Patrick MacDonald

Why did you choose Lund University?

Lund University and the Lund University Diabetes Centre (LUDC) are well known as important international contributors to the development and application of new knowledge in diabetes and its treatment. The work being carried out at LUDC is broad and impactful, ranging from cellular mechanistic studies to genetics and personalized medicine. 

The excellence and breadth of research, and the potential to develop collaborations with my home institution in Alberta and the Alberta Diabetes Institute (ADI), particularly in human islet biology, were important factors that led me to pursue a Visiting Professorship at Lund. 

Finally, I have a personal connection as well. Although nearly two decades ago, I was once fortunate to work at Lund University as a postdoctoral fellow. 

It is a testament to the outstanding collegiality at Lund that many relationships from that time survive today. My hope is to build on this foundation and develop new lasting relationships that benefit Lund, Alberta and international diabetes research.  

Can you briefly describe your current research?

My research focuses on understanding the cellular mechanisms responsible for the secretion of hormones like insulin from the pancreas, and what can go wrong with these processes in diabetes. 

My work combines cell and tissue profiling, animal transgenics, and human tissue biobanking. Increasingly, we are integrating large omics and cell function datasets to answer key questions in diabetes and working with collaborators to provide resources for other researchers to do the same. 

My work at the Alberta Diabetes Institute (ADI) has also established one of the world's largest human research pancreas/islet biobanking programs in the world, currently working with nearly 180 laboratories and institutions across three continents.

What will be your main research focus during your time at Lund University?

My hope is to support the advancement of human pancreatic islet and diabetes research at LUDC by sharing experience in human pancreas biobanking, tissue phenotyping, and cell profiling. 

I look forward to re-igniting past connections and initiating new collaborations in areas that help us better understand islet cell function in diabetes, stem cells as potential treatments, and how cells and tissues contribute to the diversity of how diabetes manifests across populations.