• Environmental factors contributing to soaring rates of diabetes worldwide.
• Obesogenic environment?
- Obesity and appetite: Is obesity the cause of, or result of appetite dysregulation?
- Obesity and insulin resistance. Does chronic hyperinsulinemia rewire neural circuits involved in appetite control?
- Diet – does a poor quality diet disrupt appetite and energy regulatory systems? Saturated and trans fatty acids and insulin resistance. Refined carbohydrates. Role of artificial sweeteners?
- Sedentary lifestyle – programming muscles to be insulin resistant.
• Inflammation and insulin resistance – what is the link? Is Inflammation the key connection to heart disease?
• Prenatal exposures – can we programmed in utero to be insulin resistant? Birth weight and insulin sensitivity.
• Other exposures: Smoking, Bisphenol-A, Stress, Sleep Deprivation, Obstructive Sleep Apnea and insulin resistance (a vicious cycle).

• Diabetes and heart disease – a deadly partnership.
- A look at the relationship between hyperglycemia, endothelial dysfunction and coronary heart disease.
• Diabetes and microvascular complications - Retinopathy, Neuropathy, Nephropathy – new research.
- Microvascular damage in the prediabetic state - when does microvascular damage really begin?
• Consequences of insulin resistance - Diabetes and increased cancer risk.
- Fatty liver disease. A look at the natural history of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease.
- Cognitive impairment. Hormonal alterations in males and females. Who’s at greater risk?
- Insulin resistance and Alzheimer's disease: molecular links & clinical implications.

• ADA’s new stepped-up care approach. A look at the recommendations.
• Blood sugar control – how low should we go? Is there a risk associated with tight glucose control? Findings from the ACCORD trial.
- Long-awaited results of the United Kingdom Prospective Diabetes Study. Benefit of continuous glucose monitoring.
• Blood lipids – managing dyslipidemia: The triglyceride/high-density lipoprotein axis. New drugs on the horizon?
• Blood pressure – managing hypertension in patients with diabetes. A look at the new guidelines.
• Dietary modification - How should we eat to enhance appetite regulation? Hunger management techniques.
- Dietary interventions to improve insulin sensitivity and reduce inflammation.
- Role of fiber, glycemic load, protein, healthy fats, energy density, antioxidants.
• Exercise strategies to improve insulin sensitivity. Effect of intensity, duration and timing of exercise.
• Pharmaceutical therapy - Algorithm for initiation and adjustment of drug therapy.
- Insulin therapy: indications, initiation and innovations in delivery systems. Minimizing weight gain associated with insulin therapy. Costly diabetes drugs – are they worth it?
- Do thiazolidinediones raise cardiac risk? Avandia vs. Actos.
- New drugs and novel drugs on the horizon to improve insulin resistance and preserve beta-cell function. GLP-1 receptor agonists. Can these new therapies delay the progression of diabetes?
- The effects of medications used for the management of diabetes and obesity on postprandial lipid metabolism.
• Bariatric surgery – the magic cure? Is type 2 diabetes a treatable intestinal disease? Effect of gut rearrangement on insulin sensitivity.