Applications are now open to deliver one of our Named Lectures at the Diabetes UK Professional Conference 2024.
The deadline for applications is 21 February 2023
The Named Lectures form a central feature of our conference and provide a platform from which to disseminate information about recent developments in research and progressive thinking about diabetes care.
They are prestigious awards with a long-standing history, recognising the very best in diabetes treatment and research. Each of the seven awards are named after pioneers in the field of diabetes, with award criteria reflecting the careers and spirit of the individuals they are named after.
Healthcare and research professionals who have made an outstanding contribution to developments in diabetes care are invited to apply for these highly respected awards. Applications will be accepted directly from individuals, or through nominations on behalf of others, providing that they have given their consent.
Provided applicants meet the basic requirement outlined for each lecture, we welcome applications from all disciplines.
Awardees will be announced at our next Diabetes UK Professional Conference in April 2023.
The seven awards are:
- Banting Memorial
- Arnold Bloom
- Dorothy Hodgkin
- Janet Kinson
- RD Lawrence
- Mary MacKinnon
- Harry Keen Rank Nutrition Lecture
Named Lecture awardees will receive:
- An honorarium
- Access to the three-day conference
- Free travel and accommodation for the conference
Named Lecture awardees are also expected to deliver an article based on their lecture to either Diabetic Medicine or Practical Diabetes, depending on the Named Lecture. The Diabetes UK honorarium is dependent on the presentation and the article being submitted.
How to apply
Please check the award criteria, complete an application form and send to healthcare@diabetes.org.uk by 11.55pm 21 February 2023.
Please note the Mary MacKinnon and Harry Keen Rank Nutrition Lectures have separate application forms.
Q5 on the Named Lecture application form is for your approver/referee's details. Approvers/referees will be contacted once the deadline for applications has passed. Please note, no references are required for the Mary MacKinnon and Rank Nutrition Lectures.
If you have any questions please check our FAQs or contact healthcare@diabetes.org.uk.
Named Lecture Application Form
Mary MacKinnon Lecture Application Form
Harry Keen Rank Nutrition Application Form
Nominations
If you are nominating on behalf of another, please ensure you have the applicant's consent. Complete an application form, with your details as nominator entered into Q5. If you are nominating an applicant for the Harry Keen Rank Nutrition Lecture, please contact healthcare@diabetes.org.uk for guidance.
When returning applications to us, please also specify in the e-mail that you are nominating someone on their behalf.
If you have any questions please check our FAQs or contact healthcare@diabetes.org.uk.
Award Criteria
Banting Memorial
Our Banting Memorial Lecture is the highest award bestowed by Diabetes UK and is also the oldest, with the first lecture delivered in 1949. The lecture is awarded to a person internationally recognised for their eminence in the field of diabetes.
The award is named in honour of Sir Frederick Banting (1891-1941), the Nobel laureate who alongside fellow scientists Charles Best and John MacLeod, co-discovered insulin in 1922. Their discovery saved the life of Leonard Thompson, the first person with diabetes to be treated with insulin, and has saved the lives of countless others over the past century.
Apply for Banting Memorial Lecture
In keeping with the ideals of Arnold Bloom, this lecture is awarded to a person who is a healthcare professional working in diabetes care who has contributed significantly to improving the quality of clinical care of people with diabetes.
Arnold Bloom (1915-1992) was a celebrated and well-loved clinician who placed the care of patients at the centre of his work. His work studying the differences in patient responses to insulin and drug therapies helped pave the way for the diabetes classifications we use today. In 1982 he delivered the 33rd Banting Memorial Lecture for his pioneering work developing a UK register of all newly diagnosed children with type 1 diabetes. The study gave the first insights into potential triggers, including genetics and viral infection, causes that are still being researched today. Bloom understood and valued the patient’s perspective and authored several publications for people living with diabetes and their families.
Apply for Arnold Bloom Lecture
Dorothy Hodgkin
The Dorothy Hodgkin Lecture is awarded to a person internationally recognised for their contribution to basic research in the field of diabetes. It is named in honour of Dorothy Hodgkin (1910-1994), the renowned Nobel Prize winning British chemist.
A pioneer of X-ray crystallography, Hodgkin used the technique to unlock the structures of biomolecules including Vitamin B12 and penicillin. In 1969, after 35 years of dedication, she eventually cracked the structure of insulin. Her discovery helped enable many modern advances we take for granted today, including mass production of insulin and the creation of different insulin analogues.
