Scientist and diabetes expert Associate Professor Sofianos Andrikopoulos PhD was appointed president of the Australian Diabetes Society last month, having been at the forefront of diabetes research for over 20 years.
Andrikopoulos, 45, was born and raised in Richmond to parents from Pyrgos, Ilias. He studied a Bachelor of Science at the University of Melbourne before pursuing an Honours degree and PhD in the field of diabetes research. He was so “infected by the research bug” he spent two years in the United States at the University of Washington (in Seattle) completing a post-doctoral fellowship before returning to the University of Melbourne in 1998 to establish a research group that he still oversees today.
“The group that we have here is the Islet Biology and Metabolism Research Group. It has 11 members, and we do pre-clinical research in understanding what causes type two diabetes. We use a lot of models to study specific genes or specific pathways and their role in causing diabetes.”
“I worked pretty hard, I got involved in the various societies and one of the societies I got involved with was the Australian Diabetes Society. It’s the peak health professional society in Australia and then I became president of it.”
Andrikopoulos had little intention of forging a career in diabetes research, but after getting “hooked” he found a passion for discovering new pathways and molecules, and research into finding preventative measures and a cure for both type one and two diabetes.
“It’s a big problem, it’s a problem that affects a lot of people, it’s a problem that affects Greek people.”
Despite difficulties, Andrikopoulos said he had no doubt a cure for the disease, whilst not imminent, will be discovered.
“I wouldn’t be in research if I didn’t honestly believe that we would come to find a cure for both type one and type two diabetes. I think we’ve made huge progress in understanding and treating both forms of the disease in the 24 years that I’ve been involved in research, and I’m really confident that one day we will be able to cure them,” he said.
“We have better pharmaceutical agents and better devices to manage both diseases and at some point we will get to where we will be able to cure it.”
Diabetes rates are at around eight to 10 per cent of the population, and at similar numbers within the Greek community. It is a disease that tracks through genetics and obesity, but for people susceptible to the odd glyko, Andrikopoulos said it is not all despair.
“Sweets don’t cause diabetes but if you do have diabetes you should avoid them. It’s about good quality food and portion control – and exercise, daily activity is really important. If you develop diabetes you should follow a good diet avoiding carbohydrates, avoiding lipids and ensuring that you’re quite active.”