I am an advocate for individuals with type 1 diabetes, dedicated to inspiring, educating and supporting others, having managed type 1 diabetes for 25 years, while also raising two children. Unfortunately, I now face the additional challenge of kidney failure.

I aim to help others facing similar struggles by sharing both the highs and lows and I believe it is vital because it builds genuine supportive connections. When we share our highs we invite others to celebrate with us and when we share our lows we allow others to understand us on a deeper level offering support and empathy.

I try to emphasise the importance of openly sharing my diabetes and kidney journey and acknowledging the challenges so others don't feel isolated or alone. I want to be the voice that resonates with others going through the same journey. Both Type 1 diabetes and chronic kidney disease are invisible illnesses, we may look fine on the outside but it's entirely different story on the inside.

Dr. Carmel Smart is a clinical researcher and practitioner who is internationally recognised as a leading authority in nutrition and type 1 diabetes.  Carmel has developed international partnerships and research collaborations aimed at improving the nutritional care of children living with diabetes.

Dr Smart holds appointments as a Senior Diabetes Dietitian and Clinical Research Fellow at the John Hunter Children’s Hospital and is a Conjoint Senior Lecturer at the University of Newcastle. Carmel led the 2014 and 2018 International Paediatric Diabetes Clinical Nutrition Guidelines and is a lead investigator in the Australian Type 1 Diabetes Clinical Research Network.   She served on the International Society of Paediatric and Adolescent Diabetes executive and was the convenor of the Science School for Health Professionals. Dr Smart is currently appointed to JDRF International Type 1 Exercise Expert Advisory Group and is a senior practitioner member of the Australian Dietetic Council. She has written chapters for numerous books on diabetes including the American Diabetes Association Nutrition Therapy Guidelines released in 2017 and publishes in leading diabetes journals.   

Associate Professor Barrett is a Conjoint Associate Professor at UNSW Medicine, and Director of Obstetric Medicine, as well as a Senior Staff Specialist Obstetric Physician and Endocrinologist at the Royal Hospital for Women, Randwick, NSW and Prince of Wales Hospital. She is a previous President of the Society of Obstetric Medicine Australia and New Zealand. A/Prof Barrett is a clinician scientist and researcher, and her research work aims to improve health outcomes in pregnancy, with a particular focus on diabetes and metabolism. A/Prof Barrett has > 80 publications and is an author on national guidelines including the 2020 ADIPS guideline on pre-existing diabetes in pregnancy

Jemima is a Consultant Clinical Psychologist and Neuropsychologist. She has been working with the Endocrine team based at Wellington Regional Hospital since 2016, supporting Transgender people affirming their gender medically. Jemima supported the development of an in-house Diabetes Psychology service in October 2023. While only recently specialising in diabetes, Jemima has previous experience from Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children, London, when she worked with children who had Congenital Hyperinsulinism; there she was part of a research group exploring brain structure and neuropsychological outcomes for children with this condition. Jemima continues to work from a biopsychosocial perspective, and has a developed an interest in how the health and functioning of our brains and bodies affect how we interact with the world. From psychological perspective, her focus is on supporting the emotional, health and functional outcomes for people with diabetes, across the life-span.

Prof. Petter Bjornstad is a Professor of Pediatrics and Medicine, Executive Director of the UW Medicine Diabetes Institute, and the Raisbeck Endowed Chair in Diabetes Research. A physician-scientist, he leads a translational research program dedicated to unraveling the mechanisms underlying cardio-kidney-metabolic (CKM) syndrome in individuals with obesity, type 1 diabetes, and type 2 diabetes across the lifespan. His research integrates advanced physiological testing with multi-omics analysis of tissues, alongside mechanistic clinical trials, to illuminate disease pathways and identify novel therapeutic targets.

Dr Rosie Dobson is a Registered Psychologist and a Senior Research Fellow in the School of Population Health at the University of Auckland, and the GM Health Services Research and Evaluation at Te Whatu Ora. Her research work has focused on investigating how digital tools can make health services more accessible, and how personal health information can be used in a patient-informed way for secondary purposes such as AI development. She has been involved in the development and trial of digital health tools in a range of areas and has been an invited expert to the WHO’s ‘Be Healthy Be Mobile’ global mHealth initiative for non-communicable diseases. She is a member of the National AI and Algorithm Expert Advisory Group for Te Whatu Ora and the AI Health Research Lead for the Faculty of Medical and Health Sciences at the University of Auckland.