Mentors in type 1 diabetes

Where to start

Mentors in type 1 diabetes

Dr Dessi Zaharieva and Professor Othmar Moser

Dr Dessi Zaharieva and Professor Othmar Moser are now Scientific Advisors to GNL. Both have type 1 diabetes and have spent years patiently offering friendship, guidance, and steadying energy that goes far beyond a typical professional relationship. Two people who can blend the science with the art when they teach.

Gary Scheiner — Integrated Diabetes Services

Gary Scheiner runs Integrated Diabetes Services. Gary is a Certified Diabetes Educator who has type 1 diabetes. His book “Think Like a Pancreas” makes theory easy to implement and speaks from personal and professional experience — soul in the game. He has presented the Mealtime Insulin Guide to his team at Integrated Diabetes Services. A genuine person who wants the best for people with type 1 diabetes.

Stephen Ponder — Sugar Surfing

Stephen Ponder is the author of Sugar Surfing, a Certified Diabetes Educator, and a Doctor. Sugar Surfing was read in 2018 and Stephen was met in 2019 when presenting on the same stage in Scotland. His encouragement led to the codification of Dynamic Glucose Management.

Both Sugar Surfing and Dynamic Glucose Management emphasise frequent glucose checking and micro-adjustments. Sugar Surfing focuses on micro-dosing insulin corrections between meals, while the GAME component of Dynamic Glucose Management concentrates on short bursts of exercise. Sugar Surfing teaches micro-dosing carbohydrates to prevent hypoglycaemia, while MATCH uses a formula-based method using glucose only. A must-read.

Professor Mike Riddell

Professor Mike Riddell is a leading researcher in exercise management for type 1 diabetes in adults. His main outputs are research and review papers, along with the book “Get Pumped”. authorsship on the ISPAD 2022 Exercise Guidelines and a paper on activity to lower high glucose levels between meals. View his research papers on ResearchGate.

Peter Adolfsson

Peter Adolfsson is Professor Riddell’s counterpart in the paediatric arena for exercise management. A wealth of knowledge who does a great job at simplifying complex concepts. He led the ISPAD 2022 Exercise Guidelines and pushed for the development of useable exercise management algorithms that can be found in the GNL exercise section. He also encouraged the writing of a narrative review on CGM accuracy and how CE marking is not a mark of quality. Find his research papers on ResearchGate.

Francesca Annan

Francesca Annan is a paediatric diabetes dietitian. She has contributed to all the major consensus groups, including NICE, ISPAD, PEAK, and many more. Not afraid to call something out when it needs calling out — especially valuable when the challenge is to the work being done. Hard to find online because she is too busy walking the walk to be talking the talk. Find her on the UCLH team page.

Dr Carmel Smart

Dr Carmel Smart heads up a research group in New South Wales, Australia, and is a leading figure in nutrition and type 1 diabetes. Her research group’s work was the inspiration for the Mealtime Insulin Guide. Find her research papers on ResearchGate.

Dr Suma Uday

Dr Suma Uday is the academic mentor who made the work better by being harsh and very fair in equal measure. She continues to challenge and push to ensure research gets out to the world.

Broader mentors and influences

The people listed below are nothing to do with diabetes. Many have never been met in person. They are people who have improved thinking across every aspect of life.

Peter Attia — The Drive podcast

Peter Attia hosts The Drive podcast. A longevity doctor with a profoundly curious mind, connected to the best research teams in the world. His mantra of “every fact has a half-life, some are just longer than others” is a useful corrective when certainty starts to creep in. Thinking in terms of probabilities rather than absolutes is one of the most useful habits this podcast has reinforced. Notable episodes that have directly shaped thinking here:

• The five-part series on lipidology with Thomas Dayspring — led directly to investigating Familial Hypercholesterolaemia.
• The masterclass on Dynamic Neuromuscular Stability — breathing into the abdomen rather than the chest.
• Gerald Shulman’s deep dive into insulin resistance — understanding the DAG effect and how exercise counters it.
• Rick Johnson’s insights into sugar and obesity — understanding the fat-switch mechanism in the liver.

Nassim Nicholas Taleb — the INCERTO

Nassim Nicholas Taleb, a trader turned philosopher, has written the INCERTO collection. These books have shaped thinking in three ways that directly inform GNL:

• The world is deeply uncertain and filled with chaos. Stop trying to understand everything and go with what works. This line of thinking underpins The Glucose Never Lies.
• Major mistakes are made when systems get too big and lack diversity — going against the grain of natural systems.
• Real learning comes from trial and error, not theorising in isolation. Hence the second GNL principle: use trial and error with continual tinkering.

Philip Hayes

Philip Hayes, CEO of Kloodle, was the best man at the wedding and is a father of three who has the richest soul in the game. He pushed the writing of this blog into existence. So if Grace and Jude need to read it one day, Phil is the one to thank.

Kath and Stuart Pemberton

Mum and dad, Kath and Stuart Pemberton. Grace and Jude, grandma and grandad taught right from wrong, please and thank you, and always try your best. They showed what matters by example. Always there with love, while making sure small risks were taken so that growth happened in every direction. The love and appreciation for them cannot be adequately expressed in words.