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Meet our Researchers

Diabetes Action Canada facilitates a meaningful connection between primary healthcare providers, their patients and relevant specialists. This network strongly believes engaging patients early on with scientists will modify the conduct of research that is for optimal impact on health.

The Network will provide timely access to new, safe and effective interventions for optimal glycemic control, improved lifestyle, and targeted therapies for specific complications. 15 Principal Investigators (PIs) from across Canada and their Co-Investigators are involved in various research projects focusing on diabetes and its related complications. The Network’s goals uniquely position our investigators to promote their activities across disciplines and provincial boundaries through strategic collaboration.

“The Network’s goals uniquely position our investigators to promote their activities across disciplines and provincial boundaries through strategic collaboration.”

Our SPOR Network PIs and partners will prioritize and implement research strategies by first mapping and constantly monitoring the most important concerns of patients with diabetes and their care providers. Many of our investigators have long-standing collaborations with each other. This Network serves to provide the infrastructure for ongoing exchanges between investigators who otherwise may not have the opportunity to interact. Top researchers at our nine collaborating institutions across Canada will interact with individuals living with diabetes and their caregivers, policymakers, health care professionals and other interested stakeholders (public/private). Our SPOR Network Goal & Theme Leads and PIs will create changes through visionary shared leadership with patients and healthcare providers. These changes will be achieved through collaboration and the sharing of resources among the members of our Network.

Become an Associate Member

  • Listing on the Diabetes Action Canada Website and networking with researchers and patients with common interest in the treatment and prevention of diabetes complications

  • Opportunity to collaborate on Diabetes Action Canada projects

  • Receives Newsletters and News-blasts from the Scientific Co-Leads from Diabetes Action Canada

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Co-Scientific Leads

André Carpentier

Professor, Department of Medicine Université de Sherbrooke Researcher and Scientific Director Centre de recherche du CHUS; Co-Scientific Lead, Diabetes Action Canada
Dr. André Carpentier’s research interests include: 1) the role of postprandial fatty acid metabolism in the development of type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular diseases; 2) the investigation of brown adipose tissue metabolism in diabetes; and 3) the anti-diabetic mechanisms of bariatric surgery.
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Gary F. Lewis

Professor, Department of Medicine and Department of Physiology, University of Toronto Sun Life Financial Chair in Diabetes Drucker Family Chair in Diabetes Research; Senior Scientist, Toronto General Hospital Research Institute; NPI and Co-Scientific Lead, Diabetes Action Canada
The Lewis lab has a long interest in the mechanisms of various aspects of diabetic dyslipidemia, including postprandial lipemia, HDL lowering and hypertriglyceridemia. He has made the novel observation that the intestine, in addition to the liver, overproduces lipoproteins in insulin resistant states.
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Researcher List

Mahavir Agarwal

Associate Professor, Department of Psychiatry, University of Toronto; Clinician-Scientist and Medical Head for Clinical Research, Schizophrenia Division, and Co-Lead of the Metabolic Clinic, Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, Toronto
Dr. Agarwal’s research interest lies in understanding the mechanisms underlying metabolic and cognitive dysfunction in mental illness with specific focus on insulin signaling in the brain. He also runs clinical trials to evaluate the efficacy of new treatments for these abnormalities. He has won several international research awards and his research program has been funded by federal, provincial, and local grant agencies.

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Mohammed Al-Omran

Professor, Division of Vascular Surgery, Department of Surgery, University of Toronto; Head, Division of Vascular Surgery, St. Michael’s Hospital, and Scientist in the Li Ka Shing Knowledge Institute, Unity Health
Dr. Mohammed Al-Omran is a clinician investigator and currently appointed as a Scientist at the Li Ka Shing Knowledge Institute of St. Michael’s Hospital. His research interests include: atherosclerosis bench to bedside with a special interest in peripheral arterial disease and Diabetic Foot; clinical epidemiology and health services research with a focus on using large healthcare administrative databases to conduct population-based analyses of individuals with aortic, carotid, and peripheral arterial disease; knowledge translation; and systematic reviews and meta-analyses.
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Ananya Tina Banerjee

