Cathy Chan

Professor
PhD, University of British Columbia

Laboratory: 4-126A Li Ka Shing Centre For Research
Email address: cathy.chan@ualberta.ca 

Research Interests / Academic Activities

I am a Professor in the Department of Agricultural, Food and Nutritional Sciences at the University of Alberta and the Department of Physiology. My main research interests and areas of expertise are obesity and type 2 diabetes, which are the most prevalent and growing diseases in developed countries. My research program has three main foci: 1) studying the metabolic effects of various diets and diet components (with a focus on Alberta-grown crops) in rodent models, and 2) developing and evaluating the effectiveness of nutrition and physical activity interventions in people with diabetes or metabolic syndrome; 3) working with community partners to implement nutrition risk screening and interventions to enable older adults to remain healthy and independent.

Over the course of my career, I have been involved in a number of initiatives and activities serving the academic and medical community, such as the Centre for Nutrition and Health Advisory Board (2017-18) and Canadian Diabetes Association - 2018 Clinical Practice Guidelines Expert Committee (2016). I previously served as President of the Canadian Physiological Society and am currently the Treasurer of the Canadian Nutrition Society. 

Knowledge translation is an important component of our lab's work. In 2013, with Dr. Rhonda Bell, I published The Pure Prairie Eating Plan, a menu plan and recipe book focused on foods that are nutritionally adequate, financially accessible, readily available and culturally acceptable to many Albertans and other Canadians.

Select Publications

  1. Yuzbashian E, Pakseresht M, Vena J, Chan CB. Association of dairy consumption patterns with incidence of type 2 diabetes: findings from Alberta’s Tomorrow Project. Nutr Metab Cardiovasc Dis. Published online October 13, 2022. DOI: 10.1016/j.numecd.2022.09.022
  2. Subhan FB, Fernando DN, Thorlakson J, Chan CB. Dietary interventions for type 2 diabetes in South Asian populations – A systematic review. Curr Nutr Rep. Accepted Sep 23, 2022.
  3. Yuzbashian E, Carniero de Campos Zani S, Zarkash M, Asghari G, Hedayati M, Khalaj A, Chan CB. Elevated miR-143 and miR-34a gene expression in human visceral adipose tissue is associated with indices of insulin resistance: a cross-sectional study. Eat Weight Disord. Published online October 1, 2022. DOI: 10.1007/s40519-022-01476-6
  4. Carniero de Campos Zani S, Son M, Bhullar KS, Chan CB, Wu J. IRW improves glucose tolerance in high fat diet fed C57BL/6 mice via activation of insulin signaling and AMPK pathways in skeletal muscle. Biomedicines 10, 1235, 2022. DOI: 10.3390/biomedicines10061235
  5. Deng F, Mahmoodi B, Chan CB. Effectiveness and acceptability of a nutrition intervention targeting Chinese immigrants with type 2 diabetes in Canada: A study using mixed methods analysis. Can J Diabetes. In press May 29, 2022. DOI: 10.1016/j.jcjd.2022.04.006
  6. Capicio M, Panesar S, Keller H, Gramlich L, Popeski N, Basualdo-Hammond C, Atkins M, Chan CB. Nutrition risk, resilience and effects of a brief education Intervention among community-dwelling older adults during COVID-19 restrictions in Alberta, Canada. Nutrients 14:1110, 2022.
  7. Sosa Alvarado C, Yang K, Qiu H, Mills E, Fouhse J, Ju T, Buteau J, Field CJ, Willing BP, Chan CB. Transient antibiotic induced changes in the neonatal swine intestinal microbiota impact islet expression profiles reducing subsequent function. Am J Physiol: Regul Integr Compar. 321(3):R303-R316, 2021.
    DOI: 10.1152/ajpregu.00090.2021
  8. Archundia Herrera MC, Campbell-Scherer DL, Bell RC, Chan CB. Contextually appropriate tools and solutions to facilitate healthy eating identified by people with type 2 diabetes. Nutrients. 13, 2301, 2021. DOI: 10.3390/nu13072301
  9. Chan CB, Popeski N, Gramlich L, Atkins M, Basualdo-Hammond C, Stadnyk J, Keller H. Harnessing stakeholder perspectives and experience to address nutrition risk in community-dwelling older adults. Healthcare 9:477, 2021. DOI: 10.3390/healthcare9040477
  10. Chan CB, Popeski N, Fatehi Hassanabad M, Sigal RJ, O’Connell P, Sargious P. Use of virtual care for glycemic management in people with types 1 and 2 diabetes and diabetes in pregnancy: a rapid review. Can J Diabetes. 45(7):677-688.e2. DOI: 10.1016/j.jcjd.2021.02.007
    Huang H, Lorenz BR, Zelmanovitz PH, Chan CB. Metformin Preserves β-Cell Compensation in Insulin Secretion and Mass Expansion in Prediabetic Nile Rats. Int J Mol Sci 22:421, 2021.

Laboratory Members

Graduate students
Stepheny Zani
Emad Yuzbashian
Emily Berg