Laurie Quinn, PhD, RN, FAAN, FAHA, CDE, is a clinical professor, and Cynthia Fritschi, PhD, RN, CDE, is an assistant professor of nursing at the University of Illinois College of Nursing in Chicago.
Dr. Quinn has maintained an ongoing research program focusing on improving the health of people with diabetes and reducing the burden of diabetes complications. Her research has examined the interaction of psychological (e.g., quality of life), behavioral (e.g., diabetes self-management), and physiological (e.g., substrate response to exercise) aspects of diabetes. Her research endeavors have focused on examining the effect of aerobic exercise on the metabolic derangements of both type 1 and type 2 diabetes. Dr. Quinn is part of a collaborative team working on the development of an artificial pancreas system. Her work has been funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation.
As a member of the American Diabetes Association (ADA), she has been part of a medical team staffing Triangle D Camp in Ingleside, Ill., for more than 20 years.
Dr. Fritschi has been the principal investigator on several NIH-funded studies addressing the interrelationships between real-time fatigue symptoms, glucose levels, and physical activity in aging adults with type 2 diabetes. She is known for her work in diabetes-related fatigue and believes that patients’ experiences with symptoms, sleep quality, physical activity, and feelings of well-being are central to their diabetes health.
As a certified diabetes educator, Dr. Fritschi spent more than 20 years caring for adults and children with diabetes. She regularly volunteers for ADA summer camps and serves as a diabetes liaison nurse for training diabetes care aides within her elementary school district.
An avid exerciser, Dr. Fritschi has lived with type 1 diabetes for more than 50 years and has personal experience with the positive effects of physical activity on mental and physical well-being, including sleep quality. She has experienced firsthand the negative effects of even one night of poor sleep on her glucose levels, mood, and self-care behaviors.
Diabetes Spectrum associate editor Sandra Drozdz Burke, PhD, ANP-BC, CDE, FAADE, coordinated this From Research to Practice section.
