Robert Screaton

Research. Screaton has made discoveries that have impacted our understanding of pancreatic β cell biology, including the roles of LKB1, SIK2, CRTC2 and GPR3. He has developed robotic-enabled, high throughput screening (HTS) gene silencing approaches to use primary human cells to identify novel targets involved in mitochondrial bioenergetics and aging as well as cell regeneration.

At Diabetes Canada (DC), he served as Co-Chair of the National Research Council (2017-2024) and is a member of the Board of Directors (2021-present), where he now serves as Vice-Chair (2024). He also served as Chair of the Islet and Immunology Panel at DC (2014-2017) and is a member of the Professional Section that oversees research policy and clinical guidelines for diabetes care in Canada. He is a founding member of the Canadian Islet Research and Training Network (CIRTN) and designed and co-coordinates the National Graduate Course in Islet Biology and Diabetes at University of Toronto. He also serves as Chair of the Mentoring Committee for the National CIHR Health Research and Training MyROaD program.

Screaton initiated a novel knowledge mobilization project with Diabetes Action Canada, a patient-oriented research organization funded by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR), in which students, mentors, and patient partners co-author a lay version of a scientific review of the islet biology literature. This collaborative work increased the visibility of islet biology research work to people living with and/or affected by diabetes. Patient partners were also invited to provide their perspectives on the research, and these are included in the publications.

Awards

• 2014. Young Scientist of the Year, Canadian Diabetes Association/CIHR-INMD | 2006-2015. Canada Research Chair in Apoptotic Signaling, Tier II.

Education

• BSc, 1991, Hon. Biochemistry, McGill University
• PhD, 1998, Biochemistry, McGill University

Appointments & Affiliations

• Senior Scientist, Biological Sciences, Hurvitz Brain Sciences Research Program, Sunnybrook Research Institute,
• Professor, Department of Biochemistry, University of Toronto,