Who we are
Chair:
- Michael Hall, UK, IDF Europe
Co-Chair:
- Lex Herrebrugh, Belgium, Regional Manager, IDF Europe
Members:
- Mary Banotti, Ireland, former MEP, EU Diabetes Working Group
- Frédérique Duval, France, Association Française des Diabétiques
- Anne-Marie Felton, UK, Federation of European Nurses in Diabetes; Vice-President IDF
- Liisa Hiltunen, Finland, Finnish Diabetes Association
- Aldo Maldonato, Italy, COMET
- Frederik Muylle, Belgium, Flemish Diabetes Association
- João Nabais, Portugal, IDF Europe
- Peter Schwarz, Germany, Carl Gustav Carus Medical Faculty, Dresden
- Paul Valensi, France, Hôpital Jean Verdier and Paris Nord University
Biographies
Mary Banotti was elected as a member of the European Parliament in 1984, a position she held until 2004. During her time in Parliament she was active in many health issues, and was a founder member of the EU Diabetes Working Group.
She actively promoted public discussion on diabetes and has spoken at seminars throughout the world. She was a particular voice for the Federation of European Nurses in Diabetes (FEND) group and, as a former nurse, actively campaigned for the inclusion of the nursing profession in research and training.
Mary has had diabetes since 1982. She has used her public position to contribute to public information campaigns, and to advance issues relating to diabetes in the public agenda.
Frédérique Duval holds a Master degree in International Relations and has worked in Los Angeles and London. She resigned from her working life when her oldest daughter Carla was diagnosed with diabetes mellitus (type1), six years ago. She is a happy mother of four kids, living in Luxemburg and dedicating her time to various foundation and health workgroups in relation to diabetes.
In 2005 she started a foundation in France with other families to promote the use of insulin pumps in children’s diabetes treatment. This foundation called “il nous pompe ce diabète” raises funds to help families to meet and share experiences and tips about diabetes. Based on their personal experience and with the help of several endocrinologists, they are showing the benefits of the insulin pump and help families to get awareness, knowledge and access to this type of treatment.
With a local AFD (Association Française des Diabétiques) foundation, she also shares her experience during meetings with nurses and brings information to local media and teachers involved with DID children.
In November 2007, Frédérique met several MPs from France and Luxemburg at the European Parliament in Strasburg for “Diabetes Day Celebration” organised by IDF & ISPAD to raise political awareness about the living condition of children with diabetes. She was then asked to represent the AFD in International meetings (Health & Prevention workshop / Council of Europe.
Mrs Anne-Marie Felton has been a diabetes specialist nurse for over 20 years and is the Co-founder and President of FEND (Federation of European Nurses in Diabetes). In 1999 she was appointed Vice President of Diabetes UK and has been a member of the Diabetes UK Advisory Council since 2002.
She is an Honorary Consultant at Queen Mary's Hospital, Roehampton,
She is a Vice President of the International Diabetes Federation (IDF) and Board Member of the International Diabetes Federation Diabetes Education Consultative Section (IDF DECS).
Mrs Felton is a member of the Editorial Board of ‘Practical Diabetes International’ and
the Review Board of ‘International Diabetes Monitor’. She has been an invited presenter at a number of international conferences, and has a particular interest in Therapeutic Patient Education. She is a co-author of the WHO Therapeutic Patient Education report and was a member of the Diabetes Education Study Group (DESG) working group ‘Basic Curriculum for Health Professionals on Diabetes Therapeutic Education’.
Dr Michael Hall is a retired GP/Senior Lecturer of Exeter University. Clinical research led to his interest in diabetes. He has held various senior positions including Chair of Diabetes UK (1996-2001), Chair of a UK Advisory Panel on the prevention of diabetic retinopathy (1999) and of the Organizing Committee of EASD Glasgow (2001). He is a board member of the International Diabetes Federation European region (IDF-E) with special responsibility for European Union affairs and the development of National Diabetes Plans as a follow-up of the St. Vincent movement*.
