Welcome to the Diabetes Smart Academy

Louis Philipson, MD, PhD, is an endocrinologist and a leading world authority on diabetes mellitus. His clinical interests include type 1 diabetes, complicated type 2 diabetes, monogenic diabetes and hypoglycemia. Recognized for unmatched expertise in the treatment of diabetes that is difficult to manage, Dr. Philipson's multisciplinary team frequently accepts referrals and provides consultations. Under his leadership, Kovler Diabetes Center has been recognized as a one of only seven National Institutes of Health (NIH) Diabetes Research and Training Centers in the U.S. For more than 25 years, Dr. Philipson has tirelessly explored the biophysical, molecular and genetic aspects of insulin secretion, and the genetics of diabetes. He and his colleagues discovered rare insulin gene mutations that produce beta cell ER stress and, in turn, cause neonatal diabetes. In addition, Dr. Philipson and his colleagues are among the nation's leading experts on monogenic diabetes, following more than 100 patients diagnosed with neonatal diabetes and many others with maturity onset diabetes of the young (MODY) type diabetes. He also serves as co-director of the Human Islet Transplantation project at the University of Chicago. Dr. Philipson has served as principal investigator on numerous research projects. His work is widely published in biomedical journals, including the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Science, Nature, Diabetes, American Journal of Physiology and the Journal of Biological Chemistry. As president of the Chicago/Northern Illinois board of the American Diabetes Association and a member of its National Board, he has been invited to speak and present at scientific research conferences and symposia worldwide. In addition, Dr. Philipson is the recipient of numerous awards including ADA Research Awards and the National Disease Research Interchange (NDRI) Outstanding Scientist Award. He was also named the 2011 recipient of the Samuel Eichold II Memorial Award for Contributions in Diabetes by the American College of Physicians. Practice Locations The University of Chicago Medicine 5841 S. Maryland Avenue Chicago, IL 60637 Duchossois Center for Advanced Medicine 5758 S. Maryland Avenue Chicago, IL 60637

Dr. Joshua Hedman was born in Galesburg, Illinois in 1977. He grew up in Bettendorf, Iowa, where he graduated high school in 1995. Dr. Hedman attended the University of Northern Iowa and graduated in 1999 with a Biology major and Chemistry minor. He moved to Chicago, IL after completing his undergraduate studies. In Chicago, Dr. Hedman graduated from Scholl College in 2003 where he received his Doctor of Podiatric Medicine. He then completed a three-year surgical residency at the DVA-Chicago. He was fortunate to receive comprehensive training regarding all foot and ankle problems, including diabetic limb salvage. Additionally, Dr. Hedman completed a 6-week surgical fellowship in European reconstructive foot and ankle surgery. In July of 2006, he moved from Chicago to San Antonio and shortly after went into practice with two of his friends at The Foot & Ankle Treatment Center of San Antonio. After a successful career in San Antonio, Dr. Hedman, later relocated back to Chicago in 2012 to practice at the Chicago Pain and Orthopedic Institute, and has recently opened the Foot and Ankle Treatment Center of Chicago. During his second year of residency, at the age of 27, he was diagnosed with late onset Type 1 Diabetes and was placed on an insulin pump a couple months following this diagnosis. Due to his extensive training in diabetic limb salvage and his recent diagnosis of Type 1 Diabetes, Dr. Hedman has reached out to the American Diabetes Association and is highly involved in their mission to finding a cure for diabetes. Additionally, Dr. Hedman has seen the high incidence of diabetes and its unfortunate complications throughout this professional career in both Chicago and San Antonio. He can attest to the need for increased awareness and education in the growing diabetic population. Dr. Hedman is an active board member in Chicago for the American Diabetes Association (ADA) and served as the community chair for the 2016 Diabetes Expo in the Chicago-area. He was the former board President for the San Antonio ADA chapter and has participated in the annual ADA Expo, Tour de Cure (as a Red Rider), and Step Out: Walk to Stop Diabetes in both San Antonio and Chicago chapters.

Aaron J. Kowalski, Ph.D., was appointed JDRF's first Chief Mission officer in December 2014 and serves as a key link between JDRF and the broad diabetes community. Dr. Kowalski combines his professional experience as a scientist with his personal experience of living with type 1 diabetes (T1D) for over 30 years to help guide and champion JDRF's programs focused on creating a world without T1D. Dr. Kowalski is an internationally recognized expert in the area of diabetes technologies and has been a leader of JDRF's Artificial Pancreas Research Project, a multi-million dollar initiative that began in 2005 to accelerate the progress toward automated insulin-delivery systems. He has authored numerous articles on T1D research and was a coauthor of the landmark study in The New England Journal of Medicine that revealed the effectiveness of continuous glucose monitors in T1D management. Dr. Kowalski has traveled and spoken globally about diabetes research progress, and is known for his ability to translate science into easily understandable concepts. Dr. Kowalski has presented at many national and international scientific conferences, including the American Diabetes Association Annual Scientific Sessions, and was the keynote speaker at the 2009 Diabetes Technology Society Meeting. He has been a voice for diabetes research in the popular media, appearing on The Martha Stewart Show, dLife, Fox Business, and NPR, among others. He is often quoted in the print media, including The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, USA Today, and People magazine. Dr. Kowalski is a member of the JDRF PEAK Program's expert panel and often speaks about the importance of exercise and diet in better diabetes control. While living with T1D, he has completed 17 marathons. Online, he often tweets (@aaronjkowalski) about exercise and diabetes and how all people with T1D can live their lives without limits.

Eliot LeBow is a Diabetes-Focused Psychotherapist, who has lived with Type 1 Diabetes since 1977. Giving him great insight from both sides of the couch. Eliot's practice in New York City called DiabeticTalks is more than just a private psychotherapy practice. DiabeticTalks includes an online platform that provides emotional self-help to over 50,000 followers with diabetes and growing. Eliot has presented on the importance of mental health at multiple diabetes conferences including the Joslin Diabetes Center, AADE12, AADE13, AADE15 and much more. He has contributed as an expert on cognition and diabetes for several articles in print and online. Presently he is the author of the blog "DiabeticMinds", and is a columnist for endocrine today magazine and continues to speak at various events. Diabetes-Focused Psychotherapy takes a holistic approach combining traditional talk therapy with diabetes education and diabetes management help. It addresses both the physical and emotional aspects of living life with diabetes while still addressing other non-diabetes related life problems to create a unique holistic approach to help people with diabetes thrive. For many people with diabetes, blood sugar takes a silent toll on cognition, memory, retention, and recall. It can diminish learning, raise stress levels, and spur additional maladies such as depression. It impacts all aspects of life, lifestyle and turns your life upside down. For the people close to them, it has an impact as well: they often must learn to cope with feelings of guilt, anger, being helpless, and worried about this complex health issues. My private practice helps clients of all ages and their families manage life with diabetes.