CONGRATS to the winners of our 2014 Patient Voices Contest!
In this annual scholarship program, we seek a group of activated patients to participate in our DiabetesMine Innovation Summit held each fall at Stanford University School of Medicine in Palo Alto, CA.
Our winners helped represent the larger patient community, expressing our needs and desires to the Powers That Be: pharma industry and regulatory leaders, health insurance execs, clinicians, entrepreneurs, health tech experts, the country’s largest clinics and national advocacy organizations and more.
The 2014 Summit took place on Friday, Nov. 21, preceded by the Fall 2014 D-Data ExChange event, focusing on data technology and the #WeAreNotWaiting movement.
Both events were quite exciting!
Our 2014 Patient Voices Winners:
- Julie Schulman, a researcher, scientist, mom and type 1 D-blogger at Cyberneticdiabetic, who often writes about improving quality of life for PWDs by working to automate, integrate, and analyze our diabetes data.
- Heather Gabel, an energetic twenty-something type 1 who formerly worked with the Diabetes Hands Foundation, and blogs at Unexpected Blues (and owns the venerated Lancet the Pug!)
- Sarah Kaye, a self-described type 1 “diabetes tech nerd at heart, D-blogger, photographer, insurance agent, and all-around sweet southern belle.”
- Kimberly Hislop, a T1D for 16 years and a pumper for five, who’s passionate about the bionic pancreas and other technical advances for diabetes, as well as cultivating support from fellow PWDs.
- Greg Nickleski, a type 1 from Illinois diagnosed in 2011 who plans to go back to school to study endocrinology, because he “wants to be on the forefront of cutting-edge technology involving diabetes.”
- Jeff Mather, a type 1 photographer and D-blogger interested in reducing barriers to data access and making it possible for patients and caregivers to integrate medical devices and commercial/off-theshelf products.
- Melissa Lee, an active type 1 D-blogger and advocate from Dallas, TX, who’s also mom to two young children.*
- Christel Aprigliano, a type 1 D-blogger and active advocate who happens to be organizing a diabetes community “UnConference” in Las Vegas for March 2015.*
(*Note: Christel & Melissa were also winners last year. Per our policy, applicants are eligible up to two years consecutively.)
Also joining us as Patient Community Delegates this year are our two volunteer DOC Judges:
- Merle Gleeson, founder of Type 1 Diabetes Lounge in Chicago. You can read all about Merle’s rise to diabetes-advocacy stardom here.
- Karen Graffeo, creator of the annual Diabetes Blog Week, JDRF volunteer and DCAF Advisory Board member. We’re proud to have had their assistance, and to welcome them as participants in our 2014 Innovation Summit as well!
CONGRATULATIONS ALL!
And thank you for your interest and participation.