Flying With Diabetes Day, October 2012

Bios - In Order of Appearance:

Douglas Cairns
In 1989, Douglas Cairns was a Royal Air Force jet pilot and instructor at the age of 25 when he was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes, and consequently lost his flying career. In 2000 he regained the freedom to fly in the USA as a licenced private pilot, and then went on to complete "Diabetes World Flight" in 2003, a round-the-world flight to raise awareness of type 1 diabetes. Since 2003 Douglas has run Flying With Diabetes, a series of flying projects and Flying With Diabetes Day events to raise awareness of diabetes, including a 17-hour flight from Barrow, Alaska to the North Pole. Douglas is a co-founder of Pilots With Diabetes, an aviation policy advocacy group for pilots with insulin treated diabetes. Douglas is passionate about raising awareness of diabetes and gives regular talks to conferences & meetings, highlighting that diabetes need not limit the scope of people's dreams and ambitions.

Melissa Ford
Melissa was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes in 1994, at age 12. She began using an insulin pump in 1996 and hasn't looked back. In 2001, she moved from the US to the UK for postgraduate study in history. Voluntary roles in diabetes outreach and advocacy led her to work in the healthcare industry instead of academia. She is now a medical copywriter at a communications agency in London. Melissa serves on the Advisory Group for INPUT (www.input.me.uk), which works alongside Diabetes UK and JDRF to help patients access diabetes technology. She took part in JDRF's Type 1 Parliament event in April. In June she rode her bike from London to Paris – 229 miles over 3 days – to raise money for diabetes research. Her husband jokes that between her pump and her continuous glucose monitor, Melissa is "a little bit like the bionic woman, but better."

Karl Beetson
Karl Beetson, 23, developed a burning passion for aviation from a young age and on his 16th birthday he flew his first solo circuit. In March 2007, aged 17 years old, he was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes and was told he would never be medically fit to fly professionally. He has since discovered that although a few doors close, many can open, and as a co-founder of Pilots with Diabetes, he firmly believes having diabetes should not be a barrier in every aspect of life. He is an Aerospace Engineering graduate of the University of Hertfordshire and is now in the final stages of completing a Masters by research degree carrying out a scientific study within the diabetes field.

Karl will talk about how his diagnosis turned his world upside down, his involvement in aviation as a record-setting pilot with diabetes, and how he pro-actively manages his diabetes.

Dr Rob Andrews
Rob Andrews is a Consultant Senior Lecturer at the University of Bristol and an Honorary Consultant Physician at Musgrove Park Hospital Taunton. Half of his time is spent researching the role that exercise and diet can play in the prevention and management of the metabolic syndrome. This goes from the level of cell signalling through to clinical methods to help people become more active and eat better. In 2010 he completed a large community trial to look at the effect of diet and exercise over and above normal care in patients with newly diagnosed Type 2 Diabetes (Early ACTID) and now running a study to look at the effect of exercise on preservation of beta cell function in patients with newly diagnosed Type 1 diabetes (EXTOD).

He also works with medical charities and government bodies to develop practical guidelines for health professionals to advise patients how to exercise and regularly gives advice to elite athletes who have Type 1 diabetes.

Kathryn Robertson
I'm a girl, 5'6", 34, and don't own anything except two degrees and (occasionally) a flying suit. I'm a final year medical student, with a knack for surgery, and holder of a Gyrocopter license. My passion for flying began when I was six, since when all I've wanted to do is fly those whopping great Hercules C130s. But now I love "rotors" and have aspirations to become the first AFI(G) with type 1 diabetes. This does not mean Aspiring For the Impossible (Great!) but Assistant Flying Instructor (Gyroplane). I am a firm believer in focus and fulfilment, with a bit of a laugh in between. I am thrilled to be part of such a proactive group as those in Flying With Diabetes and Pilots With Diabetes, and hope we can make a lasting and safe difference for pilots with diabetes, present and future.

Colin Rowland
Colin Rowland was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes aged eight, some 46 years ago, and grew up with diabetes management consisting of urine tests with fizzy tablets and glass and metal syringes with large needles being boiled in the kitchen. Colin ran his first marathon in 2007 to raise funds for JDRF, managing to complete the event with the help of jelly babies, testing gear and insulin syringe in 4hrs 40minutes, crossing the finish line with a blood glucose of 1.7mmol. Colin has gone on to run four other London Marathons for JDRF and numerous other running events in order to raise both awareness and funds in support of JDRF research programmes.

In 2012 Colin was selected as one of the Olympic Torch bearers as it toured the UK prior to the opening ceremony. Colin will speak about his passion for running, and how technology has changed diabetes management dramatically since he was first diagnosed.