Programme committee & streams
The IDF Virtual Congress 2023 programme is organised across four streams:
- Cardiovascular disease and hypertension
- Eye and kidney
- Foot and neuropathy
- Diabetes in crises
Chair
Andrew Boulton
United Kingdom
Advisor: Living with Diabetes Complications
Iryna Vlasenko
Ukraine
Streams
Cardiovascular Disease & Hypertension
Lead
Naveed Sattar
United Kingdom
Members
Sophia Zoungas
Australia
Anoop Misra
India
Jennifer Green
USA
Eye & Kidney
Lead
Per-Henrik Groop
Finland
Members
Sobha Sivaprasad
United Kingdom
Rafael Simo
Spain
Meda Pavkov
USA
Foot & Neuropathy
Lead
Andrew Boulton
United Kingdom
Members
Rayaz Malik
Qatar
Shazli Azmi
United Kingdom
Hermelinda Pedrosa
Brazil
Diabetes in Crises
Leads
Akhtar Hussain
Norway
Alicia Jenkins
Australia
Members
Mark Barone
Brazil
Linong Ji
China
Abdul Basit
Pakistan
Boris Mankovsky
Ukraine
Programme Chair
Andrew Boulton (United Kingdom)
Professor Andrew Boulton is the Immediate Past President of the International Diabetes Federation (IDF). He is currently President of the Worldwide Initiative for Diabetes Education and Chair of the European Alliance for Diabetes Research (EURADIA). Professor Boulton is a graduate of Newcastle-upon-Tyne University. He subsequently trained in Sheffield and Miami prior to accepting an appointment at Manchester University, where he is currently Professor of Medicine with a special interest in diabetes and its complications. He is also Consultant Physician at Manchester Royal Infirmary.
Advisor, Living with diabetes complications
Iryna Vlasenko (Ukraine)
Dr Iryna Vlasenko is an international expert in diabetes, currently a Vice President of the International Diabetes Federation. She has contributed to developing national and international regulatory documents and medical standards. In addition, her regular participation in government and key stakeholder meetings and attendance at international congresses has raised awareness of diabetes and brought about policy change. Dr Vlasenko’s areas of research include pharmaceutical care for people with diabetes, therapeutic education for people with NCDs and healthcare reform.
Streams
Cardiovascular disease and hypertension
Lead: Naveed Sattar (United Kingdom)
Professor Naveed Sattar is an Honorary Consultant at the Glasgow Royal Infirmary, co-leading a CVD prevention clinic. He graduated from the University of Glasgow in 1990. In 1993 he moved to Glasgow Royal Infirmary, first as a Specialist Registrar, then as Senior Lecturer and Reader. He was awarded a PhD from the University of Glasgow in 1998. After that, he joined the staff of the University of Glasgow and, in early 2005, was appointed as Professor of Metabolic Medicine at the Institute of Cardiovascular & Medical Sciences. Prof. Sattar is a Fellow of the Royal College of Pathologists, the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons, Glasgow, the Royal Society of Edinburgh and the UK Academy of Medical Sciences.
Dr Sophia Zoungas, MBBS, FRACP, PhD, is the head of Monash University’s School of Public Health and Preventive Medicine in Melbourne, Australia, and also leads the School’s Metabolism, Ageing and Genomics Division. She collaborates extensively locally and internationally in the speciality areas of diabetes, cardiovascular disease, kidney disease, and healthy ageing.
Dr Anoop Misra is an endocrinologist and chairman of Fortis-CDOC Center of Excellence for Diabetes, Metabolic Diseases, and Endocrinology in Delhi and heads the National Diabetes, Obesity and Cholesterol Foundation and Diabetes Foundation India. His current research interests include nutrition, metabolism, and diabetes in relation to liver fat, pancreatic fat, lean skeletal muscle mass and vitamin D.
