Investigator Profiles


*Dr. Bruce Verchere* Head, Diabetes Research Program, CFRI Scientist Level 3, CFRI Irving K Barber Chair in Diabetes Research Professor, Department of Pathology & Laboratory Medicine and Department of Surgery, University of British Columbia		Dr. Verchere’s research is aimed at understanding how insulin-producing beta cells normally function and why they are dysfunctional and/or are destroyed in both type 1 and type 2 diabetes. With this understanding, he aims to devise new ways to protect beta cells, thereby slowing or preventing disease onset, and to enhance beta cell survival following transplantation of pancreatic islets into diabetic patients. For a list of Dr. Verchere's publications, click here.

Dr. Shazhan Amed Associate Clinician Scientist, CFRI Clinical Assistant Professor, Division of Endocrinology & Diabetes, Department of Pediatrics, University of British Columbia		Dr. Amed's research involves the treatment and prevention of childhood obesity and diabetes. Obesity is the single most important risk factor for the development of type 2 diabetes and therefore, Dr. Amed is interested in developing and evaluating community-based programs designed to prevent childhood obesity. Dr. Amed is also interested in developing and evaluating innovative ways to provide the health services necessary for children with diabetes in order to optimize their care and prevent long term complications of this disease. For al list of Dr. Amed's publications, click here.
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Dr. Jean-Pierre Chanoine Senior Associate Clinician Scientist, CFRI Clinical Professor, Division of Endocrinology, Department of Pediatrics, University of British Columbia Head, Division of Pediatric Endocrinology, BC Children's Hospital		Dr. Chanoine focuses on the study of nutrition and childhood obesity, from the laboratory to the patient and the community. The main line of research aims at understanding the physiological events leading to the onset of obesity, with emphasis on the regulation of ghrelin, a newly discovered hormone secreted mainly by the pancreas in the fetus and the neonate. Dr. Chanoine's projects include laboratory-based gestational diabetes research, clinial projects aimed at investigating the role of ghrelin in neonatal appetite regulation and community projects propose an original intervention to prevent the development of obesity in schoolchildren. For a list of Dr. Chanoine's publications, click here.
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Dr. Janet Chantler Scientist Level 3, CFRI Professor, Department of Pathology, University of British Columbia		Dr. Chantler's research is directed at understanding the underlying mechanisms by which coxsackieviruses cause long-term complications, with a view to developing novel treatment strategies as well as a combined attenuated vaccine that would protect against the most virulent serotypes. For a list of Dr. Chantler's publications, click here.
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Dr. Jan Dutz Scientist Level 3, CFRI Professor, Department of Dermatology and Skin Science, University of British Columbia Affiliate Member, Department of Medicine, University of British Columbia		Immunization as a possible treatment for cancer is a recent concept. One of the limitations of current vaccine protocols is inefficient priming for cytotoxic T lymphocytes, which are important in the control of viral infections and tumours. Skin dendritic cells are potent antigen presenters to the immune system. However, the skin historically has been regarded as a barrier and has not been intensively studied as an organ of immunization. Dr. Dutz's laboratory is engaged in studies to optimize the use of the skin as an organ to alter systemic immune responses. In separate projects, Dr. Dutz is studying the priming or activation of T cells involved in models of systemic lupus erythematosus and juvenile onset diabetes mellitus. For a list of Dr. Dutz's publications, click here.
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Dr. Jan Ehses Scientist Level 1, CFRI Assistant Professor, Department of Surgery, University of British Columbia		Dr. Ehses investigates the balance between the immune system and metabolism, with a focus on the beta cells, which produce insulin. Recently, it’s been shown that when a person is obese, their immune system can become harmful and can contribute to the onset of type 2 diabetes. Dr. Ehses aims to discover what triggers the immune reaction leading to Type 2 diabetes, and how this immune response impairs the normal function of the pancreatic islet (the part of the pancreas that contains beta cells, which produce insulin). In this manner, he hopes to devise new strategies to protect the beta cell and also to promote its survival during diabetes. For a list of Dr. Ehses' publications, click here.
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Dr. Leigh Field Scientist Level 3, CFRI Professor, Department of Medical Genetics, University of British Columbia		Dr. Field's laboratory focuses on finding and characterizing the genes that cause several common "genetically-complex" childhood disorders, including dyslexia, autoimmune type 1 diabetes, and non-syndromic cleft lip with/without cleft palate. To find these genes, the lab analyzes linkage in families with multiple affected members and association in affected and unaffected subjects, using thousands of genetic markers across all chromosomes. The purpose of identifying these disease-causing genes is: 1) to understand the underlying biological processes that cause the disorder in order to design therapies to prevent it; and 2) to predict who is genetically at-risk for the disorder. For a list of Dr. Field's publications, click here.
