Linda Siminerio to chair National Diabetes Education Program

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Linda Siminerio, R.N., Ph.D., has been named the new chair of the National Diabetes Education Program (NDEP), a joint program of the National Institutes of Health and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Siminerio is executive director of the Diabetes Institute at the University of Pittsburgh.

NDEP Director Linda Siminerio, R.N., Ph.D.

More than 29 million Americans – about 9 percent of the U.S. population – have diabetes. Another 86 million have prediabetes, a condition that places them at increased risk for developing type 2 diabetes. Since 1997, the NDEP has developed public and private partnerships to improve diabetes management and outcomes, promote early diagnosis, and help people prevent or delay the onset of type 2 diabetes in the United States and its territories.

“The NDEP plays a unique role in bringing together diverse stakeholders to foster cooperation and collaboration to improve diabetes outcomes,” said Siminerio. “I’m thrilled to have the opportunity to advance the NDEP’s work to create awareness, educate and provide support and behavioral strategies to improve care for the prevention and management of diabetes.”

As chair of the NDEP, Siminerio – who also serves as a professor of medicine at the University of Pittsburgh – will direct the NDEP in its efforts to facilitate the adoption of proven approaches to prevent or delay the onset of diabetes and its complications. In her position, Siminerio will ensure that the NDEP continues to execute itsstrategic plan.

“Dr. Siminerio is a pioneer in the field of diabetes education, a nationally recognized advocate for diabetes education and care," said Judith Fradkin, M.D., director of the Division of Diabetes, Endocrinology and Metabolic Diseases for the NIH’s National Institute for Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases. “Dr. Siminerio has developed strategies that have translated successfully into programs to help all people with diabetes, and specifically those in underserved populations.”

Siminerio brings more than 40 years of nursing and diabetes-related experience to her NDEP role. A prominent advocate for diabetes care and education, her academic work on diabetes focuses on translational research and quality improvement, self-management, community interventions and overcoming barriers to care in underserved populations.

In addition to her work at the University of Pittsburgh, Siminerio is chair of the International Diabetes Federation’s (IDF) Bringing Research in Diabetes to Global Environments and Systems program and former chair of the IDF World Congress. She is also the former president of health and education at the American Diabetes Association and a recipient of the group’s Outstanding Educator in Diabetes Award.

Siminerio succeeds John Buse, M.D., Ph.D., of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Medicine.

“During Dr. Buse’s leadership, he successfully oversaw the development and implementation of a new strategic plan that has shifted the NDEP’s primary focus from delivering health messages directly to the general public to improving the NDEP’s engagement with partner organizations,” said Ann Albright, Ph.D., R.D., director of the Division of Diabetes Translation at CDC. “We are extremely grateful to Dr. Buse and look forward to his continued involvement with the NDEP as chair of its Medication Adherence Task Group.”

The NDEP works with more than 200 partners and offers materials and resources to the public, people diagnosed with diabetes, and health care and business professionals. NDEP resources are available at http://www.yourdiabetesinfo.org

CDC’s Division of Diabetes Translation works to reduce the preventable burden of diabetes through public health leadership, partnership, research, programs, and policies that translate science into practice. For more information, seehttp://www.cdc.gov/diabetes

The NIDDK, a component of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), conducts and supports research on diabetes and other endocrine and metabolic diseases; digestive diseases, nutrition and obesity; and kidney, urologic and hematologic diseases. Spanning the full spectrum of medicine and afflicting people of all ages and ethnic groups, these diseases encompass some of the most common, severe, and disabling conditions affecting Americans. For more information about the NIDDK and its programs, see http://www.niddk.nih.gov

About the National Institutes of Health (NIH): NIH, the nation's medical research agency, includes 27 Institutes and Centers and is a component of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. NIH is the primary federal agency conducting and supporting basic, clinical, and translational medical research, and is investigating the causes, treatments, and cures for both common and rare diseases. For more information about NIH and its programs, visit www.nih.gov.

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