JDRF Illinois TypeOneNation Summit

Ryan Reed

NASCAR XFINITY Driver with Roush Fenway Racing

Ryan Reed’s racing career began at a young age, capturing championship recognitions by eight years old. At the age of 17, he moved from Bakersfield, CA, to North Carolina to surround himself with the racing community.

In 2011, Ryan was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes (T1D) and told that he would never race again. Instead of giving up, he sought guidance from a diabetes medical team who assured him that with hard work, he could continue to live out his dreams. He implemented lifestyle changes, including a nutritional plan, exercise and devices that provide on-track data to his medical team.

Today, Ryan has compiled an impressive list of racing accomplishments. In 2014, he became a full-time NASCAR XFINITY Driver with Roush Fenway Racing, boasting two wins, seven top 5 finishes and 27 top 10 finishes throughout his career. To date, he is the first and only NASCAR driver living with T1D to run a Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race. In addition to racing, Ryan is passionate about driving awareness and supporting the diabetes community through his foundation, “Ryan’s Mission.”

Jill Weissberg-Benchell

Professor of Psychiatry at Northwestern University’s Feinberg School of Medicine

Jill Weissberg-Benchell is a pediatric psychologist and a certified diabetes educator with over 25 years of research experience and clinical work with children, adolescents, and families with diabetes and their families.

Her academic appointment is as a Professor of Psychiatry at Northwestern University’s Feinberg School of Medicine. She has published numerous research articles and offered workshops and lectures addressing issues such as improving self-management behaviors, family adaptation and coping, building adolescent resilience, the use of technology (CGM, Pumps and the Artificial Pancreas), and transitioning from pediatric to adult care. She is a co-author of two books, one that focuses on transitioning from pediatric to adult care, and another that focuses on working with adolescents with T1D.

Dr. Raghu Mirmira

University of Chicago

Dr. Raghu Mirmira attended The University of Chicago and graduated in 1986 with a Bachelor’s degree with Honors in Chemistry. He then entered the MD-PhD program (known as the Medical Scientist Training Program), also at The University of Chicago. During his PhD training, he worked under the mentorship of Dr. Howard Tager studying insulin-receptor interactions. His work during this time set the foundation for the development of ultra-rapid- and ultra-long-acting insulins that are widely in use today to treat all forms of diabetes. He received his PhD degree in 1991, followed by his MD degree in 1993. Raghu subsequently completed his residency in Internal Medicine and subspecialty training in Diabetes and Endocrinology at the University of California at San Francisco. During his subspecialty training, Raghu did his research in the laboratory of Dr. Michael German, where he studied the regulation of genes in the insulin-producing β cell. During this time, he held the prestigious Physician Postdoctoral Fellowship Award from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, a JDRF Career Development Award, and later a Research Career Award from the National Institutes of Health. Dr. Mirmira then joined the faculty at the University of Virginia in 2000, where he continued his studies on the regulation of genes in insulin producing cells. For his work, he received the prestigious Thomas R. Lee Career Development Award from the American Diabetes Association and was honored in Washington, DC in 2004 with the Discovery Channel Medical Honor, along with Surgeon General David Satcher.

Raghu moved to Indiana University in 2008 to assume directorship of the burgeoning Diabetes Center, where he subsequently built a nationally recognized program that earned NIH Center Funding in 2015. His research recently has been focusing on the roles of the β cell and the immune system in the development of type 1 diabetes. He has pioneered work that has shown that defects in the β cell may inherently initiate the autoimmune process in T1D, and that new therapies should begin to focus on how β cells should be targeted in T1D. He was recruited to the University of Chicago in 2019 to lead the Translational Research Center and build a group of translational researchers whose goal is to make fundamental discoveries that translate from the bench to the bedside. He is a dedicated researcher, clinician (still seeing patients with diabetes), teacher, and administrator. He is also has an NIH-funded research lab of 12 scientists. He has published over 130 scientific papers in prestigious journals and is an international thought leader in the field of diabetes. He is Deputy Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism, and a member of the American Society for Clinical Investigation,

Lauren Plunkett, RDN LD CDE

Owner, LP Nutrition Consulting

Lauren is a Registered Dietitian, Certified Diabetes Educator, public speaker, fitness instructor, owner of LP Nutrition Consulting, and has lived with T1D for more than two decades. Her specialties are coaching and educating on healthy lifestyle for weight management, chronic disease support, T1D & sports performance, plant-based nutrition, and prevention with age.

Read more of her story and how to work with her at www.lpnutritionconsulting.com.

Jenna Shapiro, Ph.D.

Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago

Jenna Shapiro, Ph.D., is a pediatric psychology postdoctoral fellow in the Pritzker Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Medicine at Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago. She is a recipient of the 2019-2020 National Diabetes Psychology Fellowship through JDRF. Dr. Shapiro completed her doctoral training at Loyola University Chicago and psychology internship/residency at Rush University Medical Center in Chicago, IL. Dr. Shapiro specializes in working with children with chronic health conditions, including youth with diabetes and their families. Her research on psychosocial and family adjustment to pediatric chronic illness, including diabetes, has resulted in numerous peer-reviewed publications and presentations. Dr. Shapiro has also received awards from the Society of Pediatric Psychology for her research on building resilience and improving wellbeing for children and adolescents with diabetes.