IDF Europe Prizes in diabetes awarded to two young innovative women impacting the way we understand and live diabetes
Abu Dhabi 3 December 2017: IDF Europe, the voice of the diabetes community in Europe, recognizes excellence, innovation, dedication and commitment in diabetes through its annual IDF Europe Prizes in diabetes.
The latest data published in the 2017 edition of the Diabetes Atlas are, once more, cruel[1]. In the European region, 58 million people, or 8,8% of the adult population aged 20-79, live with diabetes and 36 million more are at high risk of developing it in the coming years. Despite these alarming figures, national and international response is limited and does not reflect the reality of the pandemic.
To further increase the international awareness on diabetes, the International Diabetes Federation European Region (IDF Europe) has launched in 2012 its annual IDF Europe Prizes in Diabetes which recognizes excellence, innovation, dedication and commitment in diabetes.
IDF Europe’s Prize Selection Committee is extremely proud to recognize this year two young innovative and dedicated women who are making a difference in diabetes every day. Ms Cristina Cucchiarelli from Italy has been awarded the IDF Europe Prize for Long Standing Achievement and Dr Shivani Misra from the United Kingdom the IDF Europe Prize for Young Researcher.
As a professional athlete with diabetes and a sport trainer, Cristina understands metabolic adaptation patterns during sports activities and has developed over the years a training technique dedicated to people with type 1 diabetes with great results: , Pronking, a method based on a bi-weekly training, provides a 40% average improvement in insulin sensitivity and daily insulin requirement. Cristina’s activity has contributed to increase the number of people who can balance their insulin therapy with the changing energy requirements met during different training activities, taking intensity, time and meal composition into consideration. Her continued commitment makes her a very worthy recipient of the IDF Europe Prize for Long-Standing Achievement.
The awardee of the Young Researcher Prize is Dr Shivani Misra, a very bright young medical researcher with an already impressive list of publications and national and international presence. Shivani investigates the phenotype of young-onset diabetes in different ethnic groups in the United Kingdom. Her research is of great relevance to ethnic minorities both in the United Kingdom and globally, with the aim of improving diabetes classification and treatment for people from different ethnicity .
“I am very pleased by the decision of our Selection Committee especially since the theme of this year’s World Diabetes Day was “Woman and Diabetes” stated Professor Sehnaz Karadeniz, chair of IDF Europe. Ms Cucchiarelli and Dr Misra are very innovative and engaged women and their commitment has a great impact on prevention and on the life of people with diabetes. We need more people like them.”
Ms Cucchiarelli and Dr Misra received their award and gave a presentation speech at a ceremony during the IDF Europe Regional Council on 3 December 2017 in Abu Dhabu, just before the World Diabetes Congress.
[1] International Diabetes Federation. IDF Diabetes Atlas, 8th ed. Brussels, Belgium: International Diabetes Federation, 2017. http://www.diabetesatlas.org
