Francine R. Kaufman, M.D. Begins Term
as Diabetes Education Program Chair
Francine R. Kaufman, M.D., director of the Comprehensive Childhood
Diabetes Center and head of the Center for Endocrinology, Diabetes
and Metabolism at Childrens Hospital Los Angeles, began a three-year
term as chair of the National Diabetes Education Program (NDEP)
on October 1.
As chair of NDEP, Kaufman is charged with strengthening the program's
commitment to changing the way diabetes is treated by increasing
awareness of the importance of managing diabetes to reduce its
complications, preventing or delaying the onset of type 2 diabetes
among those at risk, and by disseminating information to encourage
people to take action to prevent or control the disease. NDEP is
jointly sponsored by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and
the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Kaufman has served on NDEP advisory committees since 2000. She
succeeds Lawrence Blonde, M.D., F.A.C.P., F.A.C.E., director of
the Ochsner Diabetes Clinical Research Unit in the Department of
Endocrinology, Diabetes, and Metabolism and Associate Internal
Medicine Residency Program director at Ochsner Medical Center in
New Orleans.
Kaufman has appointments at the Keck School of Medicine and the
Annenberg School for Communication at the University of Southern
California (USC) as Distinguished Professor of Pediatrics and Communications.
She also serves as a co-principal investigator of the Keck Diabetes
Prevention Initiative at USC, a program designed to identify and
address the interrelated factors that lead to obesity and diabetes
in certain areas of Los Angeles. A diplomat of the American Board
of Pediatrics and board certified in pediatric endocrinology and
metabolism, Kaufman is the principal investigator of two trials
sponsored by the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and
Kidney Diseases (NIDDK) of NIH: the "Treatment Options for
Type 2 Diabetes in Adolescents and Youth" (TODAY) study, which
seeks to identify the best treatment of type 2 diabetes in children
and teens ages 10 to 17, and HEALTHY, a school-based study to lower
diabetes risk factors in middle school students, which is part
of a broader research initiative "Studies to Treat or Prevent
Pediatric Type 2 Diabetes" (STOPP T2D).
"For the past three years, Dr. Blonde has focused on strengthening
NDEP's partnerships, and I thank him for his many contributions
as NDEP chair. It is with immense pleasure that I welcome Dr. Kaufman,
a proven leader in the diabetes community, who will focus on disseminating
materials and continuing and building on partnerships to improve
diabetes prevention and care," said Griffin P. Rodgers, M.D.,
Director of NIDDK.
Kaufman has numerous publications, awards, and honors. Her book, " Diabesity:
The Obesity-Diabetes Epidemic that Threatens America — And
What We Must Do to Stop It," illustrates the link between
obesity and diabetes and calls for changes in public policy to
reverse the slide toward inactivity and poor dietary habits. She
also collaborated with Discovery Health Channel on the documentary Diabetes:
A Global Epidemic, which premiered in November 2007.
Kaufman is a former president of the American Diabetes Association
and has been active with organizations such as the American Academy
of Pediatrics, International Diabetes Federation and Juvenile Diabetes
Research Foundation International. In 2005, Kaufman was elected
to the Institute of Medicine. She received a bachelor's degree
from Northwestern University in 1972 and a medical degree from
Chicago Medical School in 1976.
Established in 1997, NDEP provides free information and resources
for health care professionals, people at risk for type 2 diabetes,
people with diabetes and those who care for them. Among the materials
are tip sheets and brochures in 20 adaptations tailored to high-risk
audiences, including African Americans, Hispanics/Latinos, American
Indians, Alaska Natives, Asian Americans, Pacific Islanders, older
adults, and women with a history of gestational diabetes and their
children. For more information, visit NDEP at www.ndep.nih.gov or
call 1-888-693-NDEP (6337); TTY: 1-866-569-1162.
NIDDK, a component of the NIH, conducts and supports research
in diabetes and other endocrine and metabolic diseases; digestive
diseases, nutrition, and obesity; and kidney, urologic and hematologic
diseases. Spanning the full spectrum of medicine and afflicting
people of all ages and ethnic groups, these diseases encompass
some of the most common, severe, and disabling conditions affecting
Americans. For more information about NIDDK and its programs, see www.niddk.nih.gov.
The National Institutes of Health (NIH) — The Nation's
Medical Research Agency — includes 27 Institutes and Centers
and is a component of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
It is the primary federal agency for conducting and supporting basic,
clinical and translational medical research, and it investigates
the causes, treatments, and cures for both common and rare diseases.
For more information about NIH and its programs, visit www.nih.gov. |