He is currently a Vice President of Diabetes UK and has been a member of the Diabetes UK Advisory Council since 2002.
He has lectured and published on diabetes related topics, especially care issues, patient education, and doctor and nurse training.
* The Saint Vincent Declaration was signed in St. Vincent, Italy, in October 1989. Representatives of government health departments and patients’ organizations from all European countries agreed unanimously on general goals and five year targets for people with diabetes.
Liisa Hiltunen is a research director in Kokkola University Consortium in Finland. She graduated as a medical doctor in 1981 and a specialist in general practice in 1990 and defended her thesis in 1997. She got specialty in diabetes care in 2003. From 1991 to 2007 her main position was senior lecturer in the University of Oulu. She is also a researcher, teacher and practicing diabetes doctor.
Dr Hiltunen’s research work has mainly been involved in diabetes epidemiology focusing earlier on elderly people’s diabetes, but enlarging her scientific activities to type 1 diabetes (parodontal diseases), nutrition and childhood allergies. She has written approximately 40 scientific papers.
Dr Hiltunen is an editor of a professional Finnish diabetes magazine, ‘Diabetes and the Doctor’ and was previously an editor of ‘Evidence Based Medicine Guidelines’ with responsibility for the diabetes section.
Dr Hiltunen is the second vice-president of the Finnish Diabetes Associationa, a position she has held since 2001. She is a member of the Finnish DESG, the Finnish Diabetes Researchers and Diabetologists.
Dr Hiltunen is a part-time physician in the diabetes care unit of the health centre of Oulu (mainly adult type 1 diabetic patients and consulting for the treatment of type 2 diabetic patients). For more than two years she has been practicing as a private part-time physician in a new kind of practice telemedicine for long-distance patients; remote diabetes video-based consulting (mainly for type 2 diabetic patients).
Dr Hiltunen is an active educator giving and arranging lectures and education for general practitioners and nurses, as well as diabetic patients.
Professor Aldo Maldonato was born in Italy, and qualified as a Medical doctor at the Catholic University, Rome. He has been a Research professor in Diabetology at the La Sapienza University, Rome, since 1980. He was previously a research assistant at Geneva University, Switzerland.
Since 1978, Professor Maldonato has organised and conducted systemic courses on diabetes for people with diabetes, and is involved in the training of health professionals in Therapeutic Patient Education (TPE).
Professor Maldonato founded and is President of the Diabetes Education Study Group (DESG) of the European Association for the Study of Diabetes (EASD), a position he has held since 1997.
Professor Maldonato founded the Gruppo Italiano di Studio per l’Educazione sul Diabete (GISED), and was the president from 1993-1997.
Since 1994, he has regularly organised teaching camps for children and adolescents with diabetes, and organised the training of paediatricians in TPE.
He has written approximately 300 scientific papers on diabetes, many of them dealing with TPE. He has also written several publications for people with diabetes, including a 280-page book.
Frederik Muylle was born in the beautiful Bruges. He obtained his Pharmacy degree at Ghent University in 1999 and a postgraduate degree in cellular biotechnology in 2000. Before getting his current position, his career has included positions in biology research, pharmacy and consultancy in the pharmaceutical industry. Since 2006, he has been working as a full time scientific fellow of the Flemish Diabetes Association. The association currently has over 23,000 members consisting of both laymen and professionals. Mr. Muylle’s mission is to strengthen the professional wing of the association.
Mr. Muylle’s daily work is all about staying up to date with every relevant evolution in diabetes and “translating” this information to position statements, reports, editorials et cetera to serve both patients’ and professionals’ interests.
He is an Editor of the “Flemish Journal for Diabetology” (“Vlaams tijdschrift voor Diabetologie”), a new periodical journal for professional members launched in 2007, as well as a monthly e-newsletter for the professional members of the association. Furthermore, he is responsible for keeping the association’s website www.diabetes-vdv.be alive by regularly updating its content.
