ACBRD proudly hosted the 30th PsychoSocial Aspects of Diabetes (PSAD) Annual Scientific Meeting in Geelong, Australia
By Dr Eloise Litterbach, Dr Elizabeth Holmes-Truscott, Emmanuel Ekpor, Sarah Manallack, and Alison Robinson
For three decades the PsychoSocial Aspects of Diabetes (PSAD) Study Group has brought together researchers, clinicians, people with diabetes, and industry from around the world at its annual scientific meeting. Together, PSAD members work to deepen our understanding of, and improve life with diabetes. Annual PSAD meetings connect members, share new research, build skills and impact.
PSAD comes to Australia for the first time!
PSAD meetings are usually held in Europe. This year, we were proud to host the 30th PSAD Annual Meeting at Deakin’s Waurn Ponds Estate, on Wadawurrung country (Geelong), Victoria.
The ACBRD has a strong connection with PSAD. Our Director, Jane Speight, is the current PSAD Chair. ACBRD Research Fellow, Eloise Litterbach, serves as PSAD Early Career Researcher Co-Chair. Our communications officer, Victoria Yutronich, manages the PSAD website. Several more ACBRD team members have had leadership roles in PSAD over the years. Under Jane’s leadership, and proudly flying the Aussie flag, the PSAD enjoyed its first-ever meeting in Australia. The meeting, held from 17 – 19 February, was the largest to date. Over 80 delegates attended, including 34 from overseas.
Lived experience at the centre
A key feature of the meeting was its strong focus on lived experience. This was embedded throughout the program. Presenters’ abstracts were reviewed by both academic and lived-experience experts. Awards were ranked with similar input. The event was kicked off by keynote speaker, Renza Scibilia, who delivered a powerful reminder that diabetes care should always start from the perspective of the person living with the condition. Many attendees shared their own lived experience in presentations.
Three Axel Hirsch awards were given to Australians with diabetes to support their attendance. We will share reflections from award winners in an upcoming blog.
A busy week for ACBRD!
The local organising team was led by Eloise Litterbach and Danni Bellu. Beside from running the meeting, the ACBRD contributed across the program. They led presentations, chaired sessions, shuttled attendees across Victoria, and passionately battled it out in the ‘Mark Peyrot PSAD Great Debate’.
Seven of our early career researchers presented their latest work:
Alison Robinson shared qualitative findings from our HypoPAST (Hypoglycaemia Prevention, Awareness of Symptoms and Treatment) program.
Jennifer Halliday also spoke about the HypoPAST project. She shared how we developed the online, self-directed program.
Emannuel Ekpor presented a work-in-progress multinational qualitative study from his PhD. His study explores people with type 2 diabetes’ perception of stigma-free diabetes healthcare.
Sarah Manallack also shared findings from her PhD research. She studied whether age and gender are associated with diabetes and weight stigmas among adults with T2D.
Dr Eloise Litterbach presented her qualitative research exploring health professional views on supporting risk-reduction for women and their children following GDM.
In the final session, our very own Dr Edith Holloway received the 2026 ECR PSAD Science Award. The award recognised her work on the LISTEN trial. LISTEN is an evidence-based telehealth program which aims to reduce diabetes distress and improve emotional wellbeing.
Visitors to the ACBRD
PSAD in Australia created an opportunity to welcome visiting researchers to the ACBRD. We have loved hosting international visitors from Denmark, Germany, Malaysia, Slovenia, the United Kingdom, and the United States. Special mentions go to Sabina Wagner, Laura Klinker, Hilde Kristin Refvik Riise, Ana Munda, and Ananthi Anandhakrishnan, who stayed for extended visits. This allowed for deeper collaboration and knowledge sharing.
PSAD in 2027
PSAD ‘Down Under’ was a huge hit! We can’t wait to see our colleagues again at the 31st PSAD Annual Meeting. The 2027 meeting will held 21-23 April 2027 in Krakow, Poland. See you there!
Read more about the PSAD in our past blogs.
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