While college is definitely a fun time, all college students probably look forward to their first break home. There are a lot of benefits of being home: a break from classes, seeing friends, spending time with parents (admit it, you missed your Mom), home cooking, showering without flip flops; the list goes on and on. Type 1 diabetes (T1D) shouldn’t get in the way of your recharging time at home. However, after some time away, a refresher on returning home with T1D is always helpful.

Recently we launched a campaign on creating flexible work options here at Novo Nordisk. And we’re really proud of that fact. But when I tell HR colleagues from other companies about this, they look at me a bit perplexed. It's true that this approach isn’t "new" and was a very "hot" trend in the early 2000s. Now we’ve seen companies like Yahoo, Best Buy, IBM, Reddit and others pull back from offering work flexibility to their employees. Does that mean we’re at the wrong end of this trend? More importantly, why do we think we need to focus on this?

With two-thirds of people with diabetes living in cities, we initiated Cities Changing Diabetes three years ago to put a spotlight on urban diabetes. This effort has grown into a global coalition, with nine international cities – including Houston - with more than 75 million residents, and 100 expert partners all united in the fight against urban diabetes. In late October, 300 city and public health leaders, urban planners and key stakeholders in the fight against urban diabetes convened and called for every city to set a goal for what it will take to hold back the rise of diabetes in their cities, and create their own action plans to achieve it.

If you ever want your voice to be heard, spend a day on Capitol Hill advocating for an issue near and dear to your heart.  That is exactly what I was able to do during a recent “Day on the Hill” organized by my employer Novo Nordisk. Feeling empowered to sit in front of members of Congress or their staff and have them focus entirely on what you are advocating for is incredibly fulfilling. This was my third time visiting members of Congress and/or their staff to ask for co-sponsorship of the Treat and Reduce Obesity Act and the National Obesity Care Week Resolution.

As mothers, sisters, spouses, and partners, we play a central role in the health and happiness of our families, loved ones, and friends. But too often, we deprioritize our personal health, missing opportunities to address our own concerns. So that makes this year’s World Diabetes Day even more poignant for me. This year, the global diabetes community is telling all of us to “Act Today to Change Tomorrow” by focusing on women and diabetes and their right to a healthier future.

I’ll never forget my diagnosis with type 2 diabetes. I was 24 years old and my doctor attributed my, then 30-pound weight gain to “hand to mouth syndrome” - a not-so-polite way of saying I ate too much. And, because I had a degree in nutrition, “I should know better.” I was speechless. Humiliated. Ashamed.

That was ten years ago. Since then, there’s been progress in helping people better understand diabetes as a serious, chronic disease. But, as a national Novo Nordisk survey of people with diabetes, physicians, nurse practitioners, and physician assistants shows, a lot of misconceptions, unmet needs, and barriers remain.

We can never lose faith in the “Eureka” moments that bring innovation to life. Yes, as a science-driven company, we’re placing bets on medicines most likely to demonstrate meaningful efficacy benefits and acceptable safety profiles in rigorous clinical trials. But even after serving people with diabetes for almost a century, we have to appreciate that the next breakthroughs against this serious disease may come from a new researcher who believes pushing boundaries is the starting point and nothing extraordinary.

We all sympathize with those who are suffering the devastation of natural disasters over the past weeks – Hurricanes Maria, Harvey and Irma, and the wildfires in California. Life may never be the same for many people.

Madhuri Gurjar, Associate Director of Procurement Data and Analytics with Novo Nordisk Inc., is the company’s 2017 Working Mother of the year, featured in the September 2017 issue of Working Mother. Madhuri is a core team member of the employee resource group, Women in Novo Nordisk (WiNN), and currently co-leads a Lean In Circle. In 2016, she led the company’s “Lean In” career development program in the home offices. At the time of this post, Madhuri is launching a Girls Who Code club at her local middle school. In her below post, she reveals what the Working Mother honor means to her and why she feels her “Ma” deserves to share it with her.

Matthias von Herrath, MD, Vice President of Novo Nordisk’s Diabetes R&D Center in Seattle, is one of the researchers featured in the GOBOLDLY campaign from the biopharmaceutical industry group, PhRMA. GOBOLDLY highlights the value America’s pharmaceutical companies bring to patients, society, and our economy.

In this Q&A, Matthias shares some behind-the-scenes stories about his role with the campaign and what it’s really like to be on the front lines of finding a cure for diabetes.