Lestradet Prize for Education and Advocacy

Asma Deeb

2025 ISPAD Lestradet Prize for Education and Advocacy Winner, United Arab Emirates

Prof Asma Deeb is the Chair of Paediatric Endocrinology and chair of IRB at Sheikh Shakhbout Medical City (SSMC), Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. She is a clinical professor at the Gulf University and Khalifa University, UAE. Prof Deeb is the president of the Arab Society of Paediatric Endocrinology and Diabetes (ASPED). She is an executive board member at the GPED and the International Consortium of paediatric endocrinology. She held the position of chair of the communication committee for ESPE and an advisory board member in ISPAD.

One of the highlights of Professor Deeb’s career was her leadership in hosting the ISPAD Annual Conference in 2022 in Abu Dhabi. This event showcased her ability to organize and lead high-impact scientific gatherings. In the realm of education, Professor Deeb has played a pivotal role in mentoring countless aspiring clinicians and researchers. Her commitment to education has truly raised the bar for Pediatric Endocrinology across the Arab world.

Prof Deeb is the founder of the ASPED ISPAD diabetes academy which she coordinated annually since 2015. This educational diabetes activity is an initiative of collaboration with ISPAD to enhance diabetes education for health care professionals practicing in the Arab countries. Similarly, Prof Deeb initiated a collaboration with ESPE in the form of ASPED ESPE Endocrine academy since 2014 with the objective of enhancing education and research in the Arab region.

Professor Deeb’s research contributions are equally remarkable. With a large number of published papers and a pivotal role as Principal Investigator in numerous clinical trials, her work has significantly advanced scientific knowledge in Pediatric Endocrinology and Diabetes.

Prof Deeb is an associate editor for Hormone Research in Paediatrics and previously Pediatric Diabetes. She is an editorial member for DTT and a reviewer for a large number of journals in the field.

She trained in the UK and had an MD degree on Somatorophs differentiation and growth hormone gene expression from the University of Newcastle upon tyne in 2002. She pursued a career in paediatric endocrinology in Cambridge, UK with special interest in disorders of sexual differentiation. She relocated to the UAE in 2006 where she founded a tertiary Paediatric Endocrine Departmen. Currently, she chairs the IRB of the SSMC which has the biggest clinical trial unit in the UAE.

Professor Deeb’s exceptional contributions have been recognized globally, with accolades from prestigious institutions such as The Mayo Clinic, The American Academy of Clinical Endocrinology, and the Dubai Health Authority. These honors reflect the immense value of her work and the profound impact she has had on both the education and research landscapes of Pediatric Endocrinology.

Carine de Beaufort

2024 ISPAD Lestradet Prize for Education and Advocacy Winner,, Luxembourg

Carine de Beaufort is a paediatric diabetologist-endocrinologist  at the DECCP in the Centre Hospitalier Luxembourg. She is an invited professor at the University of Luxembourg and the Free University Brussels (UZ-VUB) and Luxemburg’s representative at the PDCO/EMA.

After early exposure to research (MD PhD), the combination of clinical care and research has characterised her career. Her PhD research (under the inspiring leadership of GJ Bruining, 1982) concerned innovative diabetes technology in children with newly onset diabetes and this has remained part of her research activities. Moving to Luxembourg before the EU wide harmonisation of paediatric trainings, forced her to think ‘out of the box’ and redesign an international paediatric training program, recognized by the Dutch Paediatric Society (challenging but enriching). This experience exposed her to the diversity of training, care, clinical documentation and the need to improve this.

Clinical research is only possible when quality care is in place. After recognition in Luxembourg of her credentials as a paediatrician, she established the paediatric multidisciplinary Diabetes & Endocrine Care team (DECCP/CHL). This unique multidisciplinary team provides 24/7 care for complex rare/ frequent paediatric diabetes and endocrine conditions.

She has participate(d) in multiple EU and (inter)national research projects as partner/work package leader or as coordinator, chair or PI, with a focus on quality of data collection (Eurodiab, DIAMOND, EUDIP, EUCID, T1DIndex..),  of care outcome (HVIDORE STUDY GROUP , SWEET, QUEST) but as well on the disease pathogenesis (TRIGR, MUST, COSMIC). For the latter, the ongoing collaboration with the ecosystems/LCSB team in Luxembourg (P Wilmes) remains enriching: ‘Out of the box thinking’ to generate new hypotheses on disease pathogenesis with an origin in early life interactions between host and evolving microbiome.

Through her work as ISPAD officer  (Secretary General 2012-2016 and President 2020-2022) , she has been been able to meet with - and to be motivated by -  many colleagues  and persons  with diabetes (PwD) around the globe. Despite the fact that Access to health care and education are two of the most ratified Universal Rights  for children, in diabetes  these objectives are not met worldwide. Together with many dedicated people, she has had the opportunity to participate in educational programs and initiatives to improve diabetes care and access to care. The WHO Diabetes COMPACT is a huge step forward , but will need to include the education.

Together wit the h Lancet Diabetes and Endocrinology commission (Lancet Diabetes Endocrinol   2024 Jan;12(1):9-11. doi: 10.1016/S2213-8587(23)00323-6) she hopes to continue to contribute to the field.