Advani Lab

Keenan Research Centre for Biomedical Science & Li Ka Shing Knowledge Institute of St. Michael’s Hospital & University of Toronto.

Toronto, Ontario, Canada

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About Us

The Advani Lab’s mission is to improve the lives of people with diabetes now and in the future.

Diabetes happens when the sugar levels in your blood are too high. When the sugar levels in your blood are too high for too long this can cause long-term health problems like kidney disease and heart disease. These long-term health problems are called diabetes complications.

Our Objective

Our objective is to improve the lives of people with diabetes, now and in the future. To achieve this objective, our research program has three strands:

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Investigating the causes of kidney disease in diabetes, with a focus on epigenetic processes, inflammation, chronic kidney disease and acute kidney injury.

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Exploring the causes of heart failure, especially heart failure in diabetes, focusing on understanding how inflammation affects heart function.

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Understanding the lived experience of those with diabetes, and exploring how people with diabetes can partner with their healthcare organization to improve diabetes care.

Living With Diabetes

Find education, support, and resources to improve quality of life with diabetes. If you are a person living with diabetes, check out our Living With Diabetes page.

Research Interests

Our discovery research focuses on the causes of kidney disease and heart disease, especially kidney disease and heart disease in diabetes.

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Lab Members

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Dita Chamoun

Research Coordinator III

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Suzanne Advani

Research Technician II

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Lisa Hong

Graduate Student

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Youan Liu

Research Technician IV

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Sri Batchu

Senior Research Associate

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Duc Tin Tran

Post-Doctoral Fellow

Photo of Harmandeep Kaur

Harmandeep Kaur

Post-Doctoral Fellow

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Syeda Madiha Zahra

Post-Doctoral Fellow

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Emily Yeung

Graduate Student

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Andrew Advani

Principal Investigator

Featured Publications

Glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor signaling modifies the extent of diabetic kidney disease through dampening the receptor for advanced glycation end products-induced inflammation.

Sourris KC, Ding Y, Maxwell SS, Al-Sharea A, Kantharidis P, Mohan M, Rosado CJ, Penfold SA, Haase C, Xu Y, Forbes JM, Crawford S, Ramm G, Harcourt BE, Jandeleit-Dahm K, Advani A, Murphy AJ, Timmermann DB, Karihaloo A, Knudsen LB, El-Osta A, Drucker DJ, Cooper ME, Coughlan MT.. Kidney International. 2024;105:132-149.

Minireview: Understanding and targeting inflammatory, hemodynamic and injury markers for cardiorenal protection in type 1 diabetes.

Kugathasan L, Sridhar VS, Tommerdahl KL, Xu C, Bjornstad P, Advani A, Cherney DZI. Metabolism. 2024;153:155785.

Interferons and interferon-related pathways in heart disease.

Tran DT, Batchu SN, Advani A. Frontiers in Cardiovascular Medicine. 2024;11:1354343.

News

1st July 2024

We are grateful to have received new grant funding from the Kidney Foundation of Canada to explore the potential of repurposing a medication for the treatment of kidney scarring.

24th June 2024

Congratulations to Dr. Duc Tin Tran on presenting his abstract on the actions of finerenone in diabetic kidney disease at the 2024 Scientific Sessions of the American Diabetes Association.

22nd June 2024

Congratulations to Lisa Hong on presenting her abstract on the epigenetics of diabetic kidney disease at the 2024 Scientific Sessions of the American Diabetes Association.

10th June 2024

Congratulations to Lisa Hong on being awarded a BBDC – Novo Nordisk studentship from the Banting and Best Diabetes Centre.

10th June 2024

Congratulations to Emily Yeung on receiving a BBDC – Novo Nordisk studentship from the Banting and Best Diabetes Centre.

30th April 2024

Congratulations to Dr. Syeda Madiha Zahra on receiving a 3-year CIHR Fellowship.

30th April 2024

Congratulations to Lisa Hong on being awarded an Angels Den PhD Scholarship from the St. Michael’s Hospital Foundation.

23rd April 2024

Congratulations to Dr. Duc Tin Tran on being awarded a Novo Nordisk – BBDC Postdoctoral Fellowship from the Banting and Best Diabetes Centre.

11th April 2024

Congratulations to Dr. Duc Tin Tran on his first authored review article on the actions of interferon-related pathways in heart disease published in Frontiers of Cardiovascular Medicine.

3rd April 2024

Congratulations to Emily Yeung on receiving a CGS-M Scholarship.

22nd November 2023

Congratulations to Dr. Syeda Madiha Zahra on receiving a Keenan Postdoctoral Fellowship from St. Michael’s Foundation.