IDRC grantee Daniel J. Drucker wins 2021 Canada Gairdner International Award

The work of Daniel J. Drucker, MD (Professor of Medicine, University of Toronto and Senior Scientist, Lunenfeld-Tanenbaum Research Institute, Mt. Sinai Hospital), leader of a Joint Canada-Israel Health Research Program-funded project, along with colleagues Joel Francis Habener, MD (Harvard Medical School and the Massachusetts General Hospital), and Jens Juul Holst, MD (Novo Nordisk Foundation Center for Basic Metabolic Research, University of Copenhagen) was acknowledged by the Gairdner Foundation for furthering our understanding of the metabolic functions of glucagon-like peptides (GLP-1 and GLP-2). This work has led to major advances in the treatment of Type 2 diabetes, obesity, and intestinal disorders.

Dr. Drucker noted that, “The 2021 Canada Gairdner International Award recognizes our work on the gut hormone GLP-1, and its translational impact in diabetes, obesity, and cardiovascular disorders. There is great interest and progress in developing medicines based on the related gut peptide, GIP, with some GLP-1-GIP combination therapies in late-stage clinical development for diabetes and obesity. Our IDRC-funded studies, via the Joint Canada-Israel Health Research Program, enable us to collaborate with Israeli colleagues to dissect the key actions of GIP in the control of metabolic inflammation and to determine whether and how the control of inflammation in different tissues represents an important translational concept for emerging GIP-based therapeutics.”

Established in 1957, the Gairdner Foundation acknowledges the work of scientists whose discoveries have had a major impact on scientific progress and on human health. Since the first awards were granted in 1959, 402 scientists from 40 countries have received a Canada Gairdner Award and 95 of those were also awarded the Nobel Prize.