Assistant Professor, Equity, Diversity, Inclusion and Anti-Racism Lead in the School of Population & Global Health, McGill University; Epidemiology and Social & Behavioural Sciences Division, Dalla Lana School of Public Health, University of Toronto
Dr. Ananya Banerjee’s unique dual training in qualitative and quantitative research methods enables her to study the social determinants and lived experiences of diabetes among South Asian migrant communities living in Canada and design health promotion programs for this high-risk ethnic population. The focus of her public health research exemplifies a commitment to providing a strong foundation in methodology guided by principles of the socio-ecological framework, intersectionality, community-based participatory research and cultural safety.
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Ereny Bassilious

FRCPC, FAAP, MHPE Associate Professor and Fellowship Program Director, Department of Pediatrics, Division of Endocrinology, McMaster University
Dr. Ereny Bassilious’s academic interests are in medical education research, particularly in interprofessional education and technology enhanced patient education. Her current study examines the role of numeracy in diabetes management for teens with type 1 diabetes and the effect of an innovative video game intervention on numeracy skills. Dr. Bassilious has an academic and clinical interest in pediatric obesity and type 2 diabetes
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Jacqueline Beaudry

Assistant Professor, Department of Nutritional Sciences, University of Toronto
The Beaudry lab is focused on understanding how excess dietary fat and elevated stress, pancreatic and gut-derived hormones impact white and brown fat tissue biology. Fat tissue is a very interesting organ to study as it highly sensitive to its surrounding external and internal environments. Healthy fat function is important to overall health and energy balance, and we hope to use our studies to provide insight into chronic metabolic disease development such as obesity and type 2 diabetes.
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Mathieu Bélanger

Professeur, Faculté de médecine et des sciences de la santé FMSS Département de médecine de famille
The primary focus of Dr. Mathieu Belanger’s research program is to develop a better understanding of how behaviours develop and change over time, particularly with regard to participation in physical activity. Specific aspects of the research include identifying determinants of behavioural change and investigating the effects of behaviour change on health outcomes, including the management of diabetes. Other determinants of optimal diabetes care are also investigated from an epidemiological perspective using administrative databases.
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Onil Bhattacharyya

Associate Professor, Department of Family and Community Medicine, University of Toronto; Senior Scientist, Women’s College Research Institute Frigon-Blau Chair in Family Medicine Research, Women’s College Hospital Director, Women’s College Hospital Institute for Health Systems Solutions and Virtual Care (WIHV)
Dr. Onil Bhattacharyya, Frigon-Blau Chair in Family Medicine Research, works closely with policy makers and system partners to evaluate new virtual care models that address system needs and are poised to scale, particularly for patients with complex needs. His research focuses on implementing new virtual care models within a particular clinical context and modifying them until he finds a balance between benefits and barriers for both patients and providers.
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Virginie Blanchette

Associate Professor in Podiatric Medicine – Université du Québec à Trois-Rivières
Dr. Virginie Blanchette’s research interests focus on the prevention and management of lower limb complications of diabetes, such as diabetic plantar ulcers and amputation. She is particularly interested in knowledge translation, including shared decision-making and stakeholder engagement, for optimal health approaches in inter-professional teams, and frontline medicine.
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Denis Blondin

Professor, Division of Neurology, Department of Medicine, Université de Sherbrooke Denis P. Blondin is a researcher at the Centre de recherche du Centre hospitalier universitaire de Sherbrooke (CRCHUS)
Denis P. Blondin is an Assistant Professor in the Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences at the Université de Sherbrooke and researcher at the Centre de recherche du Centre hospitalier universitaire de Sherbrooke (CRCHUS). His research focuses primarily on identifying organs, mechanisms and therapeutic strategies that can be stimulated to dissipate excess energy and investigating the impact of differentially timed lifestyle interventions on preventing the development of type 2 diabetes (TIMED consortium).
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Gillian Booth

Professor, Division of Endocrinology, Department of Medicine and Institute of Health Policy Management and Evaluation, University of Toronto; Scientist, MAP Centre for Urban Solutions, Lik Ka Shing Knowledge Institute, Unity Health; Adjunct Scientist, ICES
Her research focuses on health outcomes related to diabetes; specifically, how socioeconomic, environmental and health care factors influence the risk of diabetes and its complications. She has extensive experience in using large provincial health care and survey databases, and in using geographic information systems (GIS) methodology to study contextual factors influencing the development of diabetes.
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Jim Bowen