Dr Jennifer Green is an associate professor of medicine in the division of endocrinology, metabolism, and nutrition at Duke University, Durham NC, USA. She is also a Duke Clinical Research Institute (DCRI) faculty member. She leads a study team within the DCRI and Duke Data Science groups on electronic health data used to guide and improve medical decision-making in the care of people with diabetes. Her work with the DCRI has included clinical and operational leadership for several large, international trials designed to determine the cardiovascular effects of glucose-lowering medications
Eye and kidney
Lead: Per-Henrik Groop (Finland)
Prof. Per-Henrik Groop is currently a Professor of Internal Medicine (Chair) at the University of Helsinki; Chief Physician at the Abdominal Center Nephrology, University of Helsinki and Helsinki University Hospital; Principal Investigator of the Finnish Diabetic Nephropathy (FinnDiane) Study at the Folkhälsan Research Center in Helsinki; and an Adjunct Professor at the Department of Diabetes, Monash University, Melbourne, Australia. He graduated from the University of Helsinki in 1982. Following post-doctoral studies at Guy’s Hospital, University of London, under Professor Giancarlo Viberti, Prof. Groop returned to Helsinki as a nephrology consultant. He served as a Professor of Nephrology (Chair) at the University of Helsinki from 2010–2015.
Prof Sobha Sivaprasad is an ophthalmologist at Moorfields Eye Hospital NHS Foundation Trust and a Professor in Retinal Clinical Research at University College London, London, UK. Her clinical and laboratory research interests include AMD, diabetic retinopathy and retinal vascular disorders, and she also runs several clinical trials in these areas. She works collaboratively with many institutions both in the UK and globally.
Dr Rafael Simó is the Chair of the Division of Endocrinology and Nutrition at Vall d’Hebron University Hospital, Director of the Diabetes and Metabolism Research Unit at Vall d’Hebron Research Institute (VHIR), Professor of Medicine and Endocrinology at the Autonomous University of Barcelona and Deputy Director of Clinical Research at VHIR. His group belongs to CIBERDEM, the Spanish network for the research of diabetes and associated metabolic diseases. Dr Simó is renowned worldwide for his contributions to the pathophysiology of diabetes-related complications, particularly diabetic retinopathy.
Dr Meda E. Pavkov is a physician-scientist with research centering on diabetes complications. Her current projects focus on the progression of early kidney disease in diabetes. They include The Longitudinal Study of Markers of Kidney Function, a collaborative project initiated in 2009 between the CDC and the National Institute for Diabetes Digestive and Kidney Diseases, studies of the association of persistent organic pollutants with diabetes and kidney disease, development of simulation models of kidney disease progression, and racial/ethnic survival disparities on renal replacement therapy.
Foot and neuropathy
Lead: Andrew Boulton (United Kingdom)
Professor Andrew Boulton is the Immediate Past President of the International Diabetes Federation (IDF). He is currently President of the Worldwide Initiative for Diabetes Education and Chair of the European Alliance for Diabetes Research (EURADIA). Professor Boulton is a graduate of Newcastle-upon-Tyne University. He subsequently trained in Sheffield and Miami prior to accepting an appointment at Manchester University, where he is currently Professor of Medicine with a special interest in diabetes and its complications. He is also Consultant Physician at Manchester Royal Infirmary.
Dr Rayaz Malik is Professor of Medicine at Weill Cornell Medicine-Qatar (WMCL-Q) and Senior Physician in Endocrinology and Internal Medicine at Hamad General Hospital. His research focuses on the pathogenesis, assessment and treatment of diabetic neuropathy and neurodegenerative diseases such as stroke, multiple sclerosis, Parkinson’s disease, and dementia.
Dr Shazli Azmi is a Consultant in Diabetes and Endocrinology and an Honorary Senior Clinical Lecturer (Associate Professor) at Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust and the University of Manchester, Manchester, UK. She has a specialist clinical interest in managing complex type 2 diabetes and micro and macrovascular complications. Her research interest covers diabetic neuropathy, small fibre neuropathy and neuropathic pain. Currently, her research focuses on surrogate endpoints of diabetic neuropathy and other peripheral neuropathies.
