A panel of experts focused on behavioral interventions supporting adolescent girls and women will present Lady Parts (of Life with Diabetes): Behavioral and Psychosocial Care for Women on Monday, June 8 from 8:00–9:30 a.m. in Hall E-2 of the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center. On-demand access to recorded presentations will be available to registered participants following the conclusion of the 2026 Scientific Sessions, from June 10–August 10.

Paige Trojanowski, PhD, Attending Psychologist at Children’s National Hospital in Washington, DC, will address preventive care to promote psychological wellbeing among adolescent girls with type 1 diabetes. Dr. Trojanowski, who is also an Assistant Professor at The George Washington University, will focus primarily on disordered eating and mental health.

Providing information on cognitive dissonance-based programs for eating disorder prevention, she will highlight key facilitators recently identified in terms of peer support and family factors. Dr. Trojanowski will offer insight into messaging and steps healthcare professionals can share for patients and families to put into practice.

“It’s important for providers to recognize how language matters, and to be aware of weight stigma, which can be passed on by healthcare providers,” she said. “We’re finding self-advocacy can help turn things around for adolescents when dealing with type 1 diabetes.”

Deborah Da Costa, PhD, Associate Professor in the Department of Medicine at McGill University, Canada, will focus on women with type 1 or type 2 diabetes during pregnancy and parenting, with an emphasis on supporting mental health and quality of life.

S. Michelle Ogunwole, MD, PhD, Assistant Professor of Medicine at Johns Hopkins University, will talk about prevention of type 2 diabetes after gestational diabetes and behavioral health strategies in the postpartum period.

Dr. Ogunwole will discuss the value of leveraging pregnancy and the postpartum period to identify women potentially at risk for developing chronic diseases. She will present data on pre-pregnancy obesity and trends showing that excess gestational weight gain in pregnancy increases gestational diabetes risk, as well as evidence showing gestational diabetes as a huge risk factor for developing diabetes later in life.

Dr. Ogunwole will present her current pilot study and share evidence on prescription nutrition, physical activity interventions, the role of stress, mental health, and the challenge of managing this in the particularly sensitive and challenging postpartum period.

In delivering insights into effective care, she will address the importance of identifying and implementing structural solutions to achieve health equity. She will reinforce the need for practitioners to be aware of structural and cultural issues and consider the realities and challenges people receiving care may face and how those impact choices.

“Any conversation about behavioral intervention necessitates a parallel conversation about the structural interventions needed to make those possible,” said Dr. Ogunwole.

With a focus on menopause and diabetes in midlife women, Monique Hedderson, PhD, Director of Research Clinics, Kaiser Permanente Northern California Division of Research, will review the growing area of research determining specific menopause-related issues among patients with diabetes. A principal investigator on the longitudinal cohort Study of Women Across the Nation (SWAN), she will share findings and address research into hormonal changes during the menopause transition.

“SWAN has provided a large body of existing knowledge that we have about menopause,” said Dr. Hedderson. Noting another large cohort study, the Women’s Health Initiative, she will emphasize the need for new contemporary cohorts and development of clinical recommendations for screening and interventions. Dr. Hedderson will address the association between changes in sex hormones and increases in insulin resistance, and suggest behavioral health strategies for midlife women. Additionally, she will discuss changes in clinical recommendations regarding the use of hormone replacement therapy and the need for new studies in that area.

Register On-site for the 2026 Scientific Sessions

You can register on-site at the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center in New Orleans to join the 2026 Scientific Sessions, taking place June 5–8. Don’t miss your chance to learn about the latest advances in diabetes research, prevention, and care. After the meeting, registered participants will have on-demand access to recorded presentations.