MeDiC  |  Metabolic Disorders and Complications Program

The Metabolic Disorders and Complications Program (MeDiC) is managed by a Program Management Committee that meets at least four times per year and is responsible for developing a strategic research plan for our group of investigators, fostering collaboration, and enhancing funding success as well as organizing scientific activities for staff and trainees. The current Program Management Committee members are:

Dr. Simon Wing, Program Leader

Sergio Burgos, PhD, Associate Program Leader

Christian Rocheleau, PhD, Associate Program Leader

Dr. Ruth Sapir-Pichhadze, Associate Program Leader

Stéphanie Chevalier, RD, PhD

Dr. David Goltzman

Dr. Suzanne Morin

Dr. Robert Sladek

Elena Torban, PhD

Dr. Jean-François Yale

Lenka Schorova, M.Sc., PhD, Program Manager

Khiran Arumugan, Student Representative, Centre for Outcomes Research and Evaluation (CORE)

Tatsuya Kato and Hannah Swick, Student Representatives, Centre for Translational Biology (CTB)

Program leaders and manager

Simon Wing, MD, is a Professor of Medicine at McGill University and physician in the Division of Endocrinology and Metabolism at the McGill University Health Centre. His research focuses on the physiological functions of the ubiquitin proteasome system, which degrades the majority of cell proteins in a highly regulated and precise fashion. His work has identified genes in this system which play important roles in the protein degradation that leads to muscle wasting, a complication in cancer and many other chronic diseases. He has also identified genes in the ubiquitin system that are essential for sperm development and function and appear to be involved in male infertility. His work has been recognized by election to the American Society for Clinical Investigation and is presently funded by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research and the Canadian Cancer Society Research Institute. Dr. Wing has served in other leadership roles, including directing the McGill Clinical Investigator Program and the Division of Adult Endocrinology and Metabolism at McGill University and the McGill University Health Centre. He presently chairs the Research Council of the Research Institute of the McGill University Health Centre. Sergio Burgos, PhD, is an Associate Professor in the Department of Animal Science and Associate Member in the Department of Medicine, McGill University. His research program focuses on defining the role of protein foods in human nutrition, cardiometabolic health, and the environment. Using dietary analyses and intervention trials, his laboratory investigates the contribution of animal- and plant-based foods to nutrient intakes and status, assesses their effect on type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease, and quantifies their impact on diet-related greenhouse gas emissions. Dairy Farmers of Canada is currently funding his research. Dr. Ruth Sapir-Pichhadze is an Associate Professor of Medicine, Division of Nephrology, Faculty of Medicine, McGill University, and Clinician Scientist, Research Institute of the McGill University Health Centre. After obtaining her MD from the Hebrew University in Jerusalem, she completed specializations in Internal Medicine, Nephrology, and Kidney Transplantation as well as a Master of Science and PhD at the University of Toronto. Dr. Sapir-Pichhadze is the Co-Lead of the Genome Canada Transplant Consortium, Co-Director of the MUHC Kidney Disease Biorepository—from Birth to Adulthood, and served on the Steering Committees of the Asian Society of Transplantation─Registry in partnership with Women in Transplantation, NephroCAGE consortium, and the Antibody-Mediated Injury Working Group of the Banff Foundation on Allograft Pathology. Supported by the Canadian Institutes for Health Research, Kidney Foundation of Canada, and Fonds de recherche du Québec, among other agencies, the overarching goal of Dr. Sapir-Pichhadze's research is to optimize the quantity and quality of life of patients with kidney disease. More specifically, she seeks to identify genetic determinants of donor and recipient compatibility to optimize organ allocation schemes, personalize surveillance, and establish individually tailored therapies. Christian Rocheleau, PhD, is an Associate Professor of Medicine in the Division of Endocrinology and Metabolism, McGill University, and an Associate Member of the Department of Anatomy and Cell Biology, where he serves as Director of the Cell Biology graduate program. He is interested in understanding the fundamental mechanisms by which cells communicate. His research team studies the regulation of signal transduction pathways in the context of animal development and physiology. The team uses molecular genetics and cell biological techniques to uncover novel interactions between intracellular membrane trafficking and the insulin and epidermal growth factor signaling pathways in the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans. These signal transduction pathways are drivers of cancer and metabolic regulation. Many of the membrane trafficking regulators studied by his team have recently been found to underlie neurodevelopmental and neurodegenerative diseases. Fundamental knowledge derived from these studies have widespread applications to human health and disease. His research currently enjoys support from the Canadian Institute of Health Research and the National Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada. Lenka Schorova, M.Sc., PhD, completed her graduate studies at Trinity College Dublin in Ireland and obtained her doctorate in molecular and cellular interactions and neuroscience from the Université Côte d'Azur in 2018. She then completed postdoctoral training in neurodegeneration. She brings more than nine years of experience to management of the MeDiC Program, with her excellent communication and leadership skills.