Program Manager, Health Technology Assessment and Network Analytics (BScPhm, MSc)
Jim Bowen is a Clinical Research Manager within the Program for Health System and Technology Evaluation at the Toronto General Hospital Research Institute, and a co-investigator with Diabetes Action Canada, as a part of the PHSTE he is involved in designing interventions to increase diabetic retinopathy screening and the evaluation of foot and wound care pathways for individuals living with diabetes, supported by hospital or provincial administrative data where possible. He is an Assistant Professor (Status) within IHPME at the University of Toronto, and an adjunct Assistant Clinical Professor in the Department of Health Research Methods, Evidence and Impact (HE&I), Faculty of Health Sciences at McMaster University. He is a pharmacist and currently practices in a community setting.
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Anne-Sophie Brazeau

Associate Professor, Program Director of Dietetic Education and Practice, School of Human Nutrition, McGill University
Her research aims to understand the patients’ experience with diabetes self-management, to inform on the effectiveness, benefits and risks of different diets and to explore strategies for timely access to diabetes education and support. Her approach builds on close collaboration between patients, clinicians and researchers. She is co-directing the development and management of a prospective registry of patients with type 1 diabetes in Quebec (BETTER registry) and, more recently across Canada.
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Michael Brent

Associate Professor, Department of Ophthalmology & Vision Sciences, University of Toronto; Clinician Scientist, Krembil Research Institute, University Health Network
Dr. Michael Brent is a participating team member in the development of a diabetic retinopathy screening program that includes a best practices approach for early diagnosis and management to reduce blindness and visual disability. Tele-ophthalmology is an important program component, with emphasis on Indigenous and inner-city communities. Patient engagement in research protocols, and attention to sex and gender issues are essential cornerstones of program development.
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Sonia Butalia

Associate Professor, Departments of Medicine and Community Health Sciences, University of Calgary
Her research interests are in developing, implementing and evaluating innovative tools and strategies to improve diabetes and other cardiovascular risk factors in the community. Her multi-method research program includes epidemiology (i.e., the use of large clinical and administrative data sources), health services research, and pragmatic clinical trials. Her award-winning program of work importantly engages and is informed by people (i.e., patient partners), health care providers and decision makers.
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Joseph Cafazzo

Professor, Institute of Health Policy, Management and Evaluation, Institute of Biomedical Engineering, University of Toronto; Senior Scientist Toronto General Hospital Research Institute, Executive Director of Biomedical Engineering and Wolfond Chair in Digital Health, University Health Network
Dr. Joseph Cafazzo is the inaugural Wolfond Chair in Digital Health and Senior Investigator Center for Digital Therapeutics, University Health Network. As a biomedical engineer, Dr. Cafazzo observes healthcare delivery from the inside-out and works on ways to keep people out of hospital by creating technologies that allow for self-care at home.
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David J. T. Campbell

Associate Professor, Endocrinology & Metabolism Division, Department of Medicine, Cumming School of Medicine, Director of the Health Policy Trials Unit, O’Brien Institute for Public Health, University of Calgary
He is a health services researcher focused on social disparities and their impacts on clinical outcomes of cardiometabolic diseases, like diabetes. He is the director of the Health Policy Trials Unit at the O’Brien Institute for Public Health at the University of Calgary. He conducts research that uses mixed methods, interventional approaches, community and stakeholder engagement, and knowledge translation to contribute to reducing the impact of social disadvantage on clinical outcomes by informing health policy and clinical practice.
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André Carpentier

Professor, Department of Medicine Université de Sherbrooke Researcher and Scientific Director Centre de recherche du CHUS; Co-Scientific Lead, Diabetes Action Canada
Dr. André Carpentier’s research interests include: 1) the role of postprandial fatty acid metabolism in the development of type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular diseases; 2) the investigation of brown adipose tissue metabolism in diabetes; and 3) the anti-diabetic mechanisms of bariatric surgery.
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Varun Chaudhary

Professor of Surgery, McMaster University; Chief of Ophthalmology, St Joseph’s Healthcare, Hamilton and Hamilton Health Sciences
Dr. Varun Chaudhary is Professor of Surgery and Chief of Ophthalmology at McMaster University. He is the Chair for the Retina Evidence and Trials INternational Alliance (R.E.T.I.N.A.). He is the current President for the Canadian Retina Society.
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David Cherney

