The American Diabetes Association® (ADA) will present the 2019 Banting Medal for Scientific Achievement, the ADA’s highest honor, to Stephen O’Rahilly, MD. The Banting Medal recognizes significant, long-term contributions to the understanding, treatment or prevention of diabetes. Dr. O’Rahilly will be recognized with this honor during the ADA’s 79th Scientific Sessions, June 7-11, 2019, at the Moscone Convention Center in San Francisco, and will deliver his Banting Medal Lecture, titled “Treasure Your Exceptions—Studying Human Extreme Phenotypes to Illuminate Metabolic Health and Disease,” during the President, Medicine and Science Address on Sunday, June 9.

Dr. O’Rahilly currently serves as Professor of Clinical Biochemistry & Medicine and Head of the Department of Clinical Biochemistry at the University of Cambridge and is renowned for his contributions in identifying novel extreme human metabolic phenotypes; discovering and characterizing numerous genes important in metabolic function and dysfunction; and developing new diagnostic and therapeutic applications now established in clinical practice.

“Dr. O’Rahilly’s illustrious contributions include the discovery of novel genetic mutations associated with defects in insulin signaling. He first demonstrated the importance of Peroxisome Proliferator-Activated Receptor Gamma (PPARγ) in glucose regulation and blood pressure. Dr. O’Rahilly was also the first to identify and describe several mutations causing human obesity,” said the ADA’s 2019 President of Medicine and Science Louis H. Philipson, MD, PhD, FACP. “Congratulations to Dr. O’Rahilly on this much-deserved honor, and we thank him for his paradigm-shifting contributions to our knowledge of diabetes and diabetes risk-states.”

Beyond his research contributions, Dr. O’Rahilly established a centrally funded national service providing diagnostic and therapeutic input to patients with severe insulin resistance in the UK. Furthermore, he launched the Institute of Metabolic Science in Cambridge and has mentored many leading scientists around the world, including Ismaa Sadaf Farooqi, PhD, recipient of the ADA’s 2019 Outstanding Scientific Achievement Award.

The American Diabetes Association’s 79th Scientific Sessions, the world’s largest scientific meeting focused on diabetes research, prevention and care, will be held June 7-11, 2019, at the Moscone Center in San Francisco, California. Nearly 15,000 leading physicians, scientists, health care professionals and industry representatives from around the world are expected to convene at the Scientific Sessions to unveil cutting-edge research, treatment recommendations and advances toward a cure for diabetes. During the five-day meeting, attendees will receive exclusive access to more than 850 presentations and 2,000 original research presentations, participate in provocative and engaging exchanges with leading diabetes experts, and can earn Continuing Medical Education (CME) or Continuing Education (CE) credits for educational sessions. The program is grouped into eight thematic areas: Acute and Chronic Complications; Behavioral Medicine, Clinical Nutrition, Education and Exercise; Clinical Diabetes/Therapeutics; Epidemiology/Genetics; Immunology/Transplantation; Insulin Action/Molecular Metabolism; Integrated Physiology/Obesity; and Islet Biology/Insulin Secretion. Gretchen Youssef, MS, RDN, CDE, President of Health Care and Education, will deliver her address, “It’s All about Access!,” on Saturday, June 8, and Louis H. Philipson, MD, PhD, FACP, President of Medicine and Science, will address attendees on Sunday, June 9. Join the Scientific Sessions conversation on social media using #ADA2019.

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