research and is Professor of Medicine, Director of the Division of Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolism, and Vice Chair for Clinical Affairs in the Department of Medicine at the University of Minnesota. She is also Associate Director of the University’s Medical Scientist Training Program, as well as Medical Director of the Medical Subspecialty Service Line at MHealth Fairview.
“Congratulations, Dr. Seaquist, on this tremendous achievement, and thank you for your significant contributions supporting women and health care providers and researchers in diabetes,” said the ADA’s Chief Scientific, Medical and Mission Officer and President of the ADA Research Foundation William T. Cefalu, MD. “For those of us who knew and respected Dr. Jovanovic, I can’t imagine anyone more rewarding than Dr. Seaquist to receive this inaugural award. Dr. Seaquist has conducted pioneering work, and she has served as a model investigator for women professionals in diabetes research and care, as Dr. Jovanovic did, and her work has improved health care of women with diabetes.”
An internationally recognized researcher, Dr. Seaquist has directed the University of Minnesota sites for high-profile clinical trials on the impact of diabetes and iatrogenic hypoglycemia on cerebral metabolism, structure and function including the Glycemia Reduction Approaches in Diabetes: A Comparative Effectiveness Study (GRADE) study and the Researching Cardiovascular Events with a Weekly Incretin in Diabetes (REWIND) study. She was the site investigator for the Action to Control Cardiovascular Risk in Diabetes (ACCORD) trial. Dr. Seaquist is also the principal investigator on the National Institutes of Health (NIH) T32 Research Training Grant for fellows in endocrinology and diabetes at the University of Minnesota. Her scientific contributions focus on understanding hypoglycemia and human brain glucose metabolism from the “bedside to population” level.
Dr. Seaquist has mentored female junior faculty members who are actively involved in diabetes, obesity and insulin resistance research. She has also served in numerous mentorship and leadership positions with the ADA, including serving as the 2014 President of Medicine and Science, as a member of the ADA’s National Board of Directors and the Pathway to Stop Diabetes Mentor Advisory Group. Dr. Seaquist’s outstanding work has also been recognized with the ADA’s Banting Medal for Service and the Distinguished Clinician Scientist Award.
The Lois Jovanovic Transformative Woman in Diabetes Award honors the groundbreaking contributions of Dr. Lois Jovanovic who pioneered the medical protocols that make it possible for women with diabetes to have successful pregnancies and deliver healthy babies. This award is presented in collaboration with Sansum Diabetes Research Institute (SDRI), where Dr. Jovanovic spent the majority of her career, from 1986-2013, and she served as chief executive officer and chief scientific officer from 1996-2013. Her innovative approaches and relentless commitment paved the way for improved understanding of the unique health challenges and greatly improved outcomes for women with diabetes, and she conducted the first clinical trial focused on strict glucose control and intensive insulin delivery for pregnant women with diabetes. Throughout her more than four-decade career, she served as a mentor to many researchers and health care providers, published more than 500 scientific articles on diabetes, metabolism, nutrition, obstetrics and gynecology, perinatology and engineering of a glucose-controlled insulin delivery device. Her numerous honors, awards and accomplishments include the American Diabetes Association’s Outstanding Physician Award and the Norbert Freinkel Award for the scholarship in the field of diabetes and pregnancy; the Clintec Award for Excellence from The American College of Nutrition; the March of Dimes Agnes Higgins Award; and SDRI’s William D. Sansum Award for excellence in science.
The American Diabetes Association’s 79th Scientific Sessions, the world’s largest scientific meeting focused on diabetes research, prevention and care, will be held June 7-11, 2019, at the Moscone Center in San Francisco, California. More than 11,000 leading physicians, scientists and health care professionals from around the world are expected to convene at the Scientific Sessions to unveil cutting-edge research, treatment recommendations and advances toward a cure for diabetes. During the five-day meeting, attendees will receive exclusive access to more than 850 presentations and 2,000 original research presentations, participate in provocative and engaging exchanges with leading diabetes experts, and can earn Continuing Medical Education (CME) or Continuing Education (CE) credits for educational sessions. The program is grouped into eight thematic areas: Acute and Chronic Complications; Behavioral Medicine, Clinical Nutrition, Education and Exercise; Clinical Diabetes/Therapeutics; Epidemiology/Genetics; Immunology/Transplantation; Insulin Action/Molecular Metabolism; Integrated Physiology/Obesity; and Islet Biology/Insulin Secretion. Gretchen Youssef, MS, RDN, CDE, President of Health Care and Education, will deliver her address, “It’s All about Access!,” on Saturday, June 8, and Louis H. Philipson, MD, PhD, FACP, President of Medicine and Science, will address attendees on Sunday, June 9.