Since 1975, we’ve supported outstanding diabetes research in Canada and provided more than $173 million in research grants, awards and partnerships to scientists across the country.
Since the discovery of insulin in Toronto in 1921, Canadian researchers have made huge strides and key advances in understanding diabetes. This is why, each year, we choose to fund Canada’s most renowned researchers in their quest for new and innovative developments in the prevention, treatment, management and cure for diabetes. The research is diverse in scope, covering a broad range of specialties and topics, and the underlying goal of each study remains the same—to create a world free of the effects of diabetes.
Learn more about research funding at Diabetes Canada and how we fund groundbreaking diabetes research in Canada.
To start off 2026, thanks to our donors and together with our partners, Diabetes Canada is thrilled to award almost $6 million in funding to new research projects.
Every year, our researchers continue a tradition of innovation and discovery. Meet the researchers we are currently funding.
Complications Prevention Treatment Cure
Complications
Dr. Valeria Rac
University Health Network, ON | Title: Preventing vision loss from diabetic retinopathy: guiding primary care diabetic retinopathy screening in Canada through the use of provincial healthcare administrative data | Research area: Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes | Award: CIHR Team Grant, Diabetes Mechanisms and Translational Solutions for 100 Years of Insulin, 2022-2027
Dr. Rac’s research, which focuses on preventing vision loss from diabetic retinopathy, uses provincial healthcare data to identify unmet care needs (according to clinical practice guidelines), as a crucial step in creating a Canadian diabetic retinopathy screening program.
Dr. Claudia Gagnon
Universite Laval, QC | Title: Bone health and glycemic control in type 1 diabetes | Research area: Type 1 diabetes | Award: End Diabetes Award, 2023-2026
Dr. Gagnon is working on improving our understanding of the mechanisms behind type 1 diabetes bone fragility, to inform better prevention strategies and treatments.
Dr. Jane Yardley
Clinical Research Institute of Montreal (IRCM), QC | Title: Effects of aerobic exercise and weight lifting on blood glucose levels in post-menopausal women with type 1 diabetes | Research area: Type 1 | Award: End Diabetes Award, 2023-2026
Dr. Yardley is working to improve advice and treatment for menopausal women with type 1 diabetes. She will study how aerobic exercise and weight lifting affect blood sugar levels during and after exercise in 20 women with type 1 diabetes who have been through menopause.
Dr. Kristin Clemens
Lawson Health Research Institute, ON | Title: Weight management for kidney transplantation in type 2 diabetes | Research area: Type 2 diabetes | Award: End Diabetes Award, 2024-2026
Dr. Clemens and her team are beginning a clinical trial to study the effectiveness of a weight management program for people living with diabetes, obesity and kidney disease.
Dr. Daniel Gagnon
Montreal Heart Institute, QC | Title: Home-based heat therapy to improve cardiometabolic function of adults with type 2 diabetes | Research area: Type 2 diabetes | Award: End Diabetes Award, 2024-2026
Dr. Gagnon is studying the beneficial effects of heat exposure for people living with type 2 diabetes.
Dr. Pedro Geraldes
Universite de Sherbrooke, QC | Title: Inflammation, fibrosis and diabetic kidney disease | Research area: Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes | Award: End Diabetes Award, 2024-2026
Dr. Geraldes is helping develop new treatments to prevent kidney failure in people with diabetes.
Dr. Joseph Gordon
University of Prince Edward Island, PEI | Title: Changes to muscle structure and function during type 2 diabetes | Research area: Type 2 diabetes | Award: End Diabetes Award, 2024-2026
Dr. Gordon is building our understanding of how muscle structure and metabolism change with type 2 diabetes. He and his lab are testing whether a protein found in muscle cells called Nix can protect against insulin resistance, and the changes that happen when diabetes develops.