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Dr. William Gibson Scientist Level 1, CFRI Clinician Scientist, Laboratory for Obesity Genetics and Indirect Calorimetry (LOGIC), CFRI Assistant Professor, Department of Medical Genetics, University of British Columbia		Dr. Gibson's major interest is in genes that affect body weight regulation, whether their effects are on food intake, energy expenditure or on nutrient distribution to fat or lean tissue. By studying rare genetic disorders and rodent models of obesity and leanness, Dr. Gibson hopes to derive valuable lessons that are relevant to obesity and cardiovascular disease in the general population. Dr. Gibson is a Clinical Geneticist with an interest in severe obesity and lipodystrophy. His group applies state-of-the-art assessment of body fat mass, fat distribution and circulating hormones to individuals with severe obesity and genetic lipodystrophy syndromes. For a list of Dr. Gibson's publications, click here.
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Dr. Brad Hoffman Scientist Level 1, CFRI Assistant Professor, Department of Surgery, University of British Columbia		Dr. Hoffman researches the genetic and epigenetic mechanisms that control the transcriptional networks that drive endocrine pancreas development, function, and proliferation. Understanding how the genes critical to endocrine pancreas development, as well as β-cell function and proliferation are regulated is essential for the development of novel strategies for the production of insulin- secreting cells, and for improving the efficacy of available transplantable material. For a list of Dr. Hoffman's publications, click here.
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Dr. Megan Levings Scientist Level 2, CFRI Associate Professor, Department of Surgery, University of British Columbia		Research in Dr. Levings's laboratory is focused on a novel subset of CD4+ T cells, termed T regulatory (Treg) cells, which control immune homeostasis. Current work is focused on determining how Treg cells differ from normal CD4+ T cells at both the biochemical and molecular levels, and elucidating their role in transplantation tolerance, cancer and inflammatory bowel disease. A long-term goal is to develop methods to generate Treg cells in vitro for use as a cellular therapy to replace standard immunosuppression in the context of organ transplantation or to restore tolerance in the context of autoimmunity. For a list of Dr. Levings' publications, click here. Visit the Levings Lab website.
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Dr. Dan Luciani Scientist Level 1, CFRI Assistant Professor, Department of Surgery, Faculty of Medicine, University of British Columbia		Dr. Luciani and the diabetes research group seek to clarify the complex mechanisms that link β-cell function, β-cell failure and various pathways of β-cell death. Currently his work is focused on studying how the cellular ʽsuicideʼ machinery also plays important roles in normal β-cell function and thereby may control if β-cells adapt or fail during the cellular stress associated with diabetes. Dr. Luciani studies these mechanisms from the level of genetic changes to the impact of these on single cell function and the progression of diabetes. In this way the Luciani lab hopes to identify and characterize new targets for diabetes prevention and therapy. For a list of Dr. Luciani's publications, click here.
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Dr. Francis Lynn Scientist Level 1, CFRI Assistant Professor, Division of General Surgery, Departments of Surgery and Cellular & Physiological Sciences, University of British Columbia		Dr. Lynn is a new recruit who joined CFRI “because of its great diabetes community, which makes it a hot spot in Canada for diabetes research.” He studies how the pancreatic beta cells, which produce insulin and fail in diabetes, form during embryonic development. He aims to apply that knowledge to drive stem cells towards beta cells in order to cure diabetes. For a list of Dr. Lynn's publications, click here.
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Dr. Daniel Metzger Affiliate Investigator Assistant Professor, Department of Surgery, Faculty of Medicine, University of British Columbia		Dr. Metzger's research is primarily involved in the development, prevention and treatment of type 1 (insulin-dependent or juvenile-onset) diabetes. Dr. Metzger is an investigator in several multicenter clinical trials involved in preventing type 1 diabetes. He also maintain a large website providing resources for families of children with diabetes and other endocrine disorders, and for the professionals caring for these patients. Most recently, working with local and provincial resources, Dr. Metzger has helped initiate an endocrine treatment program for transgendered youth. For a list of Dr. Metzger's publications, click here.
