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Presentation: Understanding the Excessive Prevalence of Diabetes in Asians and Asian-Americans
Time: Saturday Morning
Purpose: To increase awareness of diabetes as being a major new problem in the Asian-American population and to discuss the pathogenesis and treatment of this problem
Objectives:
Review the epidemiology of diabetes in Asians and Asian-Americans
Discuss the potential pathophysiology of diabetes and how it may differ in other ethnic groups
Discuss the management of diabetes in the Asian-American population
Current Positions:
Professor of Medicine, Harvard Medical School
Research Director & Senior Vice President, Joslin Diabetes Center
Bio:
George L. King, M.D., is the Senior Vice President, Chief Scientific Officer and Head of the Section on Vascular Cell Biology at Joslin Diabetes Center, as well as a Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School.
He received his medical degree from Duke University School of Medicine. After his residency at the University of Washington Affiliated Hospitals in Seattle, he completed training as both a Research and a Clinical Associate at the National Institutes of Health. He came to Joslin and Harvard Medical School in 1981.
Dr. King’s work focuses on finding the causes of diabetic complications, exploring insulin actions on blood vessels, discovering factors and new treatments for diabetic complications, and understanding the reasons for the high rate of diabetes in Asian Americans. For these studies, Dr. King has published over 230 articles and reviews. Dr. King has received numerous awards including the Donald Silver Excellence in Research Award from the Juvenile Diabetes Foundation, the Cogan Award from the Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology, the Stadie Memorial Award and Lectureship from the Philadelphia Affiliate of the American Diabetes Association, the Alcon Award for Vision Research, and the Annual Award for Excellence in Research from the Japan Society of Diabetic Complications.
Dr. King was bestowed Honorary Professor and Director of the Institute of Endocrinology and Diabetology at Fu Dan University, Shanghai, China; Honorary Professorship of Guangxi Medical University, Nanning, China in 2007; and an Honorary Professorship at Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, Guangdong province, China in 2007. In 2005, Dr. King received the 32nd Annual Person of the Year Award from the Chinese Hospital Board of Trustees and Medical Staff. In 2007, Dr. King was appointed a 3-year term to the Massachusetts Senate as a Member of the Permanent Commission on the Status of Citizens of Asian Decent.