Dr. Joan Krepinsky
McMaster University, ON | Title: Is the protein GRP78 important to diabetic kidney disease? | Research area: Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes | Award: End Diabetes Award, 2024-2026
Dr. Krepinsky and her team are examining if blocking the interaction between GRP78 and a2M can help slow or improve diabetic kidney disease. They are also learning how GRP78 and integrin beta 1 work together..
Dr. Thomas Pulinilkunnil
Dalhousie University, NS | Title: Correcting metabolic imbalance to treat heart disease during obesity and diabetes | Research area: Type 2 diabetes | Award: End Diabetes Award, 2024-2026
Dr. Pulinilkunnil is determining whether a protein called TFEB may help maintain heart health. TFEB works by clearing heart cells of cellular “garbage.” In people with type 2 diabetes and obesity, TFEB stops working in the heart, resulting in heart stress, damage, and cellular death.
Dr. Hoon-Ki Sung
Research Institute for Sick Children, ON | Title: Mechanisms of sustained metabolic benefits of intermittent fasting | Research area: Type 2 diabetes | Award: End Diabetes Award, 2024-2026
Dr. Sung is studying how intermittent fasting helps improve liver health.
Dr. Michael Tsoukas
MUHC-Research Institute, QC | Title: Adding two-sugar lowering drugs to an automated insulin delivery system, to further improve blood sugar levels | Research area: Type 1 diabetes | Award: End Diabetes Award, 2024-2026
Dr. Tsoukas and his team want to find out if using a combination of two different drugs, semaglutide and empagliflozin, can improve blood sugar control in people with type 1 diabetes using AID system.
Dr. Nicole Woods
University Health Network, ON | Title: Best Foot Forward: Foot screening to avoid limb loss | Research area: Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes | Award: End Diabetes Award, 2024-2026
Dr. Woods and her team are improving the prevention and early treatment of diabetes related foot wounds for structurally disadvantaged Ontarians living with diabetes, which can lead to loss of lower limbs and early death.
Dr. André Carpentier
Universite de Sherbrooke, QC | Title: How abnormal function of fat tissue in type 1 diabetes contributes to fat in the liver | Research area: Type 1 diabetes | Award: End Diabetes Award, 2025-2027
Dr. André Carpentier and his team are bringing us closer to ways to prevent metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease and other diabetes complications.
Dr. Sergi Clotet-Freixas
McMaster University, ON | Title: Can we protect the kidneys of people with diabetes by blocking the protein KDM6A? | Research area: Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes | Award: End Diabetes Award, 2025-2027
Dr. Clotet-Freixas and his team are conducting research to lead to new treatments that maintain healthy kidney function and prevent DKD in people with diabetes.
Dr. Erin Mulvihill
University of Ottawa Heart Institute, ON | Title: Role of Sleep Disruption and Stress in Metabolic Dysfunction in Women | Research area: Type 2 diabetes | Award: End Diabetes Award, 2025-2027
Dr. Mulvihill’s and her team will explore how stress and sleep disruption affect the severity of heart disease, to lead to better ways to manage diabetes and heart risk in women.
Dr. Rémi Rabasa-Lhoret
Clinical Research Institute of Montreal (IRCM), QC | Title: Revising treatment and prevention recommendations of hypoglycemic episodes for people living with type 1 diabetes: The REMODAL trial | Research area: Type 1 diabetes | Award: End Diabetes Award, 2025-2027
Dr. Rabasa-Lhoret's project proposes a paradigm shift in the guidelines for treating hypoglycemia. By providing improved guidelines, Dr. Rabasa-Lhoret and his team will reduce the frequency and burden of hypoglycemia, while enhancing treatment safety for people with type 1 diabetes.
Dr. Douglas Zochodne
University of Alberta, AB | Title: Restoring skin sensation in diabetes by regrowing nerves | Research area: Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes | Award: End Diabetes Award, 2025-2027
Dr. Zochodne and his team are testing a new treatment to help regrow nerves in the skin, to lead to a new treatment to manage diabetic polyneuropathy, reducing the need for limb amputation for people living with diabetes.
