2015 Presidential Address: 75 Years of Battling Diabetes−Our Global Challenge

This address was delivered by Samuel Dagogo-Jack, MD, President, Medicine & Science, of the American Diabetes Association (ADA), at the Association’s 75th Scientific Sessions in Boston, MA, on 7 June 2015. Dr. Dagogo-Jack is a professor of medicine and the director of the Division of Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolism and the director of the Clinical Research Center at The University of Tennessee Health Science Center, Memphis, TN, where he holds the A.C. Mullins Endowed Chair in Translational Research. He has been an ADA volunteer since 1991 and has served on several national committees and chaired the Association’s Research Grant Review Committee. At the local level, he has served on community leadership boards in St. Louis, MO, and Tennessee. A physician-scientist, Dr. Dagogo-Jack’s current research focuses on the interaction of genetic and environmental factors in the prediction and prevention of prediabetes, diabetes, and diabetes complications. He is the principal investigator of the Pathobiology of Prediabetes in a Biracial Cohort (POP-ABC) study and also directs The University of Tennessee site for the Diabetes Control and Complications Trial/Epidemiology of Diabetes Interventions and Complications (DCCT/EDIC) and the Diabetes Prevention Program (DPP)/DPP Outcomes Study (DPPOS). Dr. Dagogo-Jack earned his medical and research doctorate degrees from the University of Ibadan College of Medicine in Nigeria, holds a master’s of science from the University of Newcastle upon Tyne in England, and completed his postdoctoral fellowship training in metabolism at the Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis in Missouri. A board-certified endocrinologist, Dr. Dagogo-Jack has been elected to the Association of American Physicians and is the 2015 recipient of the Banting Medal for Leadership from the ADA. The ADA and Diabetes Care thank Dr. Dagogo-Jack for his outstanding leadership and service to the Association.