Membership

Interest Group Leadership Teams

Meet the 2026–2027 Leadership Teams

The American Diabetes Association is pleased to announce 16 Interest Group Leadership Teams. These Leadership Teams consist of ADA professional members who have demonstrated notable achievements in and dedication toward specific areas of diabetes research and clinical practice. Individuals on these teams will provide overall direction to Interest Group members, plan the ADA's Scientific Sessions Interest Group discussions, vote on Interest Group processes, drive member engagement, and recommend content and resources to share with Interest Group members.

Behavioral Medicine & Psychology

Chair: Gretchen Piatt, MPH, PhD 
Chair-Elect: Shelagh Mulvaney, PhD 
Communications Director: Kara Mizokami-Stout, MD, MSc 
Advisor: Rachel M. Wasserman, PhD 
Advisor: Sobha P. Fritz, PhD, ABPP 
Early Career Representative: Julia Blanchette, PhD, RN, BC-ADM, CDCES, FADCES  
Immediate Past Chair: Marisa Hilliard, PhD

Clinical Centers & Programs

Chair: Joseph Aloi, MD 
Chair-Elect: Chinenye Usoh, MD 
Communications Director: Nay Linn Aung, MD, BC-ADM, DACD 
Advisor: Clifford Morris, PhD, FAAMM  
Advisor: TBD  
Early Career Representative: Sungho Bea, PharmD, PhD
Immediate Past Chair: Nuzhat Chalisa, MD, FACE, DABOM

Diabetes & Cardiovascular Disease

Chair: Wen-Chih (Hank) Wu, MD, MPH
Chair-Elect: Mahwash Fatima Siddiqui, MD
Communications Director: Kaitlin Love, MD, MSc
Advisor: Sarah Nadeem, MD, FACE
Advisor: Anu Sharma, MD
Early Career Representative: Layla Abushamat, MD, MPH, DABOM
Immediate Past Chair: Richard Pratley, MD

Diabetes In Primary Care

Chair: Scott Pilla, MD, MHS 
Chair-Elect: Nathan (Nate) Ramsbacher, PharmD
Communications Director:  Sarah Cote, NP-C, CDCES, BC-ADM
Advisor: Brian Burroughs, MSPAS, PA-C, BC-ADM, CDC, CHC 
Advisor: Abhinav Gupta, MBBS, MD, FRCP
Early Career Representative: Marisa Kostiuk, PhD
Immediate Past Chair: Christopher Jones, MD

Diabetes In Youth

Chair: Mary Pat Gallagher, MD
Chair-Elect: Megan Kelsey, MD, MS
Communications Director: Jovan Milosavljevic, MD, MS  
Advisor: Catherine McManus, PhD, RDN, LD 
Advisor: Matthew Benson, MD
Early Career Representative: Taylor Stephens, PhD
Immediate Past Chair: Heba M. Ismail, MB BCh, MSc, PhD

Diabetes Self-Management Education & Support 

Chair: Chlodys Johnstone, PA-C, CDCES
Chair-Elect: Kacy Aderhold, DNP, APRN-CNS, BC-ADM, CDCES, CNE
Communications Director: Sandeep Kumar, MBBS, MD, DrNB
Advisor: Cyndi Patton Guinn, RD, CDE, PhD
Advisor: Sarah Hormachea, MS, RD, CDCES, BC-ADM
Early Career Representative: Rebecca Barber, PhD, RN, CPN, CDCES
Immediate Past Chair: Joyce Y. Lee, PharmD, APh, FCCP, BCPS, BCACP, CDCES

Diabetes Technology

Chair: Paige Johnson, BSN, RN, CDCES
Chair-Elect: Gregory P. Forlenza, MD
Communications Director: Tugce Akcan, MD  
Advisor: Jarred Prudencio, PharmD, FCCP, BCACP, BC-ADM 
Advisor: Margaret Zupa, MD, MS
Early Career Representative: Pamela Wax Dolnik, MD, MBA
Immediate Past Chair: Viral N. Shah, MD

Exercise Physiology 

Chair: Steven Malin, PhD, FACSM
Chair-Elect: Dessi Zaharieva, PhD, CEP, CDCES
Communications Director: Roberto Ivan Mota Alvidrez, MD, MS, FAHA
Advisor: Mia Higgins, MHA 
Early Career Representative: Kathryn Gentile-Alvarez, MS, ACSM-CEP, CDCES
Immediate Past Chair: Michael B. See, MS, ACSM-CEP, CDCES, NBC-HWC

Eye Health

Chair: Thomas Gardner, MD, MS
Chair-Elect: Risa Wolf, MD
Communications Director: Andrew Barkmeier, MD
Advisor: Andrew Barkmeier, MD
Advisor: Irina De la Huerta, MD, PhD
Early Career Representative: Ward Fickweiler, MD, PhD
Immediate Past Chair: Blake Cooper, MD, MPH

Foot Care

Chair: Larry Lavery, DPM, MPH
Chair-Elect: Ashley Meusa, DPM
Communications Director: Danny Phan, DPM, MBA, MPH, MS, FACPM, FASPS, FFPM, RCPS (Glasg)
Advisor: Elizabeth Ansert, DPM, MBA, MA
Early Career Representative: Kanika Kochhar, DPM, DABPM, FAPWCA, MA
Immediate Past Chair: Laura Shin, DPM, PhD