Professor, Department of Medicine & Division of Nephrology, University of Toronto
Dr. David Cherney is currently Professor of Medicine, University of Toronto and a Clinician Scientist at the University Health Network and Mount Sinai Hospitals, where he is a Senior Scientist and director of the Renal Physiology Laboratory.
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Karen Cross

Lead Wound Innovation Collaborative, Nova Scotia Health Innovation Hub, Innovator in Residence, Nova Scotia Health Authority
She is the Co-Founder and CEO of MIMOSA (Multispectral Mobile tiSsue Assessment device) Diagnostics. This technology can predict an ulcer before it is visible to the naked eye. She has spent over 24 years as a Plastic and Reconstructive Surgeon and a PhD scientist studying why do certain people heal their skin and others do not. Building the next generation of medical technology to assess skin viability has been her passion. Breaking down barriers in access to care, whether it is geographic or community-based, has been her mission.
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Kaberi Dasgupta

Professor of Medicine- McGill University Physician- McGill University Health Centre (MUHC) Director & Senior Scientist- Centre for Outcomes Research and Evaluation (CORE), Research Institute of the MUHC
Dr. Kaberi Dasgupta’s studies focus on the remission, prevention, and management of gestational diabetes, type 2 diabetes and related complications. In collaboration with her multidisciplinary team, including patient partners, she develops and tests strategies to enhance self-management support. This includes the creation of VPN, a virtual peer support group for youth with type 1 diabetes, formed after demonstration of high levels of stigma in this population, associated with both elevated A1C and severe hypoglycemia (JMIR, 2018).
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Charles de Mestral

Associate Professor, Division of Vascular Surgery, Department of Surgery, and Institute of Health Policy Management and Evaluation, University of Toronto; Scientist, Li Ka Shing Institute, Unity Health; Senior Adjunct Scientist, ICES
Dr. Charles de Mestral’s goal is to pursue population-based health services research focusing on people living with diabetes who undergo lower limb amputation. He is interested in better characterizing the epidemiology, outcomes, health-resource use and costs of lower limb amputation in people living with diabetes as well as limb preservation therapies. The purpose of this work is to inform population-level interventions to reduce diabetes-related foot complications.
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Jean-Pierre Després

Professor, Department of Kinesiology, Faculty of Medicine, Director of VITAM – Research Centre for Sustainable Health, Research Chair in Sustainable Health, Université Laval
Dr. Jean-Pierre Després is a professor at the Department of Kinesiology at Université Laval in Québec City, Canada. Dr. Després’ research interests include obesity, adipose tissue distribution, visceral obesity, type 2 diabetes, lipids, lipoproteins, cardiovascular disease and their prevention through physical activity and healthy living. More than 30 years ago, he was the first to report that an excess of fat in the abdominal cavity (visceral obesity), was particularly harmful to health. He is personally involved in major education and mobilization activities to prevent chronic societal diseases.
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Sophie Desroches

Professor, Université Laval School of Nutrition Scientist, Centre Nutrition, santé et société (NUTRISS), Institute of Nutrition and Functional Foods, Université Laval
Dr Sophie Desroches, PhD, RD, is Professor at Université Laval School of Nutrition, in Quebec City, Canada. She is also a research scientist at the Centre Nutrition, santé et société (NUTRISS) at the Institute of Nutrition and Functional Foods of Laval University. Her research program aims to identify, develop and evaluate knowledge translation strategies that will optimize adherence to dietary advice for preventing and managing chronic diseases.
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Joyce Dogba

Professor, Department of Family and Emergency Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Université Laval
As a clinician-scientist she, educates and advocates for patients living with diabetes who represent immigrant populations often underrepresented in the medical literature, as well as other underserved communities that experience disproportionately high rates of the condition. Dr. Dogba’s work centres on the patient’s voice, focusing on how patients can be effectively engaged in their own healthcare experience.
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Laura Drudi

Assistant Professor, Division of Vascular Surgery, Department of Surgery, University of Montreal
Her research interests are centered around frailty and vulnerability in patients with peripheral arterial disease. She holds several grants and over 30 peer-reviewed publications and is directing research efforts for the Division of Vascular Surgery at the CHUM.
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Arnaud Duhoux

PhD Associate Professor, Faculty of Nursing, Université de Montréal
Arnaud Duhoux worked 6 years as a Registered Nurse, mainly with the homeless population. He is trained in epidemiology and public health and is an expert in quantitative analysis of administrative health data to measure performance in primary care. He is also the director of the strategic grouping on population mental health of the Quebec Population Health Research Network.
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Jean-François Ethier