Dr Hermelinda Pedrosa is the Research Coordinator at the Diabetes Unit of the Federal District Health Department of Brazil and a Vice President of the International Diabetes Federation (2023-2024). She focuses on clinical care, research, teaching, education and governance. Her work is linked to the Education Control of Diabetes Programme and the Save the Diabetic Foot project, which established over 60 diabetic-foot outpatient clinics. As an advocate for diabetic foot care, she coordinated the first edition of the Train the Foot Trainers, now in its seventh edition.
Diabetes in crises
Co-Lead: Akhtar Hussain (Norway)
Prof. Akhtar Hussain is President of the International Diabetes Federation (2022-24). He previously served on the IDF Board as a Vice President (2013-2017) and President-Elect (2020-21). Prof. Hussain is originally from Bangladesh. After graduating in medicine from the University of Dhaka, Bangladesh, he received post-graduate and doctoral diplomas in Boston, USA and Bergen and Oslo, Norway, where he has resided since 1982. Over the last 25 years, Prof. Hussain has worked actively in diabetes and is currently a professor at NORD University in Norway, focusing on diabetes and metabolic syndrome.
Co-Lead: Alicia Jenkins (Australia)
Prof. Alicia Jenkins is a clinical endocrinologist and physician researcher. Her research focuses on type 1 and type 2 diabetes and their associated acute and chronic complications, vascular health, clinical, biochemical and molecular biomarkers and the use of technology in healthcare. She trained in medicine and research in Australia (University of Melbourne), the UK, Ireland and the USA. After 13 years full-time at the University of Melbourne/St Vincent’s Hospital (Melbourne) she joined the Faculty of Medicine at The University of Sydney in 2013 as Professor of Diabetes and Vascular Medicine, and continues clinical work at St. Vincent’s Hospital, Melbourne. Since 2000 she has served on the Board of the diabetes aid organization Insulin For Life and collaborates with the Life For a Child programme.
Dr Mark Barone has over twenty years of experience in developing solutions to improve diabetes and other non-communicable diseases care and prevention in Brazil, Latin America and globally. He the founder and general manager of the Intersectoral Forum to Fight NCDs in Brazil (ForumDCNTs) and a member of the BMJ Patient Advisory Panel, the Ramaiah International Centre for Public Health Innovations (RICPHI). He also sits on the steering committees of Life for a Child and the NCD Labs on People Living with NCDs at the WHO. Dr Barone served as a Vice President of the International Diabetes Federation from 2020 to 2022.
Prof. Linong Ji is a Professor of Medicine, Director of Peking University Diabetes Center and Director of the Department of Endocrinology and Metabolism at Peking University People’s Hospital in Beijing, China. His research interests include the genetics of diabetes, translational research and diabetes management.
Prof Abdul Basit is the director of the Baqai Institute of Diabetology and Endocrinology (BIDE) and a Professor of Medicine at Baqai Medical University, Karachi, Pakistan. He served the International Diabetes Federation (IDF) as Regional Chair for the IDF Middle-East and North Africa Region in 2018-19. His work has provided the infrastructure to establish nationwide diabetes clinic networks in Pakistan. These efforts drastically reduced the amputation rate in Pakistan due to early detection and treatment of foot ulcers. Additionally, foot ulcers were eradicated in people with diabetes by providing them with specialised footwear.
Prof. Boris Mankovsky is the President of the Ukrainian Diabetology Association. He currently works at the Diabetology, P.L.Shupik National Medical Academy of Post-Graduate Education, researching Diabetology. His research interests include cerebrovascular complications of diabetes, diabetic neuropathy, and cardiovascular diseases in people with diabetes.
