14th Symposium of the International Diabetes Epidemiology Group (IDEG)



 DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Support is requested from NIDDK for the 14th Symposium of the International Diabetes Epidemiology Group (IDEG) to be held in Vancouver, British Columbia December 5-6, 2015 followed by a one-day epidemiology training course on December 7. The IDEG was formed in 1979 to unite researchers and practitioners in diabetes epidemiology worldwide. Concerned with the consequences to population health related to the epidemic of diabetes in the developed world and a similar rise in the developing world, the IDEG mission is to forge international collaborations and effectively exchange data and ideas on the epidemiology of all types of diabetes and its complications. The IDEG is the only regularly occurring international meeting devoted to the subject of diabetes epidemiology. It will be held as an official satellite meeting o the World Diabetes Congress sponsored by the International Diabetes Federation that will take place in Vancouver November 30 to December 4, 2015. The IDEG Symposium will address key issues in understanding the epidemiology of diabetes. It will cover descriptive and analytic approaches that aim to elucidate both the burden and etiologies of type 1 and type 2 diabetes. The IDEG symposium targets an audience of health care researchers, investigators, educators, and students/trainees working on the problem of diabetes mellitus from the fields of clinical care, public health, prevention, epidemiology and genetics. The IDEG symposium presents a unique opportunity to bring together this audience from around the world, and given that the meeting is to be held in Canada, especially the U.S. and Canada. The unique aspect of the meeting is the opportunity for attendees at all career levels from across the globe to interact closely due to the small meeting size, discussion sessions, and social activities. It is in the opinion of many the premier event in which to become familiar with the worldwide diabetes epidemiology community on a professional and personal level, thereby fostering important and productive exchange of ideas and future collaborations. The IDEG emphasizes attendance by students, trainees, post-docs, and junior faculty by providing travel support to attend the Symposium and the one-day training course. This R13 application requests support to continue to enable IDEG to offer this support to nurture tomorrow's diabetes epidemiologists. The IDEG is a voluntary organization with no standing budget or staff. Multiple sources of support are sought to achieve its mission. The support requested from NIDDK will provide partial support for the travel of 15 trainees to attend this Symposium. Other sources of support are being sought to enable additional trainees to attend the IDEG. Expected attendance at the IDEG will range from 200-250 participants, with 50 expected to attend the training course. The IDEG has enjoyed a high participation by women and minorities and will continue to emphasize their participation in 2015 in Vancouver. The Symposium and training course have been planned by an international committee of prominent diabetes clinicians and investigators led by Prof Ronald Ma, The Chinese University of Hong Kong.