Professor, Department of Medicine and Health Sciences, and Scientific Co-Director of the Groupe de recherche interdisciplinaire en informatique de la santé (GRIIS.ca) Université de Sherbrooke
He is a clinician scientist who leads the technological development of the Health Data Research Network (hdrn.ca) and is the His research program is also developed in collaboration with French colleagues through his position as an associate researcher at INSERM. This led to the creation of the French-Canadian Ensemble network for rare diseases which he co-leads with Dr. Anita Burgun.
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Paul Fernyhough

Professor and Head, Department of Pharmacology & Therapeutics, Max Rady College of Medicine, University of Manitoba; Director, Division of Neurodegenerative Disorders, St. Boniface Hospital Research Institute
He is leading groundbreaking research on the underlying mechanisms of nerve damage in patients with diabetes and the link between Alzheimer’s disease and Type 2 diabetes. Through his studies, Dr. Fernyhough is identifying key signaling pathways that are impaired in animal models of neuropathy and Alzheimer’s disease, with the goal of developing new treatments for these debilitating conditions.
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Thomas Lawrence Forbes

Professor Division of Vascular Surgery and Vice Chair, Department of Surgery, University of Toronto; Surgeon-in-Chief & James Wallace McCutcheon Chair, Sprott Department of Surgery, University Health Network
His clinical interests include all aspects of vascular surgery, including endovascular therapy of the thoracoabdominal aorta, carotid artery surgery, peripheral vascular surgery, dialysis access. His research focuses on stent graft design, biomechanics, simulation and development of endovascular technology, clinical outcomes and learning curve analysis, spinal cord complications of thoracoabdominal aortic surgery.
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Michael Fralick

Associate Professor, Division of Internal Medicine, Department of Medicine, Institute of Health Policy Management and Evaluation, University of Toronto; Clinician-Scientist, Lunenfeld-Tanenbaum Research Institute, Sinai Health; Affiliate Scientist, Li Ka Shing Centre for Healthcare Analytics Research & Training (LKS-CHART).
Dr. Mike Fralick’s main research interest is in understanding the safety and effectiveness of novel medications for adults living with diabetes and cardiovascular disease, including sodium glucose co-transporter 2 (SGLT2) inhibitors and glucagon-like peptide 1 (GLP1) analogues. Mike splits his research time between GEMINI and LKS-CHART, integrating pharmacoepidemiology with Machine Learning in his work.
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Rebecca Leigh Ganann

Associate Professor, School of Nursing, McMaster University; Co-Scientific Director of the Aging, Community and Health Research Unit, the Lead of the Primary Health Care – Patient Expertise in Research Collaboration and a Co-Lead of the McMaster Collaborative for Health and Aging (OSSU Research Centre of Aging)
She is a researcher with the McMaster Institute for Research on Aging focusing on integrated health and social service delivery innovations to promote physical and mental health, and mobility among community-dwelling older adults. Her research program aims to address health inequities among community-dwelling older adults through integrated health and social service delivery innovations. She achieves this through co-designing, evaluating, and translating these innovative models to promote health and well-being.
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Hannah Geddie

Assistant Professor, Division of Pediatric Endocrinology, Department of Pediatrics, McMaster University
Dr. Hannah Geddie is a Pediatric Endocrinologist at McMaster Children’s Hospital. She completed her medical degree, residency training, and fellowship training in Pediatric Endocrinology at McMaster University. She has a Masters degree in Public Health from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. She has a strong interest in the intersection between public health and health promotion and Type 1 Diabetes. Her current research pertains to health policy related to Type 1 Diabetes in school, and the use of interactive tools to support patients and families in managing Type 1 Diabetes.
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Michelle Greiver

Associate Professor, Department of Family and Community Medicine, University of Toronto
As a community-based, practice-oriented researcher, she has concentrated on meaningful use of electronic data to support the development of primary health care, through increasing research capacity and translating the use of data into better care. She was a founding member of the Canadian Primary Care Sentinel Surveillance Network (CPCSSN), Canada’s multi-EMR chronic disease surveillance system.
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Huaxiong Huang

