Dear Colleagues,
As Chair of the Professional Conference Organising Committee and on behalf of the Diabetes UK Conference team, I have great pleasure in welcoming you to the Diabetes UK Professional Conference 2020.
The conference will be held at the SEC Glasgow from the 18 to the 20 of March 2020.
The organising committee has developed an exciting and innovative scientific and clinical programme, which brings together the interdisciplinary nature of modern diabetes care. The programme will be of interest to all healthcare professionals and scientists working within diabetes.
Programme highlights
This year’s programme delivers eight daily session tracks with a mixture of plenaries, symposia and workshops. The main programme will also include novel and controversial areas relating to diabetes management. The conference will open with a session examining how diabetes care may need to be adapted within a changing NHS. On Wednesday 18 March the key themes will include specific sessions relating to dietetics, the prevention of diabetes, podiatry, pharmacy and primary care, psychology and in-patient care. The themes for Thursday 19 March will include paediatrics, in-patient care, antenatal diabetes, psychology, clinical science and basic science. Specific sessions will examine the role that circadian rhythms, genetics and glucose variability play in the pathophysiology of diabetes. Friday 20 of March will include sessions related to gestational diabetes, technology, basic science and therapies. Along with these, there is a Diabetic Medicine symposium focusing on the advancement of research and practice relating to psychological aspects of diabetes. There will also be a session examining the cardiac, renal and type 1 diabetes perspectives of SGLT2 inhibitors.
This year the competition for the Named Lectures was extremely high. These lectures are delivered by healthcare and research professionals who have made an outstanding contribution to developments in various areas of diabetes care. Each year, the process is difficult and competitive due to the high calibre of submitted applications. This year the named lectures will be given by Professor Gerry Rayman (Arnold Bloom), Professor Mike Lean (Banting Memorial), Professor Ewan Pearson (Dorothy Hodgkin), Professor Emma Wilmot (Janet Kinson), Dr Neel Basudev (Mary MacKinnon), Dr Sarah Jane Richardson (RD Lawrence) and Dr Denise Robertson (Rank Nutrition).
We hope that all delegates will find the programme to be relevant, stimulating and educational. In addition, we hope that the conference will afford a unique opportunity to network with colleagues across the diabetes spectrum to share knowledge and good practice. I would like to take this opportunity to thank the Diabetes UK Conference team and all members of the organising committee, to include my Vice-Chair Professor Martin Rutter, for their inspiration, support, collaborative thinking and considerable efforts to develop this year’s programme. I would also like to thank all of our sponsors for their continued support to enable Diabetes UK to deliver a world-class conference.
On behalf of the Professional Conference Organising Committee and the Diabetes UK Conference team we look forward to meeting you in Glasgow. We hope you enjoy the conference and leave with a continued enthusiasm and passion for diabetes care.
Professor Jeff Stephens
