Mark Atkinson is a distinguished Professor and Eminent Scholar for Diabetes Research at The University of Florida, with a career spanning over 30 years focused on type 1 diabetes (T1D). His extensive publication record includes over 375 works in T1D research, and he has received numerous prestigious awards, such as The Gerold and Gayla Grodsky Award, the Mary Tyler Moore & S. Robert Levine M.D. Award (awarded three times), the Rumbough Award, and the Carousel of Hope Award. Dr. Atkinson's outstanding contributions to diabetes research have earned him the esteemed Eli Lilly Award for Outstanding Scientific Achievement from the American Diabetes Association (ADA), establishing him as a leading authority in the field.