Professor, Department of Mathematics and Statistics, York University
Professor Huaxiong Huang has an impressive research record with publications that involve a surprisingly broad cross-section of applied mathematics including partial differential equations, asymptotics, fluid mechanics, probability, stochastic processes, and scientific computing. His work impacts a broad sphere of influence to the study of applications ranging from industrial sectors such as banking, insurance, biomedicine, energy, and material science.
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Liisa Jaakkimainen

Associate Professor, Department of Family and Community Medicine and the Institute for Health Policy, Management and Evaluation, University of Toronto Senior Core Scientist and Program Lead, Institute for Clinical Evaluative Sciences (ICES) Program Director of the DFCM Enhance Skills – Clinician Scientist Program for Research
Dr. Liisa Jaakkimainen’s research interests include examining primary health care access, continuity of care, primary health care indicators and benchmarks, measuring wait times from primary to specialist care, improving the coordination of care in primary care, caring for marginalized and frail seniors in the community, and performance feedback to primary care providers. In 2006, Dr. Jaakkimainen co-lead the “Primary Care in Ontario: An ICES Atlas”. I
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Caroline Jose

Adjunct Professor, Department of Family Medicine, Université de Sherbrooke; Adjunct Professor at Université de Moncton; Scientific Researcher at Vitalité Health Network, New Brunswick
By collaborating with patients, researchers, clinicians, and policy makers from the Atlantic provinces, her research seeks to integrate the lived experience of patients into research to facilitate the knowledge transfer into care. She leads a patient-oriented research program on adults with neurodevelopmental disabilities in Atlantic Canada. She is also the Stream Lead of the Patient and Community Education Stream of the Canadian Clinical Trial Training Platform CANTRAIN.
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Monika Kastner

Associate Professor, Institute of Health Policy, Management and Evaluation, University of Toronto Research Chair, Knowledge Translation and Implementation, North York General Hospital Affiliate Scientist, KT Program at the Li Ka Shing Knowledge Institute of St. Michael’s Hospital
Dr. Monika Kastner is the Research Chair in Knowledge Translation (KT) and Implementation at North York General Hospital, an Affiliate Scientist at the Li Ka Shing Knowledge Institute of St. Michael’s Hospital, and Associate Professor in the Institute of Health Policy, Management and Evaluation (IHPME) as well as through the Department of Family and Community Medicine (DFCM) at the University of Toronto.
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Ahmed Kayssi

Assistant Professor, Vascular Surgery, Department of Surgery, University of Toronto; Associate Scientist, Sunnybrook Research Institute, Toronto
Dr. Ahmed Kayssi is a clinical trialist with an interest in vascular surgery and wound care interventions that promote limb preservation and prevent amputation. His other interests are developing capacity and improving health care services among First Nations.
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Calvin Ke

Assistant Professor, Division of Endocrinology, Department of Medicine and Institute of Health Policy Management and Evaluation, University of Toronto; Clinician-Scientist, Toronto General Hospital Research Institute, University Health Network; Adjunct Scientist, ICES
Dr. Ke’s research focuses on young-onset type 2 diabetes (individuals diagnosed with type 2 diabetes before the age of 40 years), and on type 2 diabetes in Chinese and South Asian populations. He applies clinical epidemiological methods to characterize the burden, management, and outcomes of type 2 diabetes in both local and global populations across China and India. He is a member of the International Diabetes Federation Atlas Committee and the NCD Risk Factor Collaboration.
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Jessica Kichler

Associate Professor, Department of Psychology, University of Windsor; Core Researcher at “we SPARK” Health Institute, Windsor, ON
As a Clinical & Health Psychologist, she specializes in clinical intervention research initiatives related to psychosocial adjustment and coping with type 1 diabetes in youth and families. She previously worked as a diabetes psychologist and certified diabetes care and education specialist (CDCES) at two academic medical centers (Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin and Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center) in the United States for almost 15 years before moving to Windsor, Ontario in 2020.
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Malcolm King

Member of the Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation; Professor of Community Health and Epidemiology, co-lead of the Pewaseskan (Indigenous Wellness Research Group) College of Medicine, University of Saskatchewan; Scientific Director of the Saskatchewan Centre for Patient-Oriented Research
His research is aimed at improving wellness and achieving health equity for First Nations, Métis and Inuit through strengths-based approaches that respect self-determination and privilege Indigenous ways of knowing. He was originally trained as a chemist and then as a biomedical researcher. Over a long career in pulmonary research, Malcolm developed new approaches to treat mucus clearance dysfunction in chronic lung disease and continues to work on addressing issues in airborne disease transmission.
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Stephen E. Kosar

