Managing Hypoglycemia and Hypo Unawareness: Is Technology Enough?

If you take insulin, you know that hypoglycemia is the greatest risk of this life-saving therapy, a risk that can even be life-threatening. The danger of hypoglycemia is even greater if you experience hypoglycemia unawareness, the condition that often masks the symptoms that allow you to recognize when your blood sugar is dangerously low. Advances in technology like continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) and automated insulin delivery have helped manage hypoglycemia and hypo unawareness, but are they enough?  

This panel will take a deep dive into hypoglycemia and hypo unawareness, exploring who is at risk, the challenges of living with it, and how you can best manage it. Join us to learn more about this topic from two people living with T1D and two expert clinician-researchers at the forefront of trying to avoid hypoglycemia.

Our highly-regarded speakers are Dr. Pratik Choudhary, University of Leicester (UK); Dr. Jason Gaglia, Joslin Diabetes Center (Boston); Lisa Hepner, Director, Producer and Writer, The Human Trial; and Eritrea Mussa, The diaTribe Foundation. The panel will be moderated by Dr. Alan Moses.

Content warning: This conversation may include discussion of potentially fatal outcomes from severe hypoglycemia.

PANELISTS

Pratik Choudhary, MBBS, MD, FRCP
Professor of Diabetes, University of Leicester (UK)

Dr. Pratik Choudhary is a Professor of Diabetes at the University of Leicester, having joined there after 15 years at King’s College London. He has clinical and research interests into the mechanisms and management of hypoglycemia unawareness and the use of education and technology, especially new insulin pumps and continuous glucose monitors in the management of diabetes. He is work-package lead for the Hypo-RESOLVE consortium and within that is the principal investigator of a large multinational study evaluating the biological and psychosocial impacts of sensor detected hypoglycemia. He is chair of the Diabetes Technology Network – UK, medical advisor to the Department of Transport, associate editor for Diabetic Medicine, and member of the EASD Postgraduate Education Committee.
 

Jason Gaglia, MD, MMSc
Endocrinologist and Researcher, Joslin Diabetes Center (Boston)

Dr. Jason Gaglia is a practicing endocrinologist and researcher at the Joslin Diabetes Center in Boston with a focus in type 1 diabetes. He was the first to report abnormalities in pancreas volume with the development of type 1 diabetes and led a team demonstrating noninvasive imaging of inflammation in the pancreas with the development of type 1 diabetes using magnetic nanoparticle enhanced magnetic resonance imaging. More recently he serves as Director of the Hood Center for Prevention of Childhood Diabetes and Co-Director of the Clinical Translational Research Center at Joslin. He has been an investigator on numerous type 1 diabetes clinical trials including for Type 1 Diabetes TrialNet, Immune Tolerance Network, and industry sponsors. He has a particular interest in beta cell replacement strategies including for those with severe hypoglycemia having been a member of the clinical islet transplant team at the National Institutes of Health and Vice President of Clinical Science at Semma Therapeutics, a company founded to bring stem cell derived islets to clinical reality. He continues this work as a consultant for Vertex Pharmaceuticals, following its acquisition of Semma.

Lisa Hepner is the director and writer of the feature documentary, The Human Trial. She has lived with type 1 diabetes for 30 years, for about as long as she’s worked in film and TV. Now based in LA, she and her husband, Guy Mossman, run Vox Pop Films which specializes in producing commercials and branded content for the healthcare industry.

Eritrea Mussa
Social Media Manager, The diaTribe Foundation

Eritrea Mussa joined diaTribe as Social Media Manager in February 2022. Having lived with type 1 diabetes for 21 years, Eritrea has worked in the Diabetes Space as an advocate for most of her adult life. She has always carried a strong love of travel and culture. Both of her parents are immigrants to America and a big part of her life has been spent traveling to visit family around the world. In her free time, Eritrea co-hosts DiabeticsDoingThings, a podcast that focuses on telling the amazing stories of people living with Diabetes. Eritrea enjoys reading, napping and above all laughing as much as possible. She resides in Dallas, Texas with her dog, Laila. 

Alan Moses, MD, FACP
Board Chair, The diaTribe Foundation | Past Chief Medical Officer, Joslin Diabetes Center and Novo Nordisk

Dr. Alan Moses is an independent consultant for the pharmaceutical and biotechnology sector. Trained in internal medicine and endocrinology, he spent the major part of his academic career at Harvard doing bench and clinical research and clinical care and rising to a position of Professor of Medicine. Dr. Moses co-founded and directed the Clinical Investigator Training Program at Beth Israel Deaconess-Harvard Medical School-MIT. From 1998 to 2004, Dr. Moses served as Senior Vice President and Chief Medical Officer of the Joslin Diabetes Center with specific responsibility for the Joslin Clinic. He joined Novo Nordisk in 2004. During his 14 years at Novo Nordisk, Dr. Moses served in multiple roles beginning as Associate Vice President of Medical Affairs in the US and rising to the position of Senior Vice President and Global Chief Medical Officer working in Copenhagen. Dr. Moses earned his MD from the Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, worked for three years at the National Institutes of Health, completed his clinical endocrine/diabetes training at Tufts New England Medical Center, and studied Health Care Strategy at Harvard Business School. He retired from Novo Nordisk in June 2018. He has been a member of the Board of Directors of The diatribe Foundation since September 2018.

About diaTribe Musings

Previously known as Musings Under the Moon, when it was a single live event at the ADA Scientific Sessions, diaTribe Musings is now one of The diaTribe Foundation's most treasured ongoing virtual programs, engaging a diverse audience in thought-provoking dialogue and providing an opportunity to connect healthcare providers, business leaders, people living with diabetes, advocates, families, entrepreneurs, and policymakers. Musings tickets are complimentary thanks to the generous support of our sponsors. We welcome anyone interested in learning about the massive shifts and opportunities occurring in the world of diabetes. Please spread the word and share this event with anyone interested in learning more about diabetes. Join the conversation on Twitter with #diaTribeMusings.

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