Wednesday Talk: February 19, 2025, at 2-4pm. It is in-person and on Zoom
- This event has passed.
February 19 @ 2:00 pm - 4:00 pm
Speaker: Patricia Brubaker, Physiology and Medicine, U of T
Title: The basic science underlying the beneficial actions of ♪O, O, O, O-zempic♪
Abstract: Drugs based on the intestinal hormone glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) have taken the world by storm over the past 5 years, with 1 million Canadians and one in eight Americans now reporting that they have used these drugs. In the clinic, GLP-1-based therapeutics have been approved by Health Canada for the treatment of individuals with type 2 diabetes and/or obesity, with new indications including diseases of the heart, kidneys and liver pending. Future use may include a variety of neural disorders such as Alzheimer’s disease and addictions. While all of the approved therapeutic uses have been supported by large-scale clinical trials, studies conducted by basic scientists have provided the fundamental data leading to these trials. This talk will present some of the basic science underlying the ‘miracle’ of GLP-1-based drugs, such as Ozempic, and will provide a basis for understanding of some of the common side effects of these drugs.
Bio: Patricia Brubaker obtained her Ph.D. at McGill University followed by post-doctoral studies and then a faculty appointment at the University of Toronto. She is currently Professor Emerita in the Departments of Physiology and Medicine. Her research career focussed on the fundamental biology of the intestinal hormones, glucagon-like peptide-1, now used in the treatment of patients with type 2 diabetes and/or obesity, and glucagon-like peptide-2, recently approved for patients with short bowel syndrome. Dr. Brubaker has published over 200 papers resulting from her studies. She has also trained more than 200 students and fellows and, in 2023, the Patricia L. Brubaker Trainee Awards were endowed at the Banting and Best Diabetes Centre, University of Toronto, in honour of her career as an educator and mentor to generations of trainees. She was supported by a Tier 1 Canada Research Chair in Vascular and Metabolic Biology from 2001-2022 and received the Diabetes Canada Lifetime Achievement Award in 2020. She was inducted as a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada in 2016 and as a Fellow of the Canadian Academy of Health Sciences in 2023.
The link to register is https://forms.office.com/r/8BZ1Sm9GEp
The deadline to register is the Monday before the event at noon. The Zoom link will be sent to registrants only.
