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"From a war zone to new diabetes diagnostics and treatments", how an Aberdeen diabetes scientist is breaking boundaries.
Join Professor Mirela Delibegovic to hear her incredible journey which took her from a teenager fleeing war-torn Bosnia and Hercegovina in 1994 to becoming the first female Regius Chair of Physiology – a position appointed directly by the King – three decades later.
In this special Founders’ Week Lecture, Professor Delibegovic will share how her early life inspired her research journey and how she is now following in the footsteps of another Aberdeen diabetes pioneer, whose work is credited with saving millions of lives.
Professor Delibegovic came to the UK on a scholarship from George Heriot’s School in Edinburgh, where her potential as a scientist was encouraged. She went on to study pharmacology at the University of Edinburgh, for a PhD in biochemistry at the University of Dundee and then undertook a postdoctoral fellowship at Harvard Medical School in Boston.
Her initial interest in diabetes research was fuelled by a family history and prevalence of Type 2 diabetes in Bosnia and Herzegovina – and she was determined to play her part in understanding why our bodies stop responding to the effects of our own hormone, insulin.
She now leads the Aberdeen Cardiovascular and Diabetes Centre exploring how diabetes, obesity, heart disease and ageing are woven together and in 2024 her successful research career was recognised when she was appointed by the King as the first female Regius Chair of Physiology.
Her work follows in the footsteps of previous Aberdeen Regius Chair of Physiology, JJR Macleod, who led the Toronto team credited with the discovery of insulin.
In this Founders’ Week Lecture, she will take the audience through the ways in which her work is addressing issues faced by those with diabetes today, from improving diagnostics for people at risk of developing type 1 diabetes to new drug discovery projects.
The lecture will include an audience Q&A session hosted by our Vice-Principal of Research Professor Nick Forsyth and will be followed by a drinks reception in the Suttie Centre foyer area.
For those unable to attend in person, the lecture will be recorded and posted on this page www.abdn.ac.uk/events/founders-week/ the week following the event.
All are welcome to attend. Registration is required via the link below.