Dr. Erin Mulvihill
University of Ottawa Heart Institute, ON | Title: Heart Health and Endocrine Disruption during Aging: Risk from Type 2 Diabetes in Women Incurring Sleep Disruption | Research area: Type 2 diabetes | Award: CIHR Team Grant: Embracing Diversity to Achieve Precision & Health Equity, 2025-2030
Dr. Mulvihill and her team will evaluate whether perimenopause, menopause, and sleep disruption in women with type 2 diabetes impact their heart health, and determine whether there are earlier interventions that can be done to prevent heart disease.
Dr. Gregory Steinberg
McMaster University, ON | Title: A New Path to Treating Anxiety in Diabetes | Research area: Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes | Award: End Diabetes Award, 2026-2028, in Partnership with Brain Canada
Dr. Gregory Steinberg and his team are studying a protein called GDF15, which lowers blood sugars but also can increase anxiety. By blocking GDF15, they will look at whether this impacts stress hormones, brain activity, and behaviour. This information may lead to new treatments that help manage blood sugars while also improving mental wellbeing.
Prevention
Dr. Brandy Wicklow
University of Manitoba, MB | Title: The developmental origins of pediatric type 2 diabetes and early renal dysfunction | Research area: Type 2 diabetes | Award: CIHR Team Grant: Diabetes Mechanisms and Translational Solutions for 100 Years of Insulin, 2022-2027
Dr. Wicklow is studying the developmental origins of pediatric type 2 diabetes to identify markers at birth that identify which children are at highest risk of developing type 2 diabetes.
Dr. Carol Huang
University of Calgary. AB | Title: Understanding the role of prolactin receptor as a risk factor for developing gestational diabetes and type 2 diabetes | Research area: Gestational diabetes | Award: End Diabetes Award, 2023-2026
Dr. Carol Huang is developing a better understanding of what causes gestational diabetes, and what factors hasten progression from gestational to type 2 diabetes. Her research study’s aim is to help us design strategies to delay and prevent this progression.
Dr. Amy Kirkham
University of Toronto, ON | Title: The effect of the time of day of intermittent fasting on blood sugar control in men and women with obesity who do and do not have diabetes | Research area: Type 2 diabetes | Award: End Diabetes Award, 2023-2026
Dr. Kirkham’s research looks to determine which intermittent fasting period best impacts blood sugar control. These study results are required to determine if intermittent fasting can be used in clinical care to prevent or manage type 2 diabetes.
Dr. Katherine Morrison
McMaster University, ON | Title: A pilot study to measure energy expenditure in youth enrolled in weight management interventions | Research area: Type 2 diabetes | Award: End Diabetes Award, 2024-2026
Dr. Morrison is launching a pilot study to monitor energy expenditure in youth with obesity undergoing weight management interventions.
Dr. Sunita Singh
University Health Network, ON | Title: Semaglutide for the prevention of post-transplant diabetes | Research area: Type 2 diabetes | Award: End Diabetes Award, 2024-2026
Dr. Singh is investigating if semaglutide is a safe and effective option for the prevention of diabetes in kidney transplant recipients.
Dr. Jennifer Thompson
University of Calgary, AB | Title: Sex-specific mechanisms in the development of type 2 diabetes | Research area: Type 2 diabetes | Award: End Diabetes Award, 2024-2026
Dr. Jennifer Thompson is building our understanding of the impact of being a woman versus being a man on a person’s risk of developing type 2 diabetes. She is exploring how estrogen influences where fat cells develop in women, and how it impacts a woman’s risk of developing diabetes throughout her lifespan.
Dr. Ian Zenlea
Trillium Health Partners, ON | Title: Working together to prevent Type 2 Diabetes in Black, African, and Caribbean Communities in Peel, Ontario | Research area: Type 2 diabetes | Award: End Diabetes Award, 2024-2026
Dr. Zenlea is building on community advocacy work by mobilizing community agencies, service providers, researchers, and community caregivers. Together, the will codesign community-based type 2 diabetes prevention interventions that are family-based and culturally sensitive to Black, African and Caribbean communities.
