THE FIRST IN A SERIES of three bicentennial lectures was held February 26th at the Hippodrome Theatre. Titled “Perspectives on Diabetes: The Historian, The Physician, The Patient,” the evening was a public service forum sponsored by the University of Maryland Medical Center, University of Maryland Medical System and the Joslin Diabetes Center, with additional support from the Dr. Charles Getz Memorial Lecture Fund-Medicine.

Patti LaBelle

The majority of the audience either had diabetes or had a family member living with the disease; so they were anxious to hear about the latest innovations in treatment. E. Albert Reece, MD, PhD, MBA, dean of the medical school and an expert in diabetes during pregnancy, spoke of ways to lower the risks of birth defects in children born to diabetic women. Alan Shuldiner, MD, professor and head of the division of endocrinology, diabetes and nutrition in the department of medicine, detailed his work with the Old World Amish, whose cooperation provides important information about the genetic causes of diabetes due to its homogeneous genetic pool. Stephen Bartlett, MD, professor and chair of the department of surgery, gave insight into pancreatic transplants and other surgical options for diabetes treatment. He was followed by his former student, James Shapiro, MD, now at the University of Alberta in Canada, who is heading a groundbreaking trial involving islet-cell transplantation.

SOM Board of Visitor Christine Sarbanes and husband, Senator Paul Sarbanes

Television news correspondent Dr. Bob Arnot hosted the forum and in-between speakers, he educated and entertained the audience with vignettes about the history of diabetes and the discovery of insulin, as well as the history of the medical school and the important contributions its doctors have made to medicine over the last 200 years.

The evening ended with an appearance by Patti LaBelle, who did not disappoint with her open and honest presentation on living diabetes. Announcing herself as a “diva-betic,” the singer charmed the audience with her down-to-earth discussion about how diabetes has affected her life and career.