May 13, 2025
Last week, the American Diabetes Association (ADA) announced the appointment of a new Chief Scientific and Medical Officer (CSMO), Dr. Rita Rastogi Kalyani, MD, MHS. She will join the ADA officially on August 11th. This news comes nearly nine months after the previous CSMO, Robert Gabbay, announced his abrupt departure via a LinkedIn post.
About the New CSMO
Dr. Kalyani has been a longtime member of the ADA, volunteering at the organization for over two decades and serving as president of medicine & science on the board of directors. She previously chaired the ADA’s Professional Practice Committee, which pens the position statement in the annual Standards of Care in Diabetes.
Kalyani received her medical degree from John Hopkins University School of Medicine, where she has worked for fifteen years. Currently, she is a clinician and professor of medicine in the Division of Endocrinology, Diabetes & Metabolism, investigating factors that lead to diabetes complications in high-risk patients. Kalyani founded and directs the diabetes management service in Johns Hopkins’ Total Pancreatectomy Islet Auto Transplant Program.
T1D or T2D Focused?
The ADA began as a general diabetes-focused organization, addressing both T1D and T2D equally. In the last decade, as we have documented, the focus of the ADA has solidly shifted to type 2 diabetes and obesity. The key question: Where will Kalyani focus?
The role of CSMO is to lead innovation, guide the organization’s research agenda, and steer focus to current demands. As CSMO, Kalyani will have a unique chance to do much more for T1D.
Kalyani’s past research suggests that she will be balanced between T1D and T2D. She has directly addressed both in her past research and work with patients. She has written or participated in over 175 publications on both type 1 and type 2 diabetes. At first pass, both seem to be treated equally.
This is a good thing. It may help the ADA win back the T1D community. She can reinvigorate T1D-specific cure research. Time will tell.