Dr. Vincent Poitout
Centre Hospitalier Universitaire de Montreal, QC | Title: How do nutrients stimulate pancreatic beta cells to replicate? | Research area: Type 2 diabetes | Award: End Diabetes Award, 2025-2027
Dr. Poitout and his team’s research will provide critical information around beta cell replication and help the team design therapeutic approaches to prevent or delay gestational or type 2 diabetes.
Dr. Laura Rosella
University of Toronto, ON | Title: Developing a Population-Based Diabetes Risk Assessment to Address Inequities and Improve Health Outcomes for People with or at Risk of Developing Type 2 Diabetes | Research area: Type 2 diabetes | Award: CIHR Team Grant: Embracing Diversity to Achieve Precision & Health Equity, 2025-2030
Dr. Rosella and her team, alongside the communities they are working with, are co-developing a newmodelling approach to better understand the differences in diabetes risk in different communities. They will examine how inequities in diabetes risk are influenced by interactions between socioeconomic, built environment, lifestyle, and healthcare access factors.
Dr. Annalijn Conklin
University of British Columbia, BC | Title: Social connections and diabetes in aging women and men | Research area: Type 2 diabetes | Award: End Diabetes Award, 2026-2028
Dr. Annalijn Conklin and her team are exploring whether social conditions matter to the development of type 2 diabetes or diabetic complications. They will examine whether certain types of social ties can impact the onset of diabetes and complications, and whether gender influences this impact. Her research will bring attention to the role of social connectedness in diabetes prevention, and address gender inequities in diabetes and diabetes-related conditions.
Dr. David Campbell
University of Calgary, AB | Title: Enhancing food skills among people exiting homelessness | Research area: Type 2 diabetes | Award: End Diabetes Award, 2026-2028
Dr. Campbell and his team are working to reduce inequitable health barriers for people experiencing homelessness. The research is taking a “culinary medicine” approach – offering nutrition advice paired with hands-on cooking classes for participants moving into transitional housing, helping them learn how to prepare healthy, affordable meals. Learning these practical food skills can help people prevent the onset of type 2 diabetes or better manage their diabetes.
Dr. Mahavir Agarwal
Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH), ON | Title: Is abnormal insulin activity in the brain the reason behind the shared risk for depression and diabetes? | Research area: Type 2 diabetes | Award: End Diabetes Award, 2026-2028, in Partnership with Brain Canada
Dr. Agarwal and his team are exploring the relationship between type 2 diabetes and depression by studying the impact of insulin on the brain. They will study the biology behind whether disrupting insulin action in the brain can lead to depressive symptoms, helping find new treatments that can be offered at the earliest stages of diabetes.
Dr. May Faraj
Montreal Clinical Research Institute, QC | Title: Investigating the optimal type of omega 3 from fish oil to help reduce type 2 diabetes in high-risk people living with obesity | Research area: Type 2 diabetes | Award: End Diabetes Award, 2026-2028
Dr. Faraj and her team are testing whether fish oil derived omega 3 supplement may help these people prevent a diabetes diagnosis. They will examine the role of two different types of fish oils, EPA and DHA, on the metabolism of both sugars and fats in those at risk. This can lead to the development of a dietary recommendation that may help prevent type 2 diabetes for this group of at-risk individuals.
Treatment
Dr. Meranda Nakhla
McGill University, Que. | Title: Group education trial to improve transition for parents of adolescents with T1D (GET-IT for parents) | Research area: Type 1 diabetes | Award: End Diabetes Award, 2022-2026
Dr. Nakhla’s research focuses on improving the transition of diabetes care for parents of adolescents with type 1 diabetes, using patient-driven group education.
