Our Care and Education Members

1) Quality improvement and patient safety in diabetes care
2) Diabetes in Pregnancy care
3) Type 1 Diabetes Pediatric to Adult Transitional care
4) Innovation model of health care delivery for complex patients

The Centre for Complex Diabetes Care (CCDC) provides comprehensive care for patients with complex diabetes needs. Care is patient-centered and goal specific with frequent follow-up. The CCDC is a regional program servicing the Central Local Health Integration Network with satellite sites and the Ontario Telehealth Network. I provide case management, individualized diabetes education and ongoing counselling in collaboration with an interprofessional team.

Project Investigator with Sick Kids Research Institute:

As the inpatient Diabetes Nurse Educator, I see a variety of patients who require meter and insulin education in order to plan for a safe discharge. I also follow admitted insulin pump patients who wish to remain on their pump if it is deemed safe and appropriate to do so. I am involved in our Rapid Assessment of Diabetes and Referral (RADAR) clinic twice weekly. Patients with poor glycemic control are seen urgently in order to prevent emergency room or inpatient admissions.

As a member of our Diabetes Inpatient Committee, I have played an active role in the development of our Insulin pump policy, the hospital wide conversion to insulin pens, and been involved in many QI initiatives.

Presently I am involved in Dr. Lorraine Lipscombe’s research looking at unique home-based interventions designed to assist women with a diagnosis of gestational diabetes develop healthy exercise and eating behaviours post partum.  I also have a feasibility trial to look at an exercise program run in a mosque for South Asian muslim women at high risk of developing diabetes.

Previous research has looked at the experience of cardiac rehabilitation participants who are also living with and managing diabetes.

View Publications

Dr. Judy Qiang completed her medical degree, Internal Medicine, and Endocrinology and Metabolism residency at the University of Toronto. She is currently completing a Master’s degree in Clinical Epidemiology at the Institute of Health Policy and Management Evaluation.

Judy will be joining Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre as a staff endocrinologist in January 2022. Dr. Qiang is a Clinician in Quality and Innovation and a Clinical Associate in the Department of Medicine at the University of Toronto. She is interested in improving inpatient and peri-operative glycemic control at both local and national levels by engaging physicians and allied health professionals alike.

The Central East Regional Cardiovascular Rehab program serves the population within the Central East LHIN. Three diabetes related activities were added to the regional cardiac rehab program to alleviate the risk of hypo/hyperglycemia during exercise sessions and their further complication for increased cardiac events and coronary disease progression risk.

The first addition was a diabetes screening tool using the platform of Cardiologica. This screening tool provides a quick abbreviation review for each supervising therapist of each patient’s type of diabetes and their pharmacological regimen. For example, a person with a basal-bolus regimen would have the abbreviation MDI. The second addition was the creation of a diabetes monitoring standard work template providing each therapist an algorithm of questions to ask each patient depending on their type of diabetes, diabetes regimen and their overall glycemic control. This would then prompt the covering therapist if a self blood glucose check is necessary. This standard protocol also includes an emergency hypoglycemia and hyperglycemia algorithm; along with a description of each drug class to provide therapist’s a good knowledge base of their actions. The third addition is the ongoing education of therapists on diabetes and updating of new diabetes medications and insulin types.

Overall, these additions have aligned the regional cardiac rehab program with the Canadian Diabetes Guidelines in regards to appropriate self blood glucose checks to promote safety and thereby maximize fitness results of each patient in order to improve their overall quality of life and reduce hospitalizations while not adding to the economic cost of the program.

Diabetes Exercise and Healthy Lifestyle Program at Toronto Rehab Institute is a six month exercise program with supervised individualized aerobic and resistance training & MSK stretch routine, nutritional counselling, psychosocial support. There are education and group discussion sessions and diabetes support groups. Cardiopulmonary assessment at initiation into the program is undertaken to measure peak VO2 to design the exercise program using FITT principle. Cost of the program is covered through MOHLTC. Myself and our dietician Maria Ricupero are certified diabetes educators and run diabetes Education sessions.

I’m a physician in Adult Endocrinology and Metabolism at University of Toronto and currently working as a Clinical Associate at Sinai Health System (Mount Sinai Hospital and Bridgepoint Hospital) and University Health Network in outpatient diabetes care and inpatient Endocrinology and Diabetes consult services. I am currently pursuing my PhD in Epidemiology and Healthcare Research on the cardio-metabolic outcomes of weight loss in patients with obesity and diabetes using big data analysis of primary care population cohorts. I am funded through the Clinical Investigator Program (CIP) and Eliot Phillipson Clinician Scientist Training Program (CSTP) at University of Toronto for my research.

Medical Lead, University Health Network Diabetes Program. Current activities include developing, implementing and evaluating of innovative models of multidisciplinary diabetes care. Teaching undergraduate and postgraduate medical trainees in a his academic diabetes practice at Toronto General Hospital.

 Chair of the Clinical and Scientific Section of the Canadian Diabetes Association

Board of Directors, Canadian Diabetes Association

Canadian Diabetes Association Diabetes Charter Committee

Site Co-ordinator to CIRTrial

Site Co-ordinator of the PAREXEL Trial

I’m a registered dietitian and Certified Diabetes Educator who has been working in diabetes education since 2014. 

Focused on acutely ill, complex patients who frequently present with complications related to diabetes/or who develop diabetic complications during admission. I educate patients and families, consult with ICU staff, pharmacists, endocrinologists, and nephrologists to formalize and plan patient care pertaining to glycemic control, preservation of renal function, and other major organ functions.