Mr. Muylle has taken a particular interest in the prevention of diabetes. In 2007 he was involved in the preparation of a diabetes prevention project for the Flemish Health Agency, concerning the follow-up of women with previous gestational diabetes. This has resulted in a green light from the Ministry to go ahead with the implementation of this approach. Further, Mr. Muylle currently represents the Flemish Diabetes Association in the EU IMAGE project.
João Manuel Valente Nabais has type I diabetes since 1981. He holds a PhD in Chemistry and is Assistant Professor at the University of évora, Portugal. He is the founder of two local diabetic associations and is currently the President of one of them. He has been involved in all activities of the Portuguese Diabetes Association (APDP) since his youth and has been a member of the Board for six years; actually he is president of the Ethical Committee. His commitment and participation were very important in several activities for the test-strip reimbursement in Portugal. He had a very active participation in the European Parliament Written Declaration on Diabetes and has acquired important skills from the participation of the “EU Training Workshop”, promoted by IDF Europe. He works as a volunteer in three diabetes associations which reflects his high involvement in the diabetes field and the concern for the interests of the people with diabetes.
In the last 10 years he had several participations in work groups on the Portuguese Health Minister such as Committee for the Follow-up of the Diabetes Protocol; Committee for the Elaboration of the Diabetes Passport.
Since 2008 he was co-opted as a Board member for the International Diabetes Federation (European Region) with special responsibility for European Union affairs, namely European Parliament Diabetes Working Group and the EU Platform on Diet, Physical Activity and Health.
Dr Peter Schwarz was born in Eisenberg/Thuringen, Germany, and studied at the Technical University, Dresden. He also undertook practical training for over 3 years at the Oshakati State Hospital, Namibia, University of Pretoria, South Africa; the University of Illinois, Chicago, USA, and the TUMAINI University, Tanzania. During his time in the USA, he completed the United States Medical Licensing Examination (USMLE) and a postdoctoral fellowship at the Howard-Hughes Medical Institute at the University of Chicago.
He is currently medical doctor in the Department of Endocrinopathies and Metabolic Diseases at the Carl Gustav Carus Medical Faculty, Technical University, Dresden.
Dr Schwarz is the Coordinator and Chairman of the European diabetes prevention group “IMAGE”, a major European project to develop guidelines and training curricula for the primary prevention of type 2 diabetes.
His research has included work in the fields of prevention of type 2 diabetes, identification of genetic factors for type 2 diabetes and modelling epistatic effects in gene-environment interactions.
Dr Schwarz is a member of the scientific board of the German workgroup of diabetes prevention and scientific secretary of the European DE-PLAN project group. He is a member of the Diabetes Policy Working Group Europe and the United Nations Diabetes Working Group.
He has received the Rolf-Emmrich-Award of the Saxony Association of Internal Medicine (2002), the Sur-Place-Award from the Alexander von Humbold Foundation (2006) and the Novo Nordisk Media Award (2007).
Professor Paul Valensi is a diabetologist and endocrinologist, and is Professor of Nutrition at
He is the Director of the Department of Endocrinology-Diabetology-Nutrition of Jean Verdier Hospital, Bondy, and Director of the Laboratory of Nutrition, Metabolic Diseases and Cardiovascular Prevention,
He was the President of the French section of the Diabetes Education Study Group (DESG) (1994-1997), and is a past Vice Chairman of the French Association for the Study of Obesity (AFERO).
Professor Valensi is also a past Chairman of the French Study Group on Heart and Diabetes. He is a past Chairman of Neurodiab, the Study Group of the European Association for the Study of Diabetes (EASD) on Diabetic Neuropathy, and is still a member of the Executive Committee of this study group. He is presently a member of the Executive Committee of the EASD study group on Diabetes and Cardiovascular Disease.
He has published approximately 200 contributory papers in the fields of diabetes, obesity, neuropathy, cardiovascular diseases and microcirculation, and authored approximately 20 chapters in scientific books. He is the co-author of several French guidelines in diabetes and cardiovascular risk, and the editor of the book Heart and Diabetes (Ed. Frison-Roche, 1999).
