William Polonsky, PhD, CDE, is President and Founder of the Behavioral Diabetes Institute, the world's first organization wholly dedicated to studying and addressing the unmet psychological needs of people with diabetes. He is also Associate Clinical Professor in Psychiatry at the University of California, San Diego. Dr. Polonsky received his PhD in clinical psychology from Yale University and has served as Senior Psychologist at the Joslin Diabetes Center in Boston, faculty member at Harvard Medical School and Chairman of the National Certification Board for Diabetes Educators. A licensed clinical psychologist and certified diabetes educator, he received the American Diabetes Association’s 2014 Richard R. Rubin Award for distinguished contributions to behavioral medicine and psychology.
An active researcher in the field of behavioral diabetes, Dr. Polonsky’s most recent research projects have focused on quality of life in diabetes, diabetes-related distress and depression, hypoglycemic fear, and glucose monitoring behavior and attitudes in people living with diabetes.