Healthcare Delivery & Quality Improvement

Chair: Stephen Clement, MD, CDE
Chair-Elect: Linda Thurby-Hay, DNP, APRN, ACNS-BC, BC-ADM, CDCES, FCNS
Communications Director: Yazmin Caceres, MSc 
Advisor: Daniel Rubin, MD, MSc, FACE 
Advisor: Nirali Shah, MD, MHSc
Early Career Representative: Kathryn Fantasia, MD, MSc
Immediate Past Chair: Rajesh Garg, MD

Immunology, Immunogenetics, & Transplantation

Chair: Maria Bettini, PhD
Chair-Elect: Eddie A. James, PhD
Communications Director: Rohit S. Warrier, MBBS, MS, DABRM, EBEEDM, MSc Diabetes, Fellow (DiabetesIndia), ACCD, SCOPE cert.
Advisor: Kanhaiya Singh, PhD
Advisor: Raghunath Reddy Bommana, PhD
Immediate Past Chair: Brian T. Fife, PhD

Islet Biology, Development, & Function

Chair: Hongjun Wang, PhD 
Chair-Elect: Anjaneyulu Kowluru, MS, PhD
Communications Director: Vira Kravets, PhD
Advisor: Balamurugan N. Appakalai, PhD 
Early Career Representative: Sneha Mohan, MBBS
Immediate Past Chair: JE. Danielle Dean, PhD

Nutritional Science & Metabolism

Chair: Janice MacLeod, MA, RD, CDCES, FADCES
Chair-Elect: Yaguang Zheng, PhD, RN 
Communications Director: Cara D. Dolin, MD, MPH
Advisor: Manasi Shah, MD
Advisor: Daria Igudesman, PhD, MS, RD  
Early Career Representative: Ioannis Lempesis, MD, PhD
Immediate Past Chair: Zhenqi Liu, MD 

Pregnancy & Reproductive Health

Chair: Amy Valent, DO, MCR 
Chair-Elect: Christina Scifres, MD 
Communications Director: Laura Dickens, MD 
Advisor: Ashley Battarbee, MD, MSCR 
Advisor: Celeste Durnwald, MD 
Early Career Representative: Kartik K. Venkatesh, MD, PhD
Immediate Past Chair: Cassandra E. Henderson, MD, MSc, CDCES

Public Health & Epidemiology

Chair: Amit Gupta, MBBS, DNB, FACE, FRCP, FACP
Chair-Elect: Suchitra Chandrasekaran, MD, MSCE
Communications Director: Abigael Kuponiyi, MSc, FIDF  
Advisor: Yanbo Zhang, PhD  
Advisor: Piaopiao Li, PhD, MPharm
Early Career Representative: Natalia Ortega, PhD
Immediate Past Chair: Julie Paik, MD, ScD, MPH

About the Roles

The roles on the Interest Group Leadership Teams vary in level of seniority and anticipated time commitment. Members who have previously served on an Interest Group Leadership Team are welcome to reapply during the application cycle (January–February). Individuals who are employed by industry are not eligible to serve as chair-elect or chair, due to continuing education accreditation policies.

Provide overall direction and leadership to the group; plan Scientific Sessions symposia; plan other group activities e.g., webinars, networking events and conference calls; vote on award nominations; drive engagement on the DiabetesPro Forum; recommend members to participate in ADA activities such as committees and position statements; serve as liaison to ADA staff and members; and promote Interest Group and ADA activities and resources to networks. The Chair rotates to the position of Immediate Past Chair. This position is a two-year term. 

Time Commitment: 3–4 hours/month.

Support Chair in providing leadership to the group and planning Scientific Sessions symposia; plan other group activities e.g., webinars, networking events and conference calls; vote on award nominations; serve as liaison to ADA staff and members; contribute to DiabetesPro Forum discussions; and promote Interest Group and ADA activities and resources to networks. Chair-Elects will automatically transition to Chair after two years. 

Time Commitment: 3–4 hours/month.

Lead group engagement on the DiabetesPro Forum; update community page with relevant articles, webcasts, and other resources; send announcements to group members; work with ADA staff on email communications; and promote Interest Group and ADA activities and resources to networks. This position is a two-year term. 

Time Commitment: 1–2 hours/week

Provide expertise and guidance as needed on activities including reviewing award nominations, planning networking events, and monitoring DiabetesPro Forum discussions; serve as liaison to members and ADA staff; and promote Interest Group and ADA activities and resources to networks. This position is a two-year term. 

Time Commitment: 1–2 hours/month.

Provide early career perspective and guidance on resources needed to support the next generation of diabetes leaders; and promote Interest Group and ADA activities and resources to networks. Individuals must be no more than 5 years post-training completion, which matches the ADA Early Career Membership qualifications. This position is a two-year term. 

Time commitment: 1–2 hours/month

Provide historical insights and support to Chair and Chair-Elect​. This position is a two-year term. 

Time commitment: as needed.