Dr. Jennifer Yamamoto
University of Manitoba, MB | Title: Can continuous glucose monitors improve postpartum screening for diabetes? | Research area: Gestational diabetes | Award: End Diabetes Award, 2022-2026
Dr. Yamamoto is exploring whether continuous glucose monitors can be used in people with gestational diabetes mellitus after delivery to predict their risk of diabetes.
Dr. Shazhan Amed
University of British Columbia, B.C. | Title: Building CAPACIty for pediatric diabetes research and quality improvement across Canada | Research area: Pediatric diabetes | Award: CIHR Team Grant, Diabetes Mechanisms and Translational Solutions for 100 Years of Insulin, 2022-2027
Dr. Amed's research addresses healthcare gaps in pediatric diabetes by studying the challenges with access to and delivery of diabetes care across Canada and developing strategies for quality improvement initiatives.
Dr. Jennifer Estall
Clinical Research Institute of Montreal (IRCM), QC | Title: How a gene influences risk of diabetes and response to treatment | Research area: Type 2 diabetes | Award: End Diabetes Award, 2023-2026
Not much is known about how PGC-1A mutation affects the function of PGC-1A, or why it is linked to diabetes. Dr. Estall will determine how this mutation changes how the protein works, by investigating how different forms of PGC-1A affects how the body burns and stores food energy and the body’s response to exercise, diet, and common treatments for diabetes. Not much is known about how PGC-1A mutation affects the function of PGC-1A, or why it is linked to diabetes. Dr. Estall will determine how this mutation changes how the protein works, by investigating how different forms of PGC-1A affects how the body burns and stores food energy and the body’s response to exercise, diet, and common treatments for diabetes.
Dr. Ahmad Haidar
McGill University, QC | Title: A drug that removes excess sugar via urine: can it help people with type 1 diabetes struggling to reach the desired health outcomes, despite using the most advanced technology for diabetes treatment? | Research area: Type 1 diabetes | Award: End Diabetes Award, 2023-2026
Dr. Haidar’s research is testing the impact of adding a drug called empagliflozin to an automated insulin delivery system. Empagliflozin removes sugar via urine, without increasing the risk of low blood sugar levels, which can be dangerous. The study’s goal is to improve the blood sugar levels of people with type 1 diabetes who cannot otherwise achieve healthy blood sugar levels, by adding another therapy to improve the effectiveness of the artificial pancreas system.
Dr. Jonathan Little
University of British Columbia-Okanagan, B.C. | Title: Feasibility of Exercise "Snacks" in Type 2 Diabetes | Research area: Type 2 diabetes | Award: End Diabetes Award, 2023-2026
Dr. Jonathan Little will determine if people with type 2 diabetes like doing exercise snacks, can fit exercise snacks into their daily routines, and see if exercise snacks work to improve fitness and blood sugar control. A smartphone app and web-based platform will guide participants through their exercise snack program, which they can complete in their home or workplace.
Dr. Peter Thompson
University of Manitoba, MB | Title: Treating and tracking sick insulin-producing cells in type 1 diabetes | Research area: Type 1 diabetes | Award: End Diabetes Award, 2023-2026
Dr. Thompson and his team are studying beta cells that escape the immune system attack, but become sick and then further accelerate the development of type 1 diabetes. These studies will lay the groundwork for a new preventive therapy and improved screening of beta cell health in people with type 1 diabetes.
Dr. Denis Blondin
Universite de Sherbrooke, QC | Title: Cold-induced thermogenesis in diabetes | Research area: Type 2 diabetes | Award: End Diabetes Award, 2024-2026
Dr. Blondin and his team aim to identify the importance of brown fat in using energy reserves, and the role of brown fat in type 2 diabetes. This research may help identify an innovative new treatment for controlling blood sugars in people with diabetes.
Dr. Alexandre Caron
Universite Laval, QC | Title: Expanding the drug toolbox for type 2 diabetes | Research area: Type 2 diabetes | Award: End Diabetes Award, 2024-2026
Dr. Caron is testing two potential new drug treatments to help control blood sugars and prevent complications. The first treatment is for women, which may require female hormones to be present to be effective. The second treatment is a combination of two small molecules, which may help people who are overweight or obese.
