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Chicago, IL—Megan Visser, PhD, is the recipient of the 2024-2025 Association of Diabetes Care & Education Specialists (ADCES^®) Foundation/CBDCE Mentored Post-Doctoral Fellowship in Integrated Diabetes Management. The mentored fellowship program, supported by the ADCES Foundation, supports the career development of emerging leaders in diabetes care and education. Each year, the mentored fellow recipient participates in a unique research project aimed at supporting the growth of the diabetes care and education specialist (DCES) profession and the care of people with diabetes.

Dr. Visser is a hospital chaplain and sociologist. After completing a bachelor’s degree in society and health at Simmons University in Boston, she attended theological school for five years, earning a master’s degree in ethics and social theory as well as a certificate in women’s studies and religion at the Graduate Theological Union in Berkeley, California. In 2022, she earned her doctorate in sociology from University of California, San Francisco.

Dr. Visser’s fellowship project will focus on embracing spirituality as a coping tool for diabetes distress and management.

“Among Black, Indigenous and People of Color (BIPOC) families who are dealing with lifelong diseases, religion or spirituality is both a healthy resource and an important facet of their daily lives,” said Dr. Visser. “In the diabetes community, we need to better understand how families use religious/spiritual resources to cope. My fellowship project will capture the ways that BIPOC families use religion/spirituality to reduce diabetes distress and cope with their children’s Type 1 diabetes diagnosis. My project will also explore families’ perceptions of and preferences for incorporating spiritual care into psychosocial care for families of youth with Type 1 diabetes across a variety of treatment settings.”

Dr. Visser’s project has found a home base at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles (CHLA), a premier teaching hospital located in one of the most culturally and religiously diverse cities in the country. CHLA’s rich tapestry of resources for early-career investigators and world-class clinical programs will provide a strong infrastructure and the personnel needed to complete this project. Dr. Visser’s primary mentor is Rebecca Ortiz La Banca Barber, PhD, RN, CPN, a nurse scientist at the Institute for Nursing and Interprofessional Research at CHLA. Joining her is Caitlin Sayegh, PhD, a clinical psychologist and researcher at CHLA, and Jennifer Raymond, MD, MCR, Chief of the Division of Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolism at CHLA. Also, Rev. Dagmar Grefe, PhD, ACPE, Manager of Spiritual Care at CHLA, will also serve as a clinical mentor.

Learn more about the ADCES Foundation/CBDCE Mentored Post-Doctoral Fellowship in Integrated Diabetes Management.

About the Association of Diabetes Care & Education Specialists

ADCES is an interdisciplinary professional membership organization dedicated to improving prediabetes, diabetes and cardiometabolic care through innovative education, management and support. With more than 12,000 professional members including nurses, dietitians, pharmacists and others, ADCES has a vast network of practitioners working to optimize care and reduce complications. ADCES supports an integrated care model that lowers the cost of care, improves experiences and helps its members lead so better outcomes follow. Learn more at www.adces.org.