McMaster’s Centre for Metabolism, Obesity and Diabetes Research Annual Report 2020

In spite of the challenges of the past year, McMaster University’s Centre for Metabolism, Obesity and Diabetes Research (MODR) has many accomplishments to be proud of! As we adapted to a virtual community, MODR investigators were able to maintain care of our patient populations, mentorship of our trainees, collaboration amongst our colleagues and scientific productivity. In this report we are delighted to present our collective advancements and highlight key contributions of our faculty and trainees!

MODR’s team of over 40 faculty members continues to grow, as we welcomed investigators Rahul Chanchlani, Department of Pediatrics, Aristithes Doumouras, Department of Surgery, and Marco Puglia, Department of Medicine. This growth further extends the multi-disciplinary nature of MODR and strengthens our collaborative ties between disciplines. It inspires new research and propels rapid bidirectional translation of research findings.

Our 8th annual MODR symposium, delivered this year utilizing a virtual platform, incorporated both international and local expertise on the topic of “Environmental Toxicants, the Microbiome and Adipose Tissue Metabolism”. The virtual platform broadened our audience, which continued to grow in our bi-weekly seminar series. Hosted by our engaged MODR Trainee committee, the seminar series included internationally renowned scientists while continuing to highlight the work of our faculty & trainees at McMaster. The student development series (also led by MODR trainees) continued to grow in 2020 and hosted mentors such as industry professionals and past trainees.

Throughout this report you will observe transdisciplinary collaboration that has persevered through a challenging year. We are proud of the continued engagement and commitment of the MODR members to precipitate knowledge, translate across disciplines and develop future scientists focused on metabolism, obesity and diabetes research.