The Obesity, Type 2 Diabetes, and Metabolism research area brings together 37 researchers who supervise 35 research nurses, research professionals, and support staff, as well as 53 graduate students and postdoctoral fellows. It is recognized as one of the most influential groups in Canada in the field of obesity. The Institute is home to one of the largest bariatric surgery teams in the country, composed of nine surgeons who perform approximately 700 primary bariatric procedures each year, in collaboration with a highly dynamic internal medicine team.*
It is estimated that approximately 40% of the bariatric population is affected by type 2 diabetes, and surgery has long been considered a treatment of choice for this condition in individuals with severe obesity. At the same time, recent pharmacological advances are transforming therapeutic approaches to obesity.
Research in this area is rapidly advancing and addresses many contemporary scientific challenges, including the neurophysiological control of energy balance, the role of the gut microbiota, the molecular mechanisms underlying metabolic complications of obesity and diabetes, the beneficial effects of bariatric surgery, pharmacological approaches, prevention strategies, and interventions aimed at improving lifestyle habits. The technological approaches are diverse and include nutrition, behavioral science, surgery, pharmacotherapy, neurobiology and brain imaging, psychology, physiology, biochemistry, molecular biology, and genetics, applied in human studies as well as animal, tissue, and cellular models.
*Data 2024-2025
Priority Themes
- Metabolism and energy homeostasis: regulatory mechanisms and molecular, cellular, and microbiome-related aspects
- Obesity and type 2 diabetes: metabolic and cardiovascular complications
- Bariatric surgery: impacts, development, and mechanisms of action
- Prevention and treatment interventions for obesity and type 2 diabetes
Research chairs
- Canada Excellence Research Chair on the Microbiome–Endocannabinoidome Axis in Metabolic Health (Dr. Vincenzo Di Marzo)
- Canada Research Chair in Neurometabolic Pharmacology (Dr. Alexandre Caron)
- Research Chair in Bariatric and Metabolic Surgery (Dr. André Tchernof)
- Partnership Research Chair — Sentinel North in Sleep Pharmacometabolism (Dr. Natalie Jane Michael)
- Canada Research Chair in the Neurobiology of Metabolism and Sleep (Dr. Natalie Jane Michael)
Researchers in Obesity and Metabolism
Dr André Tchernof
Directeur de l’axe de recherche en obésité, diabète de type 2 et métabolisme
Consult the directory of researchers working in the field of obesity and metabolism (french only)
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