Amanda Jo Kielpinski

Singer, Songwriter

Keynote Speaker

A country music singer. She released her single, Polaroid, on country radio and wrote the song Needle Free in collaboration with a fellow Type 1. Amanda Jo is part of Tandem Diabetes Care’s Speaker Series

Stuart Weinzimer, MD

Pediatric Endocrinology & Diabetes, Yale School of Medicine

Topic: Closed-loop Systems- More Choices, More to Come!

I earned my bachelor’s degree in molecular biochemistry and biochemistry at Yale University and medical degree at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine. I completed my residency training in pediatrics and fellowship training in pediatric endocrinology at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP), and joined the faculty in the Department of Pediatrics at the University of Pennsylvania. In 2002 I returned to Yale to focus my research on the continuous glucose sensors and insulin pumps toward the development of an artificial pancreas. I am the Principal Investigator of several NIH- and JDRF- funded artificial pancreas projects. My most recent projects include large-scale clinical trials in automated insulin delivery (artificial pancreas), development of new automated insulin delivery systems specifically designed for young patients, and the studies to characterize the effects of diabetes on the young developing brain. In 2006 I earned Yale’s Mae Gailani Award for Outstanding Clinical Care & Research, and in 2009 I received the Dream Award from the Greater New Haven Chapter of the JDRF. In 2011 I was awarded, along with other principal investigators in the JDRF Continuous Glucose Monitoring Study Group, the Mary Tyler Moore and S. Robert Levine, MD Excellence in Clinical Research Award.

Jodie Ambrosino, PhD

Pediatric Psychologist

Topic: T1Ds and Support Technology- Friend or Foe?

Jodie is a licensed Pediatric Psychologist with an extensive background in research as well as in clinical intervention with TID families. Jodie spent over a decade at Yale University in the Children's Diabetes Program where she developed and participated in research and clinical programs designed　to help children and their families cope with the daily demands of TID. She now is in private practice in Madison, CT.

Charlie O'Connell

Founder & CEO, Fitscript

Topic: PEAK/ Sports and Exercise

In 2012, Charlie O’Connell founded GlucoseZone to help others living with diabetes reach their fitness goals. As a former two-sport Division 1 athlete, Charlie learned how to manage the unique challenges associated with the unpredictable metabolic changes that occur as a result of exercise and diabetes. There was a clear lack of guidance, resources, and information related to exercise and diabetes. He embarked on a journey to change they way people approach the exercise requirements of diabetes.

Kevan Herold, MD

C.N.H. Long Professor of Immunobiology and of Medicine (Endocrinology), Yale School of Medicine

Topic: Prevention of Diabetes: Has the Time Come?

My background and research are in translational immunology. I am interested in understanding the basis for autoimmune diseases and developing new therapies based on our understanding of disease mechanisms. My focus has largely been in the field of autoimmune Type 1 diabetes. The work encompasses basic laboratory work understanding the regulation of autoreactive T cells to clinical trials that involve novel therapeutics. As part of these studies I have also been very interested in analysis of beta cell function in Type 1 diabetes.

College Diabetes Network

Topic: Off to College Discussion- What All Students (and Parents) Need to Know!

The College Diabetes Network (CDN) is a 501c3 non-profit organization whose mission is singularly focused on providing young adults with T1D the peer connections they value, and expert resources they need, to successfully manage the challenging transition to independence at college and beyond.

Janice Hwang, MD

Assistant Professor of Medicine (Endocrinology), Yale School of Medicine

Topic: New Insights into Hypoglycemia

Dr. Hwang is an endocrinologist as well as an Assistant Professor in the Division of Endocrinology at the Yale School of Medicine. She graduated magna cum laude from Princeton University in 2001 with a major in molecular biology followed by Harvard Medical School in 2006. She completed her residency training in Internal Medicine at the Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston, MA and also served as a Chief Medical Resident. Dr. Hwang received her fellowship training in Endocrinology and Metabolism at Massachusetts General Hospital and moved to Yale in 2012 to continue her research training. Her academic interests are at the intersection of metabolism, neuroscience and imaging. Her research focuses on using advanced brain imaging modalities such as functional MRI and magnetic resonance spectroscopy coupled with classic investigative techniques in metabolism to understand the effects of diabetes and obesity on the central nervous system. Her research has been supported by the National Institutes of Health, the Yale Diabetes Research Center, the Endocrine Fellows Foundation, and the American Diabetes Association. She is the recipient of several awards for her research including most recently the Marilyn Fishman Award for Diabetes Research, the Metabolism Junior Investigator award as well as a Yale Center for Clinical Investigation Junior Faculty Scholars Award.