Image credit: Montreal Clinical Research Institute
Dr. Rémi Rabasa-Lhoret’s research continually strives to improve the lives of those living with diabetes and the associated risks of hypoglycemia (low blood sugar). Since the pancreas is normally responsible for regulating blood sugar, his research team in Montreal are developing an external artificial pancreas that would allow an insulin pump to better respond to the level of glucose in a patient’s blood, thereby reducing the risk of hypoglycemia, which can lead to loss of consciousness and seizures.
Dr. Rabasa-Lhoret completed his medical training in France. After graduating from medical school, he completed a PhD in food science, as well as a clinical specialization in diabetes and a certification in medical nutrition. In 2002, Dr. Rabasa-Lhoret was recruited by the Montreal University Hospital (CHUM- Hotel-Dieu), where he currently serves as a physician in the endocrinology department. He is also an Assistant Professor in the Faculty of Medicine at the Université de Montréal, and conducts his research on the external artificial pancreas at the Montreal Clinical Research Institute (IRCM). Here he serves as the Director of the Metabolic Diseases Research Unit and the Research Platform on Obesity, Metabolism and Diabetes, and in 2020 was appointed to Vice President, Clinic and Clinical Research.
In addition to working to reduce hypoglycemia in people living with diabetes, Dr. Rabasa-Lhoret is researching a unique type of diabetes found in some patients with cystic fibrosis as they age. The causes of this complication are not yet fully understood. Dr. Rabasa-Lhoret and his team are currently working to understand how cystic fibrosis-related diabetes can be prevented or delayed.
— Written by Shivani Seth