The recent “Diabetes Day” symposium recognized two Vanderbilt trainees for their potential as future leaders in diabetes research and one longtime staff member for his service to the diabetes research community.

Shelagh Mulvaney, Ph.D., assistant professor of Nursing, leads a national team of researchers, engineers and designers that recently landed a $1.8 million federal grant to identify new ways to teach critical problem-solving skills to teenagers with type 1 diabetes using an Internet and mobile phone-based system.

A monitoring and alert system developed and implemented at Vanderbilt University Medical Center that prompts caregivers to check glucose levels for patients with diabetes while they are undergoing surgery has been found to help improve outcomes such as reduced abnormal glucose values, fewer surgical site infections and reduced hospital readmissions after surgery.

“Diabetes at Vanderbilt: From Molecules to People,” a scientific symposium to highlight diabetes research at Vanderbilt, will take place Wednesday, Nov. 14, from 10 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. in the Vanderbilt Student Life Center.

Patients prescribed the diabetes drug metformin have a lower risk for heart attack, stroke and death than patients taking sulfonylurea drugs.

A drug already used for the medical management of diabetes also reduces the rewarding effects of cocaine in animals, which could have far-reaching implications for patients worldwide who suffer from addiction.