Dr. Kaberi Dasgupta
The Research Institute of McGill University Health Ctr, QC | Title: Helping couples communicate better: Does this help persons with type 2 diabetes respond better to a step count prescription? | Research area: Type 2 diabetes | Award: End Diabetes Award, 2024-2026
Dr. Dasgupta is studying the impact of couples being physically active together to help manage one partner’s type 2 diabetes.
Dr. Fernando Forato Anhê
Universite Laval, QC | Title: Harnessing Bacteroides to improve blood glucose | Research area: Type 2 diabetes | Award: End Diabetes Award, 2024-2026
Dr. Forato Anhê is studying whether the effectiveness of specific bacteria that help with sugar absorption can be boosted. He and his team will then test if transferring these boosted bacteria can help improve blood sugar control in the gut microbiome affected by type 2 diabetes.
Dr. Francis Lynn
University of British Columbia, B.C. | Title: SOX4 regulation of beta cell genesis and function | Research area: Type 2 diabetes | Award: End Diabetes Award, 2024-2026
Dr. Lynn is using cutting-edge technologies to create human stem cells that carry the genetic differences predisposing people to type 2 diabetes, to study how these differences cause insulin resistance and diabetes, and uncover new ways to treat and prevent the disease.
Dr. Rayzel Shulman
The Hospital for Sick Children, ON | Title: Raising awareness about undiagnosed diabetes in children in three provinces in Canada: a pilot study | Research area: Type 1 diabetes | Award: End Diabetes Award, 2024-2026
Dr. Shulman and her team are piloting a diabetes awareness campaign to prevent diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA) in children in Canada.
Dr. Daniel Drucker
Samuel Lunenfeld Res. Inst./Mount Sinai Hospital, ON | Title: Studies of whether new GLP-1 medicines used to treat people living with type 2 diabetes and/or obesity may also reduce the growth rate of cancers in preclinical studies | Research area: Type 2 diabetes | Award: Diabetes Canada/Canadian Cancer Society Research Grant 2025-2027
Dr. Drucker and his team will determine whether a group of GLP-1 medicines currently used to treat type 2 diabetes or obesity may have unanticipated additional benefits to reduce the growth rates of cancers.
Dr. Gareth Lim
Centre Hospitalier Universitaire de Montreal, QC | Title: Can 14-3-3zeta serve as a target to treat type 2 diabetes? | Research area: Type 2 diabetes | Award: End Diabetes Award, 2025-2027
Dr. Lim and his team are examining whether it is possible to treat type 2 diabetes by targeting beta cells and restoring their ability to produce insulin.
Dr. Marc Poulin
University of Calgary, AB | Title: Interplay between sleep, exercise and pre-diabetes in older adults at risk of Alzheimer disease and related dementias | Research area: Type 2 diabetes | Award: End Diabetes Award, 2025-2027
Dr. Poulin and his team will examine the relationships between sleep, diabetes, and brain health, to contribute to clinical recommendations for exercise programs in people with pre-diabetes who are at risk for dementia.
Dr. Martin Sénéchal
University of New Brunswick Fredericton, NB | Title: The Feasibility of Blood Flow Restriction Training in Individuals with Type 2 Diabetes | Research area: Type 2 diabetes | Award: End Diabetes Award, 2025-2027
Dr. Sénéchal and his team will determine whether exercise training combined with blood flow restriction can improve the health of deconditioned people, and as a viable treatment for individuals living with type 2 diabetes facing exercise limitations.
Dr. John Sievenpiper
University of Toronto, ON | Title: Are Non Sugar Sweeteners Healthy for Diabetes? A Mega- Study to Find Out | Research area: Type 2 diabetes | Award: End Diabetes Award, 2025-2027
Dr. Sievenpiper and his team are bringing together data from seven of the largest health studies globally to clarify the role of non-sugar sweeteners in type 2 diabetes and its complications.
