Join Insulin to Innovation for a special screening of Miracle, Baby - an inspiring documentary about professional hockey player Cory Conacher who lives with type 1 diabetes. A Q&A with Cory, pediatric endocrinologist Dr. Vandermeulen (featured in the documentary), and Canadian filmmaker Calvin Hudson Hwang follows.
Note this is a live only event - a recording will not be subsequently available. Space is limited - registration required.
About the Film
Duration: 29 minutes
Burlington native and Tampa Bay Lightning signee Cory Conacher may have racked up an impressive list of hockey achievements, but a relentless series of life defining health complications and confidence shattering setbacks prove that his athletic achievements are a miracle of his own making.
“Miracle, Baby” © 2019 SUPRE INCORPORATED license provided in support of Insulin to Innovation.
About the Speakers
Dr. Mike Riddell (moderator)
Dr. Riddell is considered the international authority on exercise and stress hormones and how they affect diabetes metabolism. He and his research team use a broad selection of innovative models and tools to discover how regular exercise, stress and diabetes influence metabolism and health. They are advancing new therapeutic approaches and technologies that will enable people living with diabetes to exhibit better metabolic control with fewer burdens. Presently, Dr. Riddell is helping to develop an “exercise-smart” artificial pancreas for active people living with type 1 diabetes. He leads several studies on new strategies for improved blood sugar balance during exercise and sport (industry and foundation funds) and he is overseeing work on the impact of somatostatin receptor 2 blockade and glucagon response to hypoglycemia.
Riddell is an author on several international guidelines on exercise and diabetes and leads teams in establishing community-based sport programs that enhance the translation of research findings to families of children living with type 1 diabetes, including the Dskate Hockey Program. You can read more about Dr. Riddell in our 100 Lives of Insulin series.
Cory Conacher (professional hockey player)
Cory Conacher (Burlington, Ontario) is a Canadian professional ice hockey player. Diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes at age eight, Conacher pursued his athletic ambitions through to college, enrolling at Canisius College where he would become the program’s most decorated player. Conacher’s success streak continued, supporting the team to win the Calder Cup and was awarded the league’s MVP all within his rookie year. His professional hockey career continued with NHL seasons with the Tampa Bay Lightning, Ottawa Senators, Buffalo Sabres and New York Islanders.
Conacher’s story is an inspiring one of grit and perseverance. While unquestionably talented, at a diminutive height of 5 ft 8in, a T1D diagnosis and a rare congenital birth defect, his journey to the elite athletic ranks of the NHL is astonishing but not without stigma, struggle nor disappointment. As of February 2021, Conacher plays for the SC Bern of the Switzerland National League where he balances professional hockey with raising a family. You can follow Cory on Twitter and Instagram.
Calvin Hudson Hwang (filmmaker)
The award-winning filmmaker Calvin Hudson Hwang was born in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. C. Hudson started performing as a youth with the St. Albert Children's Theatre and gradually progressed to acting roles in commercials, film and television. Following a career in advertising that took him to London (UK), Toronto, San Francisco, and Montreal, C. Hudson transitioned to behind-the-camera after moving to Los Angeles to attend film school. His directorial works have screening internationally at festivals including Toronto, Vancouver, Montreal, London, Milan, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Halifax, Ottawa, Berlin and throughout Germany. He is the creative force and executive producer behind the award-winning documentary series Real Life Stories developed for Johnson and Johnson. His 3-part documentary series on psoriasis was awarded best patient education programming by the Canadian Dermatologist Association. Combining a unique skill set in film, strategy, and stakeholder management, Hwang founded SUPRE, a company focused exclusively on educational health documentaries in 2017, leaving behind an illustrious 20 year executive marketing career in 2018 to pursue SUPRE full time. You can find C. Hudson on IMDB, LinkedIn and Instagram.
Dr. John Vandermeulen (pediatric endocrinologist)
Dr. Vandermeulen has been the division head of pediatric endocrinology at McMaster University for over 30 years. His clinical interests have spanned the field of pediatric endocrinology and diabetes. Among the first to use rapid-acting insulin analogues to operationalize insulin pump therapy in pediatric patients with diabetes, he was also a strong and successful advocate for the specific and separate recognition, organization and support of pediatric diabetes care in the province of Ontario.