The University of British Columbia

About the Principal Investigator

	E-mail: rodrigue@mail.ubc.ca Phone: 604-822-4758

Training

Previous Positions

Current Position

Major Awards

About The Lab

During diabetes, the heart switches to using fats exclusively for energy supply. My lab is interested in examining the mechanism of how lipoprotein lipase provides fat fuels to the heart, and how excess fats can lead to cardiac disease. Appreciating this mechanism should allow the identification of novel targets for therapeutic intervention to prevent heart failure during diabetes.

Training Environment

I have had three significant players in my life who have shaped me in my role as a graduate supervisor and a mentor. The first was my grandfather, Patrick Mendes. Pat was a high school teacher who incredibly taught for 52 years. Growing up and seeing him covered in “chalk” as he tutored students, both in and out of the class room, left a lasting impression on me. He taught me the fundamentals-commitment, joy in knowledge attainment and dissemination, and most of all, humbleness. His book “50 years with chalk and board” will always be cherished. Dr. John McNeill, my PhD supervisor nourished in me, the idea that nothing is impossible. He gave me the tools to accomplish just that-fierce determination, organizational skills, and networking. My postdoctoral supervisor, Dr. Dave Severson, gave me the most important tools. He taught me that science is not always the answer, and that being a “class act” had more merits. He exposed me to the more creative things in life, instilled in me a passion for music and reading, and raised my intellectual bar exponentially. I have had the privilege to mentor some incredible talent. My students have published extensively, have received multiple scholarships, and have gone on to some of the best PDF positions in the world. My own philosophy has been simple. Make use of every opportunity that is provided to you. Be curious. Work hard. Your project is your “baby”. I have tried to instill in my students a passion for learning. More importantly, I have tried to learn from them, and they themselves have been wonderful drivers.

Projects

Regulation of cardiac lipoprotein lipase

We are examining the mechanism of how fatty acids are provided to the heart under conditions of insulin deficiency (seen during Type 1 diabetes) or lack of insulin function (termed insulin resistance, which eventually leads to Type 2 diabetes). Appreciating this mechanism will assist in devising new therapeutic strategies to prevent or delay diabetic heart disease. (Funded by the Canadian Diabetes Association)

Myocyte apoptosis due to fatty acid spillover in the diabetic heart

Heightened awareness of obesity and its complications has led to an indiscriminate substitution of atherogenic saturated cooking fats with "heart-friendly" refined vegetable oils like sunflower oil, rich in n-6 polyunsaturated fatty acids (n-6 PUFA). However, n-6 PUFA may not necessarily be beneficial when recommended to patients with diabetes. We are examining the mechanism of how these fatty acids promote a pro-necrotic environment predisposing the diabetic heart to contractile failure. (Funded by the Heart and Stroke Foundation of BC and Yukon)

Endothelial cell regulation of fatty acid delivery to the heart after diabetes

ollowing hyperglycemia, translocation of LPL from the cardiomyocyte cell surface to the apical side of endothelial cells is influenced by the ability of fatty acid to increase endothelial intracellular heparanase followed by rapid secretion of this enzyme by glucose, which requires an intact microtubule and intact cytoskeleton. Given that augmented levels of heparanase activity have been reported in plasma and urine of patients with diabetic nephropathy, and overexpression of cardiac human LPL results in a cardiac phenotype resembling diabetic cardiomyopathy, we will examine the detailed mechanism that regulates heparanase synthesis and secretion following diabetes. (Funded by CIHR)

Selected Publications

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