Diabetes Discourse

Guest: John W. Ostrominski, MD, MPH


Prediabetes may signal more than the future development of diabetes; it can also provide an opportunity to identify and address cardiovascular risk earlier. Here to recap his presentation at the 2026 European Association for the Study of Diabetes Annual Meeting is Dr. John Ostrominski, preventive cardiologist and obesity medicine specialist at Brigham and Women's Hospital and Harvard Medical School. Dr. Ostrominski explains how cardiovascular risk assessment can inform individualized prevention strategies and why risk-reduction efforts should not wait until diabetes develops.

Guest: Vira Kravets, PhD


Cellular interactions within pancreatic islets may provide important insights into the early stages and pathogenesis of type 1 diabetes (T1D). Tune in to hear Dr. Vira Kravets share research she presented at the 2026 European Association for the Study of Diabetes Annual Meeting, which focused on how alpha-beta cell proximity influences GLP-1R-mediated communication as well as the spatial association between alpha cells and T cells in human islets. Dr. Kravets is an Assistant Professor in the University of California San Diego Department of Bioengineering and holds a secondary appointment in the Division of Endocrinology within the Department of Pediatrics at the UC San Diego School of Medicine.

Guest: Edward Phelps, PhD


Residual beta cells may persist after a type 1 diabetes (T1D) diagnosis, but how well do they continue to function? Tune in to hear Dr. Edward Phelps discuss research he presented at the 2026 European Association for the Study of Diabetes Annual Meeting that examined glucose-stimulated calcium responses in living pancreatic tissue from donors with recent-onset T1D. He explains how residual beta cells showed impaired responses to glucose regardless of the local presence of T cells, suggesting that beta cell dysfunction may extend beyond islets with substantial immune cell infiltration. Dr. Phelps is an Associate Professor in the J. Crayton Pruitt Family Department of Biomedical Engineering at the University of Florida.

Guest: Laura Chiavaroli, PhD


How might diet and exercise influence metabolic outcomes among patients taking GLP-1 medicines? To find out, we recently spoke with Dr. Laura Chiavaroli, who discussed this topic at the 2026 European Association for the Study of Diabetes Annual Meeting. She shares emerging evidence on combining lifestyle interventions with GLP-1 therapy and highlights where gaps in research still remain. Dr. Chiavaroli is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Nutritional Sciences at the University of Toronto and an affiliate scientist at the Li Ka Shing Knowledge Institute at St. Michael’s Hospital.

Guest: Edward Phelps, PhD


Despite advances in type 1 diabetes (T1D) research, key questions remain about disease progression, immune mechanisms, and the optimal timing of intervention. Here to explore how immunology and islet research could help address these knowledge gaps is Dr. Edward Phelps. He’s an Associate Professor in the J. Crayton Pruitt Family Department of Biomedical Engineering at the University of Florida.