Media Releases - 22 October 2020
Professor Jane Speight appointed first woman to chair the PSAD Study Group
Professor Jane Speight, the Foundation Director of the Australian Centre for Behavioural Research in Diabetes (ACBRD)*, has recently been appointed Chair of the PsychoSocial Aspects of Diabetes (PSAD) Study Group.
Professor Speight is the 5th Chairperson and first woman to hold the position in PSAD’s 25-year history.
“I’m looking forward to working with a great executive committee to advance the psychosocial aspects of diabetes, in research, practice and policy to support all people affected by diabetes and their clinicians,” says Professor Speight. “I am also looking forward to finding new ways to continue and improve on the great tradition of the PSAD Study Group in supporting, mentoring, connecting and advancing our early career researchers.”
PSAD is an official study group of the European Association for the Study of Diabetes (EASD). It now has more than 200 members, based mostly in Europe but with an increasingly global membership. Professor Speight joined the PSAD Study Group 21 years ago, and she has been an active member throughout her career.
In March 2020, Diabetic Medicine published a special issue, co-edited by Professor Speight, to commemorate the 25th anniversary of PSAD. The issue has been made freely available.
“What started as a small group of enthusiasts has evolved into a multidisciplinary global group of about 180 researchers from Europe, USA, Australia and South America, including psychologists, endocrinologists, nurses, diabetes educators, sociologists and epidemiologists, who have a common interest in the psychosocial issues of diabetes,” wrote PSAD founding chair, Professor Frank Snoek, in a commentary about the history of the PSAD.
The aims of PSAD are to stimulate communication between researchers and clinicians in the field, improve the quality of psychological and social research in diabetes, and stimulate dissemination of effective psychosocial interventions in diabetes care.
Past PSAD Chairs were:
- Prof Frank Snoek, Vrije Universiteit (VU) University, The Netherlands (from 1995 – 2004)
- Prof Norbert Hermanns, Research Institute of the Diabetes Academy Mergentheim, Germany (from 2004 – 2011)
- Prof Frans Pouwer, Tilburg University, The Netherlands (from 2011 – 2014)
- Prof Arie Nouwen, Vrije Universiteit (VU) University, The Netherlands (from 2014 – 2020)
Find out more about Prof Jane Speight
* The Australian Centre for Behavioural Research in Diabetes is a partnership for better health between Diabetes Victoria and Deakin University, Australia. It was established in 2010 as the first national research centre dedicated to investigating the behavioural, psychological and social aspects of people living with diabetes.
Diabetes Victoria supports, empowers and campaigns for all Victorians affected by, or at risk of, diabetes.
Deakin University is one of Australia’s leading universities. It is focused on enabling globally connected education for the jobs of the future and research that makes a difference to our communities.
For more information:
Jane Kneebone 0416 148 845 jkneebone@diabetesvic.org.au
Victoria Yutronich 0431 752 284 vyutronich@acbrd.org.au
