The American Diabetes Association® (ADA) is thrilled to announce the recipients of the 2023 National Scientific and Health Care Achievement Awards. The awards honor academics, health care providers, and educators who have contributed to substantial advances in the field of diabetes care and research. With the help of these leaders and their steadfast dedication, we move closer to achieving the mission of the ADA: To prevent and cure diabetes and to improve the lives of all people affected by diabetes.
“The ADA’s National Scientific and Health Care Achievement Awards honor those who have made important contributions to diabetes research, prevention, and treatment throughout their career,” said Charles “Chuck" Henderson, CEO of the ADA. “By highlighting the progress being made across the diabetes community, our awardees help move the needle and create lasting change in the lives of millions. With more than 133 million Americans living with diabetes and prediabetes, it is the work of these passionate professionals that will help us one day end this epidemic.”
The following award recipients will be recognized at an awards ceremony to take place at the ADA’s 83rd Scientific Sessions, held June 23–26 in San Diego, CA:
- Matthias H. Tschöp, MD, is the recipient of the 2023 Banting Medal for Scientific Achievement, which recognizes significant, long-term contributions to the understanding, treatment, or prevention of diabetes. He is a physician-scientist who has made a series of seminal discoveries which started with the identification of a hunger hormone from the stomach, revealing a fundamental metabolic signal. Dr. Tschöp’s subsequent discovery of novel classes of dual and triple gut hormone drugs already transformed the fight against obesity and diabetes.
- Carmella Evans-Molina, MD, PhD, is the recipient of the 2023 Outstanding Scientific Achievement Award, which recognizes research in diabetes that demonstrates particular independence of thought and originality. Dr. Evans-Molina has been a leader in the field, pioneering the idea that alterations in calcium signaling within the β cell secretory pathway are linked with impairments in insulin secretion, processing, trafficking, as well as the activation of organelle-specific stress pathways, including endoplasmic reticulum and Golgi stress.
- Raghavendra G. Mirmira, MD, PhD, is the recipient of the 2023 Albert Renold Award, which is presented to an individual whose career is distinguished by outstanding achievements in the training and mentorship of diabetes research scientists and in the development of communities of scientists to enhance diabetes research. He is a dedicated researcher, clinician (still seeing patients with diabetes), teacher, and administrator. He has published over 180 scientific papers in prestigious journals and is an international thought leader in the field of diabetes.
- Silva A. Arslanian, MD, is the recipient of the 2023 Outstanding Achievement in Clinical Diabetes Research Award, which recognizes exceptional contributions in patient-oriented clinical outcomes research that have had a significant impact on diabetes prevention and treatment. Her patient-oriented research has considerably expanded our knowledge of the pathophysiological mechanisms of youth-onset type 2 diabetes, the rapid deterioration in β-cell function, and the impaired incretin effect through detailed investigations of insulin sensitivity and β-cell function during childhood growth and development in health and disease. The findings from her studies have resulted in major changes in clinical practice guidelines nationally and internationally for youth-onset type 2 diabetes, positively impacting the lives of many.
- A. Enrique Caballero, MD, is the recipient of the 2023 Outstanding Educator in Diabetes Award, which recognizes a distinguished health professional who has made outstanding educational efforts in the field of diabetes. Dr. Caballero leads the development of education programs that benefit health care professionals and patients around the world. He has directed nearly one hundred unique courses via a multi-disciplinary and targeted education approach, including live and online activities that have enhanced knowledge, competence, and performance skills among thousands of health care professionals in the U.S. and in over one hundred countries throughout Latin America, Europe, Asia, and parts of Africa. Dr. Caballero is also a well-known figure in the fight against diabetes disparities and inequities and has developed comprehensive culturally and socially oriented diabetes care programs.
- Mandeep Bajaj, MBBS, is the recipient of the 2023 Outstanding Physician Clinician in Diabetes Award, which is presented to an individual to reward and honor meritorious contributions to diabetes clinical practice. Dr. Bajaj has played a key leadership role in the development and expansion of diabetes care at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston. He directs an inpatient diabetes program taking care of hospitalized patients with diabetes and developing initiatives to improve the quality of diabetes care and reducing the risk of in-hospital hypoglycemia and hyperglycemia using electronic health records. He is a reputed clinical and translational researcher in obesity and type 2 diabetes. His patient-oriented research work has delineated the metabolic and molecular mechanisms of fat-induced insulin resistance in the pathogenesis of type 2 diabetes.