Dr. Carly Whitmore
McMaster University, ON | Title: Improving quality of life and goals of care for people living with diabetes and mental health challenges | Research area: Type 2 diabetes | Award: End Diabetes Award, 2025-2027
Dr. Whitmore and her team aim to pave the way for a more connected and effective care approach for people living with type 2 diabetes and mental health challenges.
Dr. Amy Wong
The Hospital for Sick Children, ON | Title: How Early Pancreas Development Shapes Diabetes Risk in Cystic Fibrosis | Research area: Cystic Fibrosis Related Diabetes | Award: End Diabetes Award, 2026-2028
Dr. Wong and her team are exploring how Cystic Fibrosis (CF) may lead to diabetes during a baby’s development in the womb. Damage to the cells of the pancreas caused by CF may begin very early in a baby’s growth, and by pinpointing the earliest signs of damage to the cells of the pancreas, she and her team can identify how and when CF leads to diabetes. This may lead to new potential therapies that could help prevent or reverse diabetes for people with CF.
Dr. Andre Marette
Laval University, QC | Title: A new therapeutic strategy for the treatment of type 2 diabetes and complications | Research area: Type 2 diabetes | Award: End Diabetes Award, 2026-2028
Dr. Marette and his team are researching a molecule called PDX, which limits both in healthy individuals. As people with diabetes no longer produce ideal levels of PDX, they are testing whether a synthetic form of PDX may help treat inflammation and insulin resistance in people with diabetes. This may lead to improved treatments for people living with this condition.
Dr. Dylan Mackay
University of Manitoba, MB | Title: Can type 2 diabetes remission be achieved with the help of a diabetes medication that works for weight loss | Research area: Type 2 diabetes | Award: End Diabetes Award, 2026-2028
Dr. Mackay and his team are testing whether supplementing a weight loss lifestyle program with a weight loss medication helps people achieve diabetes remission. They will test whether a weight loss program alongside using a weight loss drug called tirzepatide can help people achieve type 2 diabetes remission.
Dr. Elizabeth Rideout
University of British Columbia, BC | Title: Testing if glucagon protects female beta cells | Research area: Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes | Award: End Diabetes Award, 2026-2028
Dr. Rideout and her team will determine whether a hormone called glucagon may be the reason women are better protected from type 2 diabetes, as glucagon levels are higher in females than males, and glucagon helps beta cells release insulin. With more clues into whether glucagon helps support and protect female beta cells, scientists can develop better targeted treatments for type 2 diabetes and better manage diabetes in both women and men.
Dr. Hai Nguyen
University of Guelph, ON | Title: Universal Drug Coverage for Diabetes Medications in Canada: Evaluating Current Impacts and Assessing Future Expansion | Research area: Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes | Award: End Diabetes Award, 2026-2028
Dr. Nguyen and his team are evaluating Canada’s national pharmacare program to understand whether this program is working for people with diabetes. They will study how pharmacare affects people with diabetes across the country, to understand the real-world impacts of the program. This research may help strengthen pharmacare in Canada so that all people with diabetes can access the medications they need to live healthier lives.
Dr. Vernon Dolinsky
University of Manitoba, MB | Title: Beta Cell SIRT3 and Gestational Diabetes | Research area: Gestational Diabetes | Award: End Diabetes Award, 2026-2028
Dr. Dolinsky and his team are researching what goes wrong in the body during gestational diabetes. They have found that a critical protein called SIRT3 plays a key role in maintaining beta cell health. In women with gestational diabetes, SIRT3 levels are often low. They will study how low levels of SIRT3 affect blood sugar levels and insulin production, and test a natural supplement which boosts SIRT3 activity to determine whether it can improve blood sugar levels during pregnancy.
