Contact info

Dr Kaberi Dasgupta
McGill University Health Centre
1001 Decarie Blvd., D02.3312
Montr�al, QC H4A 3J1

Tel: 1-514-934-1934 ext. 44715
E-mail: [email protected]

Research keywords

Kaberi Dasgupta received her MD (1993), internal medicine training (1997), and MSc in epidemiology (1999) from McGill University. From 1997 to 2002, she practised as a community-based internal medicine specialist in Amos, Quebec. In 2002, she returned to McGill University and launched a career as a Physician Scientist. Dr Dasgupta presently holds a Fonds de recherche du Qu�bec � Sant� (FRQS) Senior Clinician Scientist award and have held all career awards leading up to this level, including a CIHR New Investigator Award. Since 2012, she has been awarded a total of $1.4 million dollars as Nominated Principal Investigator by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR), the FRQS, Diabetes Canada (Canadian Diabetes Association), the Heart & Stroke Foundation, the Lawson Foundation, and the Medavie Foundation. She has 90 manuscripts published or in press, an h-index of 21, and multiple national and international press interviews on her research. She was promoted to the position of tenured Associate Professor of Medicine in 2011. Since then, her research program has expanded in scope and reach, achieving international recognition and leading to advancements in patient-centered care. In this journey, she has been accompanied by talented graduate students; some of the students she has trained are now pursuing further training at Harvard University and Cambridge University while others are now Assistant Professors at universities in Canada and the United States. In 2014, Dr Dasgupta assumed Directorship of the Division of Clinical Epidemiology in the Department of Medicine and Associate Directorship of the Centre for Outcomes Research and Evaluation (CORE) at the Research Institute of the McGill University Health Centre (RI-MUHC).

My research focus is the prevention and management of diabetes and hypertension through health behavior change. The methodologies that I use include clinical trials, large retrospective cohort studies, and qualitative methods. My key contributions to date are as follows:

1. Paradigm shift: shared diabetes risk between spouses. I am leading a research and knowledge translation effort to reconceptualize gestational diabetes (GDM) as an issue of concern to both parents. First, I was senior author on a systematic review and meta-analysis demonstrating couple concordance for diabetes (BMC Medicine impact factor IF 8.0, 2014; systematic review; CIHR CAI 117789, Dasgupta Nominated PI). Second, I was first author on a retrospective cohort analysis that demonstrated GDM to predict incident diabetes in fathers over an average follow-up over more than a decade (Diabetes Care IF 8.9, 2015; Canadian Diabetes Association; Nominated Principal Investigator, PI, Dasgupta). These findings have received a high level of press attention (newspapers, radio and television interviews, web sites). The BMC Medicine paper was among the top 10 most accessed in 2014 in that journal. This work was highlighted in CDA focused supplements in the Globe & Mail in 2014 and 2015. Third, I was senior author on a retrospective cohort analysis that demonstrated that while either GDM or gestational hypertension (GH) predict incident diabetes in fathers, the combination of GDM and GH nearly doubles the risk (American Journal of Epidemiology IF 5.47, in press). We are using these findings as levers for couple collaboration for health behaviour change.

2. Multimodal strategy for diabetes prevention after GDM. I am leading the development and testing of a diabetes prevention strategy focused on families with a GDM history in the mother. It includes 4 to 5 group based sessions with hands-on healthy meal preparation and active learning of pedometer use, floor exercises, and exercise equipment with on-site childcare and between-session text and message-based support for health behavior change. We first piloted this approach in type 2 diabetes (Int J Behav Nutrition Phys Act IF 3.99, 2012) and then adapted it to families with GDM history following focus group discussions with mothers (PLoS One, 2013; CIHR CAI 117789, Dasgupta Nominated PI). The program signaled impact in mothers in terms of glucose levels, insulin resistance, and blood pressure, with increased fruit and vegetable intake and step counts (Cardiovascular Diabetology IF 4.53, 2014). We have expanded the approach to systematically involve and evaluate fathers (Lawson Foundation, Dasgupta, Nominated PI) and are building a sustainability strategy (Medavie Foundation). We are also adapting it to the needs and context of Cree communities in Eeyou Istchee (Lawson Foundation, Dasgupta, Nominated PI); an effective program will be sustained in the long term through funding from the Aboriginal Diabetes Initiative.

3. Paradigm shift: physician delivered step count prescriptions. Observational studies demonstrate that higher physical activity levels in type 2 diabetes and hypertension confer survival benefits and reduce vascular events. I led a series of observational studies evaluating the impact of "e;steps"e; (pedometer/accelerometer measured) on cardiometabolic profiles and step count determinants (PLoS One 2010; Nutrition & Diabetes, 2012; Cardiovascular Diabetology 2010; PLoS One 2016; CIHR MOP-79275, Dasgupta Nominated PI). I led a randomized controlled trial evaluating the effects of physician-delivered step count prescriptions integrated into the management of patients with type 2 diabetes and/or hypertension (Step Monitoring to improve ARTERial health, SMARTER; CIHR MOP- 114996; ClinicalTrials.gov NCT01475201 Dasgupta Nominated PI; published protocol Cardiovascular Diabetology IF 4.53, 2014). We demonstrated that compared to the control arm participants, active arm participants achieved 1,200 steps/day more at the end of the 1-year intervention period, 0.38% lower hemoglobin A1C values (type 2 diabetes), and reductions in insulin resistance (Diabetes, Obesity, and Metabolism IF 6.19, 2017). I have been interviewed on television and radio and in newspapers and websites to discuss these findings. We are moving towards integration of this approach in clinical practice. We have also applied for funding to determine if effects can be amplified with integration of remote health coach and peer based support systems. Although SMARTER was underpowered to demonstrate effects of the intervention on arterial stiffness (carotid femoral pulse wave velocity, cfPWV), we identified a robust inverse relationship between steps and cfPWV at baseline (Journal of Hypertension IF 5.06, 2017).

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My focus is the prevention and management of diabetes and hypertension through behavior change. I lead clinical trials, cohort studies, meta-analyses and qualitative evaluations. My studies demonstrate shared diabetes risk within families and I am leading the development, testing, and implementation of family-based diabetes prevention efforts in Montreal and in Cree communities in the James Bay (Eeyou Istchee) region. I led a CIHR funded clinical trial to test a strategy of physician-delivered step count prescription in type 2 diabetes and hypertension, with identification of impact on steps and blood sugar control. This work will be incorporated into clinical practice guidelines. I have conducted important studies in the relationship between neighbourhood walkability, physical activity, and obesity.