Stream descriptions and learning objectives
In this stream, you will learn all aspects of cardiovascular disease related to diabetes, both prevention and treatment of people with diabetes and existing cardiovascular disease or heart failure. Additional topics include epidemiology, screening processes and organisation of such care, diagnosis and latest management. The data presented during this session derives from high-, middle- and low-income countries. Therapy areas will focus on lifestyle factors, established cardiovascular risk reduction therapies and anti-diabetic medicines.
Learning objectives
After attending sessions in the Cardiovascular Disease & Hypertension stream, you will:
- Understand the main risk factors for cardiovascular risk in diabetes and how to determine cardiovascular risk with simple risk scores.
- Understand that early treatment of lipids and blood pressure has substantial benefits in diabetes and, where relevant, discuss appropriate treatment targets.
- Understand the evidence base for lifestyle interventions to lower cardiovascular risk in diabetes.
- Understand drivers of heart failure in diabetes and how to assess such risks.
- Understand the evidence base for treatments designed to lower glucose but now available for lessening cardiovascular or cardiorenal risks and when to use them.
- Gain an appreciation of trends in cardiovascular risks in people with diabetes over time and across different regions.
- Apply evidence-based research to the management of cardiovascular disease and heart failure in diabetes.
This stream focuses on clinically important aspects of the devastating late complications of diabetic retinopathy and diabetic kidney disease. Diabetic retinopathy is the most common reason for blindness in working-age adults. Meanwhile, diabetic kidney disease affects more than one in two people living with diabetes. It is associated with serious consequences such as the increased risk of dying early, cardiovascular events, hospitalisation for heart failure and end-stage kidney disease. Sessions will highlight the commonality of eye and kidney disease and the importance of screening for them.
In this stream, you will also learn early-stage identification of individuals with these complications to prevent the progression and improve the prognosis of people living with diabetes. Additional topics include how to treat eye and kidney disease with “standard-of-care” tools and how to implement novel organ-protective treatment options; how eye and kidney disease impacts adherence to treatment and the psychological well-being of the individuals affected, not only from the “care provider’s” but also from the “patient’s” perspective.
Learning objectives
After the sessions in the Eye & Kidney stream, you will understand:
- How to screen for diabetic eye and kidney disease with currently available tools, and what new tools are emerging.
- That eye and kidney disease are common complications, and that they carry grim consequences for the individual affected by these complications.
- That screening for these complications is suboptimal, and one needs to ensure regular screening of every individual living with diabetes.
- Why some people living with diabetes develop eye and kidney disease while others do not.
- That there is an urgent and unmet need to provide balanced standard of care to people living with diabetes.
- How to treat eye and kidney disease according to standard of care but also to become familiar with the novel organ-protective medications that have shown a dramatic improvement in the prognosis of people living with diabetes.
In this stream, you will learn all aspects of diabetic neuropathy, including somatic and autonomic. There will also be a focus on lower limb problems in diabetes, particularly neuropathy, peripheral arterial disease, and diabetic foot disease. The latter will include a section on Charcot neuroarthropathy. All aspects of the neuropathies and diabetic foot problems will be covered, including epidemiology, screening, diagnosis and the latest management.
In the area of the diabetic foot, a major section will cover the prevention of amputation and early management of diabetic foot infections, together with an update on evidence-based management of complex diabetic foot lesions. Finally, the 2023 American Diabetes Association’s guidelines on foot care, with update to the International Working Group on the Diabetic Foot guidelines (2023), will be covered.
Learning objectives
After attending sessions in the Foot & Neuropathy stream, you will :
- Understand the multiple manifestations of neuropathy, both somatic and autonomic.
- Understand that the early diagnosis of neuropathy by screening is advocated in the prevention of later complications.
- Understand the pathophysiology of diabetic neuropathies and that, to date, there are no pathogenetic treatments but many proposed symptomatic treatments for painful neuropathy which will be outlined in this stream.
- Achieve a broad understanding of the pathogenesis and prevention of diabetic foot problems.
- Understand the evidence-based treatments available for managing diabetic foot problems and foot infections.
