On December 4, 2019, Dr. Nicole Johnson, JDRF Senior Director of Behavioral Health and Psychology Research, led a discussion about “Psycho-social Issues of Type 1 Diabetes” at the Woodcrest Country Club in Cherry Hill, NJ. Pictured from left to right: Joe Bisicchia, Director of Public Affairs at Virtua Health; Dr. Nicole Johnson; Chrisie Scott, Senior Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer at Virtua Health.

It was a tremendous privilege to have Dr. Nicole Johnson, JDRF Senior Director of Behavioral Health and Psychology Research, visit the Greater Delaware Valley last month.

Dr. Johnson has served as a diabetes advocate since she was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes (T1D) in 1993.  Although she is most well known for her time as Miss America 1999 where she brought awareness to diabetes by sharing her personal story, Dr. Johnson is now engaged in diabetes research focusing on quality of life, psycho-social issues, and family dynamics.

On December 3 and 4, the JDRF Greater Delaware Valley Chapter hosted “Technology Speed Dating” and “Psycho-social Issues of Type 1 Diabetes” events featuring Dr. Johnson as guest speaker. Under Dr. Johnson’s leadership, JDRF has developed a psychology research program and a psychology training program related to T1D.

“One of our main jobs in diabetes is to help people care,” explains Dr. Johnson. “They have to care about themselves. They have to find the courage to not judge themselves. They then need to care about their diabetes, and they have to find the courage to keep at it even when it is hard.”

Both events were well-attended, and Nicole’s presentation was extremely valuable and engaging. We are lucky to have Dr. Johnson as a member of the JDRF Research Team.

Patrick Delaney, Executive Director of the JDRF Greater Delaware Valley Chapter, shares, “Managing T1D and avoiding its dangers are constant and life-long tasks, so it helps to have a strong, supportive and educated community that understands the needs of T1D families.”

To learn more about JDRF’s research priority areas, including T1D behavioral health and psychology, please visit grantcenter.jdrf.org.