Dr. Patrick MacDonald is a Professor of pharmacology at the University of Alberta and the Director of the Alberta Diabetes Institute (ADI) Isletcore. A true innovator at heart, he and his team have developed a program that has profoundly changed how samples are accessed around the world for diabetes research.
Dr. MacDonald completed his PhD in physiology at the University of Toronto and pursued postdoctoral studies at Oxford and Lund University. Thereafter, he joined the ADI in Edmonton, where his lab investigates insulin function, pancreatic islets, and pancreatic cell function.
Noticing a staggering demand for pancreatic islet cells in research, Dr. MacDonald developed a ground-breaking biobanking program, known as ADI Isletcore, in collaboration with his colleagues.
Launched in 2010, The ADI Islet system provides pancreatic islets from healthy donors and patients with type 2 diabetes, which are frozen and stored in a biobank. While pancreatic islets are available by other providers, they are mainly used in the clinic to treat patients living with diabetes. What sets the ADI Isletcore apart is that it exclusively serves research in the field of diabetes.
These pancreatic islets are isolated and can be distributed in a variety of ways: fresh, frozen, within tissues or even fixed on blocks or slides. This versatility allows the Isletcore to meet and adapt to the strong demands and diverse needs for pancreatic islets samples in diabetes research conducted globally.
Through this program, Dr. MacDonald and his team have profoundly affected how diabetes research is conducted. Currently, the program distributes islets to over 120 research groups all around the world. As of 2020, over 130 research papers have been published on research that used the ADI Isletcore, with the program receiving 82% in client satisfaction. Looking ahead, the program aims to perfect shipping practices to international researchers and testing donors with type 1 diabetes to further expand their biobank of pancreatic islets. As the Isletcore biobank grows and evolves, Dr. MacDonald’s work looks to make an even greater impact in allowing scientists to better understand what causes diabetes and how to prevent and treat it.
You can hear more from Dr. MacDonald in Beyond Insulin: Diabetes Research Across Canada.
— Written by Aayza Sultana