- Understand the updated guidelines from the American Diabetes Association and International Working Group on the Diabetic Foot for all aspects of diabetic foot care
- Apply evidence-based research in the management of neuropathy and foot problems in day-to-day clinical practice.
To better understand diabetes and its complications, it is vital to understand and identify an individual’s experience of diabetes and the thoughts, emotions and contexts that can regulate diabetes self-management behaviours. In addition, it is the extent to which a person living with diabetes can engage with the demands of their diabetes that will significantly impact their risk of diabetes complications.
Complications of diabetes mainly result from uncontrolled diabetes. Therefore, the main focus should be on the importance of controlling glycemia. Furthermore, preventing complications is cost-effective and affects the quality of life of people with diabetes.
Diabetes complications are associated with multiple psychological and social factors, both as precipitants of risk and as a consequence of the physical impact of the complication. In addition, complications can be driven by and also lead to significant psychological morbidity, particularly in relation to depression, anxiety and eating disorders. Therefore, it is essential to consider the psychosocial drivers and consequences of diabetes complications to prevent and manage the physical impacts of the condition.
Therefore, this stream focuses on the experiences of people living with diabetes in the context of diabetes complications.
Learning objectives
After attending sessions in the Living with Diabetes stream, you will understand:
- How the experiences of people living with diabetes mediate the risks for, and experiences of diabetes complications and what they expect from the HCP.
- The importance of controlling glycemia because it is closely related to the risk of complications and how to convincingly communicate with people with diabetes.
- The interplay between psychological factors such as a person’s emotional relationship with diabetes and diabetes complications.
- How an individual’s social and cultural context can determine the risk of complications focusing on health inequalities, age and health literacy.
- The relationship between specific psychological morbidities (depression and eating disorders) and the risk and management of diabetes complications.
- How to improve the interaction of the multidisciplinary group within the team and with the patient for early diagnosis of complications.
- The lived experience of diabetes complications in relation to foot and kidney disease.
With an estimated 10% of adults and several million youths living with diabetes globally and the increasingly high rate of disasters, people living with diabetes will inevitably be affected. Adverse outcomes disproportionately affect those in low- and middle-income regions. Prevention, Preparation, Response and Recovery (PPRR) is a practical approach to improving disaster-related outcomes. There are many roles for individuals with diabetes, their carers, clinicians, the healthcare system, community, local and national governments, industry and NGOs. Sessions in this stream will share approaches, existing resources and diabetes-related experience with natural and manufactured disasters.
Learning objectives
After the sessions in the Natural Disasters and Conflict stream, you will :
- Understand the epidemiology of diabetes and disasters.
- Understand the potential effects of natural and man-made disasters on people living with diabetes.
- Have reviewed existing guidelines and resources for disaster prevention, preparation, response and recovery and related advocacy.
- Understand relevant human rights laws and who and how to ask for assistance.
- Learn from prior diabetes related experiences with natural and man-made disasters.
This stream focuses on the challenges of Post COVID-19 in people with diabetes for its clinical management and long-term impact. This will include updates on the global situation and the clinical management of Post COVID-19 and diabetes, with experiences from Asia, Africa, Europe, North and South America and the Western Pacific. Conditions such as existing cardiovascular disease and kidney disease will also be considered. Data from high and low-income countries in different ethnic populations will provide a unique opportunity to upgrade current knowledge and meet global experts in the COVID-19 and diabetes field. Lifestyle factors, good glycaemic control, management of metabolic state and anti-diabetes medicines will also be addressed.
Learning objectives
- Present the current state of affairs for diabetes and Post COVID-19 and the way forward.
- Hyperglycaemia in Post COVID-19: prognosis and management.
- Issues on cardiovascular risk management in people with diabetes with Post COVID-19.
- Review the impact of COVID-19 on diabetes incidence.
- Non-insulin anti-diabetes agents in people with type 2 diabetes and Post COVID-19.
- Discuss the management of diabetes and hyperglycemia in the post COVID-19 era.
