Diabetes expert Jane Yardley joins the IRCM

Jane Yardley, whose cutting-edge research focuses on understanding the effects of physical activity on type 1 diabetes and the gender differences associated with the disease, is joining the Montreal Clinical Research Institute (IRCM).

Recruited through a partnership with Université de Montréal, the former associate  professor of physical education at the University of Alberta, now teaches at UdeM's School of Kinesiology, and will conduct most of her research now at the IRCM.

Exercise is known to help people living with type 1 diabetes enjoy better health, but it usually complicates the way the body manages sugar and leads to an increased risk of hypoglycemia, hence representing a barrier for these patients.

Yardley is looking for a safe and effective way to enable people with diabetes to stay physically active. She's also studying how women's menstrual cycle or menopause impacts their ability to exercise and affects their blood glucose levels.

In 2019, more than 675,000 people in Quebec over the age of 1 were living with diabetes, representing 8.1 per cent of the province's population. Around 10 per cent of people living with diabetes have type 1 diabetes.

‘’We are delighted to welcome Jane to our team," said Jean-François Côté, the IRCM's president and scientific director. "Her expertise will complement that of other researchers and clinicians working to improve the health and daily lives of people living with diabetes."

‘’Both the equipment and the resources of the Type 1 Diabetes Clinic will be a real gold mine for Dr. Yardley's research," added Rémi Rabasa-Lhoret, IRCM's clinical director.

"With the richness of our clinic and the multiplicity of our diabetes research, the recent arrival of Dr. Yasaman Aghazadeh and now Dr. Yardley allows the IRCM to consolidate its ability to offer comprehensive care for people living with type 1 diabetes and bring cutting-edge understanding to the disease.’’