Apply for Dorothy Hodgkin Lecture
Janet Kinson
In keeping with the ideals of Janet Kinson, this award highlights education as an integral part of diabetes care, and is open to all health professionals, whose work in diabetes demonstrates a commitment to the delivery of education as a fundamental aspect of clinical care.
Janet Kinson (1934-2014) was a diabetes specialist nurse committed to diabetes education and person-centred care. As a passionate and engaging communicator, she developed the first training courses for nurses in diabetes care whilst working in Birmingham. In 1984, she co-authored the main reference book of the time, ‘Caring for the diabetic patient’ and worked with Charles Fox and Chris Gillespie in the development of the Knuston Diabetes Counselling Course, which still runs today.
Apply for Janet Kinson Lecture
The awardee for the RD Lawrence lecture must be a professional member of Diabetes UK actively working in the field of basic or clinical science in diabetes in the British Isles at the time of his/her election to the Lectureship. The lecturer should have no more than 20 years' post-doctoral research experience when the lecture is delivered. Allowance will be given to applicants whose career has been subject to a late start or interruption for family or personal reasons.
The award is now in it’s 53rd year and honours Robert Daniel Lawrence (1892-1968), Scottish co-founder of Diabetes UK. After a brush with death following his own diagnosis with type 1 diabetes, Lawrence dedicated his life to transforming care and improving the lives of people with diabetes. As physician-in-charge at King’s College Hospital he led the creation of one of the earliest and largest diabetes clinics in the UK. He pioneered research into aspects of diabetes management we use today, including the role of diet and exercise, and published 106 papers on diabetes care and treatment. He recognised the importance of patient engagement in research, education and welfare; values he brought to the Diabetes Association (now Diabetes UK), which he co-founded in 1934 with H.G. Wells. The full story of Lawrence’s extraordinary life can be found here.
Mary MacKinnon
This lecture will be awarded to a diabetes team working collaboratively to provide integrated person-centred care in the community. The award is in honour of Mary MacKinnon, a nurse and lecturer who specialised in practice and diabetes nursing.
Mary was dedicated to the care and education of people with diabetes and those close to them and worked locally, nationally and internationally to this end. She promoted professional education in diabetes and the inclusion of primary healthcare providers in local integrated diabetes teams with personal support provided by specialist teams.
Mary was committed to the philosophy of 'whole person care', which enables people with diabetes to manage their condition, to be the key member of their own healthcare team and to be included and involved in the planning of local diabetes services.
Apply for Mary MacKinnon Lecture
Harry Keen Rank Nutrition Lecture
This lecture is kindly funded by the Rank Prize Funds in memory of Professor Harry Keen who sadly passed away in 2013. Professor Keen, who sat on the Rank Prize Funds Committee for over 22 years, was a physician and epidemiologist who did much to shape the modern understanding of diabetes and its treatment.
The lecture is specifically focused on nutrition and is open to those working or carrying out research in this area.
Apply for Harry Keen Rank Nutrition Lecture
FAQs
How do I apply?
Please complete the correct application form (please note our Mary MacKinnon and Harry Keen Rank Nutrition lectures have separate, dedicated application forms) and return to healthcare@diabetes.org.uk by 21 February 2023.
How long are the Named Lectures?
The Named Lectures are 40 minutes long.
How are the Named Lectures awarded?
Submissions are collated once the deadline is passed and reviewed by a selected panel of healthcare professionals who represent the broad specialities involved in diabetes care. The submissions are reviewed and graded by each panel member. The gradings are then collated by Diabetes UK and used to determine the awardee. The awardee is then ratified and confirmed by the Professional Conference Organising Committee.
When will I know if I have been awarded a Named Lecture?
For the Named Lectures 2024, awardees will be announced in April at the Diabetes UK Professional Conference 2023.
What do I receive if I am awarded a Named Lecture?
Awardees of Named Lectures receive an honorarium, access to the three-day conference and free travel and accommodation for the conference. The honorarium will only be paid once the article based on the lecture has been published.
Where are articles based on the Named Lectures published?
The Arnold Bloom, Janet Kinson and Mary MacKinnon lectures will be published in Practical Diabetes. The other lectures are published in Diabetic Medicine.
Will the Named Lectures be delivered online or in-person?
We expect the Diabetes UK Professional Conference 2024 will be in-person, with the venue yet to be confirmed.
Who do I contact if I have any further questions?
If you have any questions, please e-mail healthcare@diabetes.org.uk and we will aim to reply to your query within 48 hours.