Dr. Sylvie Lesage
University of Montreal, QC | Title: Defining the contribution of immune cells to Cystic Fibrosis-Related Diabetes (CFRD) | Research area: Cystic Fibrosis Related Diabetes | Award: Cystic Fibrosis Canada and Diabetes Canada Seed Grant, 2026
Dr. Lesage and her team are looking to understand the cause of cystic fibrosis-related diabetes (CFRD). It is based on the observation that, in people with cystic fibrosis, immune cells are present in the pancreas. The findings of this study may lead to new treatments that correct the immune system to treat CFRD.
Cure
Dr. Timothy Kieffer
University of British Columbia, B.C. | Title: Designing stem cell-derived islets for diabetes therapy | Research area: Type 1 diabetes | Award: CIHR Team Grant, Diabetes Mechanisms and Translational Solutions for 100 Years of Insulin, 2022-2027
Dr. Timothy Kieffer is working to significantly improve the manufacturing of beta cells to obtain more robust insulin delivery. The team will engineer new cell culture methods to selectively control cell architecture and enhance cell fitness.
Dr. Patrick MacDonald
University of Alberta, AB | Title: A deep phenotyping network for understanding human islet variation in health and diabetes | Research area: Type 1 diabetes | Award: CIHR Team Grant, Diabetes Mechanisms and Translational Solutions for 100 Years of Insulin, 2022-2027
Dr. Patrick MacDonald is building our understanding of insulin production, which will help us determine the causes of diabetes, the potential to reverse diabetes, and ultimately how to prevent diabetes.
Dr. Hong Ma
University of British Columbia, B.C. | Title: Measuring insulin secretion from beta cells at the single cell level | Research area: Type 1 diabetes | Award: End Diabetes Award, 2024-2026
Dr. Ma and his team are developing technologies to measure insulin production at the single beta cell level. Their work will help build an essential tool to develop improved stem cell derived beta cells, and to manufacture these cells at the scale needed to reverse type 1 diabetes.
Dr. Diana Sherifali
McMaster University, ON | Title: Evaluating a diabetes remission strategy and support in primary care | Research area: Type 2 diabetes | Award: End Diabetes Award, 2024-2026
Dr. Sherifali and her team are testing the effectiveness of an intensive diabetes remission strategy in individuals living with type 2 diabetes.
Dr. Patrick MacDonald
University of Alberta, AB | Title: A novel regulator of glucagon | Research area: Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes | Award: End Diabetes Award, 2025-2027
Dr. MacDonald and his team are conducting research to set the stage for future therapeutics to help reduce low blood sugar levels and improve blood sugar management in people with diabetes.
Dr. Ravi Retnakaran
Mount Sinai Hospital, ON | Title: Markers of Reversibility and Stabilization in Type 2 Diabetes | Research area: Type 2 diabetes | Award: End Diabetes Award, 2025-2027
Dr. Retnakaran and his team are developing biomarkers as a method to measure beta cell function and whether dysfunction is reversible in type 2 diabetes.
Dr. Bruce Verchere
University of British Columbia, BC | Title: Fixing insulin production in type 1 diabetes | Research area: Type 1 diabetes | Award: End Diabetes Award, 2026-2028
Dr. Bruce Verchere and his team are studying how beta cells work, in order to protect them and their ability to produce insulin. Beta cells first produce large proteins that are then “cut” down into insulin. For people with type 1 diabetes, this process doesn’t work well, and as a result their blood is full of these larger proteins. This research aims to understand why this occurs, and to determine whether correcting this problem can prevent or reverse type 1 diabetes.
Dr. Mathieu Laplante
Laval University, QC | Title: Uncovering a New Regulator of Glucose Homeostasis | Research area: Type 2 diabetes | Award: End Diabetes Award, 2026-2028
Dr. Laplante and his team have discovered a protein called FBXO that influences how the liver manages blood sugar levels. When normal FBXO levels are restored, blood sugar levels are reduced, even in the presence of obesity and insulin resistance. This research will contribute to the development of more effective and personalised therapies for diabetes.