MD, FRCSC
Dr. Stephen Kosar is a Sudbury Ontario ophthalmologist specializing in Retinal Diseases. He is past Chief of Ophthalmology at Health Sciences North. He is a Director on the Board of the Ontario Medical Association (OMA). Dr. Kosar worked as a Family Doctor in Northern Ontario from 1982 to 1986. He continues to carry on a busy practice in Sudbury while participating in various telemedicine projects involving remote screening for Diabetic Retinopathy.
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Audrey L’Espérance

Assistant Professor of Health and Social Sciences Management, École nationale d’administration publique, Montreal.
At the intersection of clinical, professional and research environments, she has worked on evaluative research projects and developed management practices that emphasize partnerships with patients and the public in several areas of health and social services. She is currently pursuing a research program on the recognition and integration of citizen’s knowledge in decision-making in health and social services.
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Maude Laberge

Associate Professor, Department of Operations and Decision Systems, Faculty of Administration, Université Laval
Ms. Laberge is interested in the economic analysis and evaluation of health policies and services, and in particular the transformations that can improve the quality, efficiency and equity of services. His research interests include health systems performance, resource allocation and distribution, and population health outcomes.
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Anita T. Layton

Professor of Applied Mathematics, Computer Science, Pharmacology and Biology, University of Waterloo; Canada 150 Chair in Mathematical Biology.
Anita’s research focuses on the development and application of mathematical models to gain insights into the physiology and pathophysiology of the mammalian kidneys. In particular, she is interested in understanding the cardiovascular benefits of novel antiglyceamic therapies in diabetes and chronic kidney diseases, and in unraveling the mechanisms underlying the sex differences in blood pressure regulation. She is the Deputy Editor of the American Journal of Physiolog–Renal Physiology, an Associate Editor of SIAM Review Book Section, and an Associate Editor of SIAM Journal on Applied Dynamical Systems.
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Iliana Lega

Assistant Professor, Division of Endocrinology, Department of Medicine, University of Toronto; Scientist, Women’s College Hospital; Adjunct Scientist, ICES.
Her diabetes research focuses on unique populations with multiple comorbidities. Currently her focus is on diabetes overtreatment and risks associated with hypoglycemia in nursing home residents. She currently co-leads a CIHR funded research program that aims to improve diabetes deprescribing and deintensification in nursing homes in Ontario. Dr. Lega’s research program focuses on epidemiology and pharmacoepidemiology.
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France Légaré

Professor, Department of Family and Emergency Medicine, Université Laval; Co-Director, Learning Health System Core, Learning Health System Axe Gestion du changement, Quebec SPOR SUPPORT Unit, Co-Lead Knowledge Translation Axis for VITAM; CRC in Shared Decision Making and Knowledge Translation.
Dr. France Légaré’s research program is to contribute to sustaining health and well-being in society by supporting high-quality diabetes care. It will focus on scaling up shared decision making by applying it to decision contexts and on building shared decision making capacity among health professionals.
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Gary F. Lewis

Professor, Department of Medicine and Department of Physiology, University of Toronto Sun Life Financial Chair in Diabetes Drucker Family Chair in Diabetes Research; Senior Scientist, Toronto General Hospital Research Institute; NPI and Co-Scientific Lead, Diabetes Action Canada
The Lewis lab has a long interest in the mechanisms of various aspects of diabetic dyslipidemia, including postprandial lipemia, HDL lowering and hypertriglyceridemia. He has made the novel observation that the intestine, in addition to the liver, overproduces lipoproteins in insulin resistant states.
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Lorraine Lipscombe

Professor, Division of Endocrinology and Metabolism, Department of Medicine, Dalla School of Public Health, University of Toronto; Director of the Novo Nordisk Network for Healthy Populations; Endocrinologist and Scientist, Women’s College Hospital
Dr. Lipscombe’s research program focuses on the epidemiology, care and prevention of diabetes, with a specific focus on diabetes in women.  She has extensive experience with the use of population-based databases to conduct diabetes research, and she is currently leading research of a diabetes prevention program for women with gestational diabetes. The research programs of the Network for Healthy Populations seek to reduce the burden of diabetes and chronic disease in Peel region and beyond through better care, lower risk factors, and healthier living conditions.
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