Supporting more equitable diabetes care through a new Novo Nordisk Research Chair

Nov 3, 2022

A Black health-care worker takes a Black patient's blood pressure. — *Photo by Hush Naidoo Jade Photography*

The number of Canadians diagnosed with diabetes is estimated to grow to more than 4.9 million by 2030. Recognizing the important role of preventative care in driving better health outcomes, it’s more important than ever to ensure all patients can access diabetes health services and treatments. The University of Toronto will play its part with the appointment of Dr. Baiju Shah as the inaugural Novo Nordisk Research Chair in Equitable Care of Diabetes and Related Conditions, as part of U of T’s Novo Nordisk Network for Health Populations.

In this role, Dr. Shah will focus on developing and implementing inclusive community-based interventions to reduce inequities in access to diabetes health services and in health outcomes. He will work with patients, families, health-care providers and other community stakeholders in Mississauga and Peel Region to co-design, implement and evaluate effective, feasible and equitable interventions that consider local context and needs.

Dr. Shah is a health services researcher and clinician-scientist in endocrinology in U of T’s Temerty Faculty of Medicine. His research seeks to improve the quality of care and long-term outcomes of people with diabetes in Ontario. Dr. Shah is a staff physician and the head of the Division of Endocrinology, Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre, and a scientist at the Sunnybrook Research Institute. He is also a professor in the Temerty Department of Medicine and the Institute of Health Policy, Management and Evaluation at the University of Toronto, as well as a senior core scientist at the health research nonprofit ICES.

Established in 2021, U of T’s Novo Nordisk Network for Healthy Populations is an interdisciplinary research network that aims to reduce the burden of diabetes and related chronic conditions. Based at the University of Toronto Mississauga (UTM), the Network brings together leading researchers from UTM, the Dalla Lana School of Public Health and the Temerty Faculty of Medicine.

Novo Nordisk’s $20-million donation, which was matched by the University, established the Network during the centennial celebration of the discovery of insulin at U of T by Frederick Banting, Charles Best, J.J.R. Macleod and James Bertram Collip in 1921.

“We are thrilled to partner once again with Novo Nordisk,” said U of T President Meric Gertler at the gift announcement. “The historic investment announced today heralds a new era of hope for people facing diabetes and other chronic diseases.”

By Emily Kulin