Changes At Work
In March I was laid off from my job as a software developer, so I took advantage of the impending job search to think about what I really wanted to do. And I decided that what I really wanted was to use my software engineering skills to help the day-to-day lives of people with type-1 diabetes.
I limited my job search to companies that were working directly to make the lives of people with type-1 diabetes easier or better in some way. I'm lucky to live and work in Silicon Valley, so there are several such companies (and non-profits) in the area. I'm happy to say that starting in late April, I'll be starting as a "Staff Software Developer in Test" for Bigfoot Biomedical.
Several things attracted me to Bigfoot. First, they are developing an Artificial Pancreas ("automated insulin dosing and delivery solution"), and I'm absolutely convinced that is the quickest path to better treatment, fewer complications, and an easier life for people who need insulin. Second, their larger goal is to lower the overall burden of type-1 diabetes. (Not just create a device that is technically better than the competition's, but to create a whole infrastructure of treatment, supplies, and support that is smooth and easy to use.) Third, their internal software development infrastructure is cool. It is what I'd expect from a Silicon Valley start up.
So what does this mean for the blog?
I'm not expecting any changes in the blog. I stopped blogging on artificial pancreas research years ago, so there is no direct conflict of interest. I won't be blogging on Bigfoot products or the products of competitors. On the other hand, I will continue to blog about "current research aimed at curing type-1 diabetes" just as I always have. For me, Artificial Pancreas type devices are treatments and I blog on cures, so there isn't any overlap.
I've already discussed the blog with the Bigfoot team (many are avid readers), and they are very supportive. Bigfoot wants it's employees active in the type-1 world, and so being supportive of my blog fits into their general philosophy.
How You Can Help This Blog
There are three ways you can help this blog:
- Tell someone about it. I have zero budget for anything, and that includes publicity, so if you like this blog, the best way to help is to tell other people affected by type-1 about the blog. If every reader, even just once a year, would tell one person affected by type-1 diabetes about this blog, it would reach 1000s of new readers. And it doesn't matter if you verbally tell one person, tweet/facebook once, post to a forum or group, or send one email to one person. It all helps.
- If you read about research aimed at curing type-1 diabetes, which has not been discussed in the blog, then please tell me about it. My email is below.
- If you have questions about any blog posting or any research aimed at curing type-1 diabetes, please email your questions, or post them as comments to the blog. These questions tell me what you care about, and they also tell me where I need to spend more time, so they are very helpful to making the blog better in the long term.
Thanks very much for all your support over all these years of blogging.
Joshua Levy
https://ift.tt/29DuN3o publicjoshualevy at gmail dot com
All the views expressed here are those of Joshua Levy, and nothing here is official JDRF, JDCA, or Bigfoot Biomedical news, views, policies or opinions. In my day job, I work in software for Bigfoot Biomedical. My daughter has type-1 diabetes and participates in clinical trials, which might be discussed here. My blog contains a more complete non-conflict of interest statement. Thanks to everyone who helps with the blog.
via Cure Research
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