- Mark A. Atkinson, PhD, is the recipient of the 2023 Harold Rifkin Award for Distinguished International Service in the Cause of Diabetes, which honors individuals who have demonstrated outstanding research, evaluation, and care in diabetes performed from an international perspective with an international impact. Dr. Atkinson is the founding director of the Network for Pancreatic Organ donors with Diabetes (nPOD) program, which through provision of human tissue samples from those with and without type 1 and type 2 diabetes, supports over 300 projects in 22 countries. These efforts have led to major advances in understanding the pathogenesis of these diseases and their complications. In addition, Dr. Atkinson has organized international efforts to improve our understanding of pathogenic differences in youth-onset diabetes as it occurs in multiple countries in the developing world. Finally, he is also co-founder and president of Insulin for Life USA, a non-profit organization with a global mission to bring lifesaving diabetes management supplies, including insulin, to individuals of all ages with continual limitations on access to these resources or to those facing such issues in times of natural disasters.
- Alka M. Kanaya, MD, is the recipient of the 2023 Kelly West Award for Outstanding Achievement in Epidemiology, which recognizes significant contributions to the field of diabetes epidemiology. Dr. Kanaya has concentrated on clinical/epidemiologic research in type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease prevention. She has focused her research on Asian American health disparities over the past two decades and has made seminal contributions in this area with the creation of a South Asian longitudinal cohort study and with analyses from other large datasets, including from the Northern California Kaiser Permanente data, the Health, Aging and Body Composition study, and the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. She has led the Mediators of Atherosclerosis in South Asians Living in America study to better understand factors driving the high-risk factor prevalence among South Asians.
In addition, the ADA also announces the recipients of the 2023 Professional Membership Awards, recognizing excellence in the following areas:
- Elizabeth J. Parks, PhD, (University of Missouri-Columbia), recipient of the Edwin Bierman Award, honoring outstanding scientific achievement in the prevention and treatment of macrovascular complications.
- Helen Murphy, MBBChBAO, FRACP, MD, (University of East Anglia) recipient of the Norbert Freinkel Award, honoring outstanding scientific achievement in the understanding and treatment of diabetes and pregnancy.
- Deborah Young-Hyman, Ph.D., FTOS, Fel SBM, CDCES, (National Institutes of Health) recipient of the Richard R. Rubin Award, honoring outstanding scientific achievement in the understanding of the behavioral aspects of diabetes.
- Tze-Woei Tan, MBBS, MPH, FACS, (Keck School of Medicine of University of Southern California) recipient of the Roger Pecoraro Award, honoring outstanding scientific achievement in the prevention, treatment, and management of diabetic foot complications.
- Ann L. Albright, PhD, RDN, (Formerly with Centers for Disease Control and Prevention), recipient of the Lois Jovanovic Transformative Woman in Diabetes Award, recognizing a female professional in the diabetes field who has made outstanding contributions to diabetes research, clinical practice, diabetes education, public health, and/or other related disciplines.
The ADA’s 83rd Scientific Sessions, the world’s largest scientific meeting focused on diabetes research, prevention, and care, will be held in San Diego, CA on June 23–26. More than 12,000 leading physicians, scientists, and health care professionals from around the world are expected to convene both in person and virtually to unveil cutting-edge research, treatment recommendations, and advances toward a cure for diabetes. Attendees will receive exclusive access to thousands of original research presentations and take part in provocative and engaging exchanges with leading diabetes experts. Join the Scientific Sessions conversation on social media using #ADA2023.
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,About the American Diabetes Association
The American Diabetes Association (ADA) is the nation’s leading voluntary health organization fighting to bend the curve on the diabetes epidemic and help people living with diabetes thrive. For 82 years, the ADA has driven discovery and research to treat, manage, and prevent diabetes while working relentlessly for a cure. Through advocacy, program development, and education we aim to improve the quality of life for the over 133 million Americans living with diabetes or prediabetes. Diabetes has brought us together. What we do next will make us Connected for Life®. To learn more or to get involved, visit us at diabetes.org or call 1-800-DIABETES (1-800-342-2383). Join the fight with us on Facebook (American Diabetes Association), Spanish Facebook (Asociación Americana de la Diabetes), LinkedIn (American Diabetes Association), Twitter (@AmDiabetesAssn), and Instagram (@AmDiabetesAssn).
