Research summary
Globally, type 2 diabetes (T2D) causes one out of five or six deaths in middle-aged women and men, respectively. Clinical management focuses mainly on blood glucose level control. However, fat metabolism disorders involving white and brown adipose tissues (WAT and BAT) and the heart occur earlier, playing a crucial role in T2D and its complications. Using innovative molecular imaging methods, the Canada Research Chair in the Molecular Imaging of Diabetes will investigate whether the sex-specific mechanisms explaining enhanced cardiac fat channeling could constitute a target for prevention of heart failure, and will define the role of BAT as a target for the prevention of T2D.