Emile Levy, MD PhD
Professor of Nutrition (University of Montreal)
Adjunct Professor of Cellular Biology & Anatomy (University of Sherbrooke)
Biographical Sketch
Dr Emile Levy is a Full Professor in the Department of Nutrition
at the University of Montreal. He was the Director of the Research Center of the CHU
M�re-Enfant Sainte-Justine from May 1996 to January 2006. He is now the Research
Director of the Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition Unit of the CHU M�re-Enfant
Sainte-Justine where he leads an important research team.
He is known around the world for his work in the field of digestion,
lipid absorption and metabolism and related diseases including intestinal malabsorption,
development disorders, primary and secondary hyperlipidemia, atherosclerosis,
malnutrition, obesity, diabetes and insulin resistance as well as inflammatory bowel
disease. Dr Levy also conducts research on infant development using nutrigenomic and
proteomic approaches.
Dr Levy is a world leader in these fields of research and his work
progresses with steady funding from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, Dairy
Farmers of Canada, the Canadian Diabetes Association, NSERC and the Crohn's and
Colitis Foundation of Canada. He has published his findings in numerous prestigious
scientific journals, 265 articles and chapters in various books, 420 abstracts as
well as participated in 125 conferences nationally and abroad. Dr Levy is also a
reviewer for a number of scientific journals, a member of various organizations and
associations as well as the organizing member of many conferences, symposiums and
congresses.
Dr Levy has been the recipient of many awards and honors for his
numerous contributions including the Borden Award for Nutrition, the Award for
Excellence in Pediatric Research, the European Gastroenterology Association Award,
the Second Milan International Meeting: Diet and Atherosclerosis Award and the
National Investigator Award from the Fonds de la Recherche en Sant� du Qu�bec
(FRSQ), Prix des Fondateurs (SQLMN). In 2008, Dr Levy received the Prix de Carri�re,
from the Fondation des �toiles, CHU Ste-Justine. Currently, Dr Levy holds the
Research Chair J.A. de S�ve in Nutrition.
Selected Scientific Contributions
We demonstrated the impact of intestinal fatty acid binding protein
(I-FABP) polymorphism on intracellular lipid metabolism and transport, as well as on
postprandial lipidemia in insulin resistance and diabetes (JBC 2001; 276:39679-39684).
Assembly of triglyceride-rich lipoproteins by the liver and
intestine involves a complex process thought to occur exclusively in the endoplasmic
reticulum. We were able to show that the Golgi compartment actively participates in
lipoprotein elaboration by involving key players, such as microsomal triglyceride
transfer protein (J Biol Chem 2002; 277:16470-16477).
We discovered the defective gene responsible for chylomicron
retention disease and other malabsorption disorders (Nat Genet 2003 ; 34(1) :29-31).
We highlighted the active contribution of the intestine to
hyperlipidemia characteristic of type 2 diabetes (Diabetes 2003;52:2539-2545).
We could show the beneficial impact of omega-3 fatty acids on
adverse effects of the metabolic syndrome and emphasize their influence on intestinal
lipid transport, an effect which may limit postprandial lipemia and the rise of
atherosclerosis (Diabetologia 2006;49:1937-45).
Click here for PubMed listing (partial)
Research Interests
- Digestion, absorption and transport of dietary lipids from the intestine to the systemic circulation
- Mechanism and regulation of intestinal lipoprotein synthesis
- Ontogeny of intestinal lipid transport
- Disorders of Intestinal malabsorption
- Intestinal adaptation
- Inflammatory bowel diseases
- Relationship of lipoproteins, dyslipidemia and atherosclerosis
- Effects of drugs on lipid and lipoprotein metabolism
- Mechanisms sustaining primary (Chylomicronemia, Familial hypercholesterolemia, etc.) and secondary (Diabetes, Nephrotic syndrome, Thyroid disorders, Glycogen Storage Disease) hyperlipoproteinemia
- Obesity, insulin resistance and diabetes
- Nutrition
- Gene and nutrients
- Nutrigenomics and proteomics
- Nutritional diseases
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