Our Research Members

Diabetes Mellitus and Cardiovascular Disease: The main focus is the evaluation of diabetic patients with coronary artery disease, acute coronary syndromes and heart failure. We have examined the role of advanced multi-modal imaging in developing novel compounds to treat atherosclerosis in diabetic patients. I have conducted large-scale clinical trials such as the FREEDOM Trial which evaluated the optimal strategy required for the management of coronary artery disease. Our goal for the future is to develop a collaborative coordinating center to address the important clinical questions revolving around diabetes and heart disease.

Main research interest is in the area of diabetes in pregnancy.
We are currently conducting a multi-centre randomized controlled trial of metformin use in women with type 2 diabetes in pregnancy (MiTy trial).
I am also involved in studies looking at the placental transfer of diabetes drugs in pregnancy, the transfer of diabetes drugs into breast milk, and administrative databases looking at women with diabetes in pregnancy in Ontario.

The Feng lab is interested in understanding the mechanisms underlying synapse development and synaptic transmission using various in vitro and in vivo animal models. The major lines of research in the Feng Lab include 1) identifying the roles of ion channels in neurons and pancreatic cells under physiological and pathophysiological conditions, 2) determining the regulatory mechanisms of the ion channels, and 3) understanding neuronal control of hormone secretion in control and diabetic rodent models. The technical expertise in the Feng lab includes patch-clamp recordings, dynamic ratiometric imaging, confocal imaging, molecular biology and biochemistry.

Our lab studies the role of microRNAs in controlling vascular inflammation. We have a particular interest in determining the role of circulating microRNAs in disease pathogenesis, and exploring their use as biomarkers. We are studying mouse models of diabetic cardiomyopathy to define disease mechanisms that involve microRNAs and we are identifying circulating microRNA biomarkers in human patient cohorts with diabetes, diabetic cardiomyopathy and/or end-stage renal disease.

The general theme of the Floras Clinical Cardiovascular Physiology Laboratory has been the elucidation of mechanisms responsible for initiation and progression of cardiovascular and related diseases in humans, through interdisciplinary patient oriented research.

Neural and intrinsic cardiovascular regulation is studied using: microneurographic recordings of sympathetic nerve discharge directed at resistance vessels, tracer kinetic methods to estimate total body norepinephrine spillover, spectral analysis of heart rate variability and baroreflex sensitivity for heart rate, plethysmographic methods for assessing blood flow, and ultrasonic methods for quantifying endothelium dependent and independent vasodilatation.

These methods have been applied to research questions concerning normal health and aging, and to conditions such as heart failure, sleep apnea, hypertension, renal failure, pulmonary hypertension, diabetes (in collaboration with Drs. Zinman, Millar and Meneilly), menopause and cirrhosis.

Michael Fralick’s main research interest is in understanding the safety and effectiveness of sodium glucose co-transporter 2 (SGLT2) inhibitors by applying pharmacoepidemiology methods and machine learning. He primarily uses data collected from routine care (e.g., ICES, insurance claims data) and his main areas of methodologic expertise are in propensity score matching and supervised machine learning (e.g., gradient boosted trees). 

Increasing evidence now points to the deposition and cytotoxicity of islet amyloid polypeptide aggregates as major contributors to loss of beta cell mass and ultimately the progression to type 2 diabetes. Amyloid aggregation may also contribute to graft failure following islet transplantation in type 1 diabetes patients. Therefore, our research involves devising new ways to inhibit islet amyloid aggregation and protect beta cells, thereby slowing or preventing onset of type 2 diabetes and improving islet graft survival.

To study the molecular relationship between vitamin D endocrine system and diabetes.