​About our research

We are interested in pancreatic islet function in health and diabetes. Our research has spanned areas that include biophysical characterization of ion channels, intracellular signal transduction and exocytosis, and the cellular regulation of glucagon secretion. With wonderful international collaborators, some exciting new directions include islet-cell phenotyping by combined patch-clamp and single-cell sequencing; and computational modelling of human islet cell profiles. We are interested in anything that impacts islet function and hormone secretion!

Our techniques are mostly cell-based and include hormone secretion assays single cell patch-clamp electrophysiology, and cellular imaging applied to human islets and transgenic animal models.

​Our review & perspective papers

• Review and perspective on human islet phenotyping
• Review on insulin's journey through the body
• Review on glycine in type 2 diabetes
• Opinion on connecting metabolism to insulin exocytosis
• Perspective on signal integration at the exocytotic site
• Review on glucagon secretion and the development of diabetes
• Review on SUMOylation in the beta-cell
• Review on regulation of glucagon secretion by Katp channels
• Review on single vesicle exocytosis and endocytosis
• Primer on beta-cell function: oscillations and coupling
• Review on glucose-sensing in beta-cells
• Review on glucagon-like peptide-1
• Review on voltage-dependent K+ channels in beta-cells

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RESEARCH FUNDING

​Operating funding for the MacDonald Lab currently totals $4.7 million and is provided by:

• Canadian Institutes of Health Research
• ​National Institutes of Health
• JDRF Canada​

Infrastructure support is provided by:

• Alberta Heritage Foundation for Medical Research
• University of Alberta Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry
• Canada Foundation for Innovation

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES

• ​​Publications by year
• Posters and presentations
• Protocols