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Dr. Dina Panagiotopoulos Clinician Scientist, CFRI Assistant Professor, Division of Endocrinology, Department of Pediatrics, University of British Columbia Pediatric Endocrinologist, BC Children's Hospital		The first aspect of Dr. Panagiotopoulos's research relates to the prevention of type 2 diabetes and its associated co-morbidities in youth with mental health conditions treated with atypical antipsychotic (AAP) medications. She has also conducted diabetes screening and found high prevalence of pre-diabetes in youth residing in First Nations communities in B.C. which led to the program development of a culturally appropriate Actions Schools! BC and Healthy Buddies program. Further, in collaboration with other researchers at CFRI, Dr. Panagiotopoulos led the evaluation of the Shapedown program at BC Children’s Hospital. Dr. Panagiotopoulos is also the Clinical Core Leader within the CIHR New Emerging Team in Childhood Autoimmunity. For a list of Dr. Panagiotopoulos' publications, click here.
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Dr. Joseph Tai Scientist Level 2, CFRI Associate Professor, Department of Pathology, University of British Columbia		Understanding mechanisms of action of important natural health products/herbals used daily by millions of people worldwide should be one of the most important target of research in medicine. The seriousness of the impact of diseases like cancer, diabetes, and arthritis on the Canadian healthcare system has been well recognized. Unlike conventional medicines, natural health products/herbals contain multiple active ingredients with multiple actions. In order to study these complex effects effectively, and to elucidate the "actives" of the herbal preparations, Dr. Tai's lab is collaborating with researchers at BC Cancer Agency, Simon Fraser University , and BCIT. For a list of Dr. Tai's publications, click here.
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Dr. Rusung Tan Head, Immunity in Health & Disease research cluster, CFRI Scientist Level 3, CFRI Professor, Department of Pathology, University of British Columbia		Immune white cells, such as cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTL) and natural killer (NK) cells, protect us from infectious diseases and cancer by killing infected or unwanted cells. Conversely, defects in the function or regulation of these cells can lead to immunodeficiency or autoimmunity. Currently Dr. Tan is studying the role of these cells in two diseases: type 1 diabetes and X-linked lymphoproliferative disease. In both these disorders, Dr. Tan's lab has described defects in CTL and NK cells. By identifying these defects in detail Dr. Tan's lab hopes to be able to develop novel therapies for disease. For a list of Dr. Tan's publications, click here.
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Dr. Stefan Taubert Scientist Level 1, CFRI Scientist, Centre for Molecular Medicine and Therapeutics at CFRI Assistant Professor, Division of Cellular & Molecular Pharmacology, Department of Medical Genetics, University of British Columbia		In humans, failure to properly govern energy metabolism can result in diabetes and obesity. Dr. Taubert's lab studies how deregulation of gene expression evokes the metabolic imbalances that underlie these diseases. Because the regulatory networks that control gene expression are evolutionarily conserved, they exploits the cytologically and genetically tractable roundworm Caenorhabditis elegans to discover and characterize novel regulators. In addition to this discovery research in nematodes, the lab tests whether the mammalian orthologues of these genes affect similar processes in cultured cells and in mammalian model organisms. For a list of Dr. Taubert's publications, click here.
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Dr. Peter van den Elzen Clinician Scientist, CFRI Assistant Professor, Department of Pathology, University of British Columbia Hematopathologist and Medical Director of Diagnostic Immunology, BC Children's Hospital and BC Women's Hospital & Health Centre		Immune responses are initiated when T cells recognize antigens displayed by antigen presenting cells (APC). Classically, T cell recognition is towards peptide antigens displayed on APC by MHC molecules. More recently, lipid antigens were found to be similarly displayed by the MHC-like molecule, CD1, and recognized by an unconventional class of T cells, including NKT cells. Dr. van den Elzen's lab is interested in exploring the biology of lipid antigen recognition by T cells, and the role this has in a number of human diseases, including autoimmune diseases such as multiple sclerosis, diabetes and lupus, infectious diseases as well as inflammatory diseases such as atherosclerosis. For a list of Dr. van den Elzen's publications, click here.
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Dr. Garth Warnock Affiliate Investigator, CFRI Professor and Head, Division of General Surgery, Department of Surgery, University of British Columbia		Type 1 diabetes (T1D) is caused by islet beta cell damage elicited by the patients' own cells, called T-cells. Transplantation with islets is an attractive way to treat T1D. The therapeutic success of islet transplantation rests on the ability to inhibit T-cell responses and to protect beta cells from damage. The objective of Dr. Warnock's study is to develop a novel protocol for preventing beta-cell destruction in islet transplantation through the administration of B7-H4 and through the enhancement of protective protein production in grafted islets, in order to protect beta cells and prevent the recurrence of diabetes in islet-transplanted mice. For a list of Dr. Warnock's publications, click here.
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