On Wednesday, May 17, 2023, the Caswell Diabetes Institute joined forces with the Michigan Center for Diabetes Translational Research (MCDTR), the Michigan Diabetes Research Center (MDRC), and the Michigan Nutrition Obesity Research Center (MNORC) to host the second annual Caswell Diabetes Institute Metabolism, Obesity, and Diabetes (CDI-MOD) Symposium.
210 faculty, trainees, and staff gathered in the Dining Hall of Building 18 at the North Campus Research Complex (NCRC) for a full day of engaging presentations, a data blitz, a poster session, and networking. The symposium was divided into three sessions – two morning and one afternoon. Each session was moderated by a member of the CDI-MOD Symposium planning committee – Brigid Gregg, MD, Karen Peterson, ScD, and Gretchen Piatt, MPH, PhD, and featured an overview of one of the NIH-funded partner centers, a keynote talk, and 2-3 shorter presentations from members of the MCDTR, the MDRC, and the MNORC. Andrew Ibrahim, MD, MSc, kicked off the afternoon session with a bonus presentation focused on science and social media.
Ten graduate students and postdoctoral fellows participated in the data blitz, highlighting their exciting research in two-minute lightning talks. 78 posters were presented by undergraduates, staff, graduate students, postdoctoral fellows, and faculty during the poster session which was judged by CDI faculty members, the keynote speakers, and three national journal editors – Ashley Castellanos, PhD, Nature Metabolism, Corinne Williams, PhD, JCI & JCI Insights, and Vabren Watts, PhD, Health Affairs. The data blitz participants and poster session awardees are listed below.
Data Blitz Participants
Gabrielle Huizinga, Graduate Student, University of Michigan
Ramiah Jacks, Postdoctoral Fellow, University of Michigan
Rabail Khan, Graduate Student, Michigan State University
Anne Lietzke, Graduate Student, University of Michigan
Jessica Maung, Graduate Student, University of Michigan
Jariel (Jay) Ramirez-Virella, Graduate Student, Michigan State University
Evan Reynolds, Postdoctoral Fellow, University of Michigan
Rebecca Schill, Postdoctoral Fellow, University of Michigan
Maya Watanabe, Graduate Student, University of Michigan
Jordan Wean, Postdoctoral Fellow, University of Michigan
Poster Session Awardees
Belle Henry, Graduate Student, University of Michigan
Aleksandra Kostina, Postdoctoral Fellow, Michigan State University
Rohit Ray, Undergraduate Student, University of Michigan
Alivia Wu, Graduate Student, University of Michigan
Gary Zhang, Staff, University of Michigan
Linyao (Elina) Zhao, Graduate Student, University of Michigan
Wenzhen Zhu, Postdoctoral Fellow, University of Michigan
Most attendees were from the University of Michigan and regional institutions (Michigan State University, University of Toledo, and Wayne State University). Other institutions represented included the University of Maryland, the University of North Carolina – Chapel Hill, Children's Diabetes Centre, Telethon Kids Institute, Perth, Australia, JDRF, Boston University, University of Adelaide, University of Massachusetts, University of British Columbia, and Eastern Michigan University.
Planning is already underway for next year's event. Look out for news and updates as key aspects are finalized. We look forward to seeing you there!
See photos from this year's event. To view a complete list of speakers, click the link below: