Robert Screaton

Biography

Robert Screaton received his undergraduate and graduate training at McGill University in Montreal, Canada (1998), and pursued post-doctoral studies at the Burnham Institute (1999-2002) and the Salk Institute (2002-2005) in San Diego, California. From 2005-2015, Dr. Screaton was a Senior Scientist at the Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario Research Institute and an Associate Professor in Pediatrics at the University of Ottawa, where he held the Canada Research Chair In Apoptotic Signaling, Tier II. Dr. Screaton is the recipient of awards such as the Young Scientist of the Year (2014) from the Canadian Diabetes Association/INMD at CIHR, the and Ontario Early Researcher Award, the CHEO Research Institute’s Outstanding New Investigator Award and the University of Ottawa Faculty of Medicine’s Young Professor Award. At the CDA, Dr. Screaton is Chair of the Islet Biology and Immunology Panel and a member of both the Clinical and Scientific Section and National Research Council.

Research Interest

Our research focuses on finding cures for Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes. From a biological perspective, we are interested in understanding how human cells respond to extracellular cues to maintain and ensure their function and survival. A central focus is to better understand how the pancreatic beta cell converts feeding cues into signals leading to insulin synthesis and secretion. We use high-throughput functional genomic imaging screens to identify novel players involved in cell signaling pathways that control human pancreatic beta cell proliferation. In addition, we are interested in the function and quality control of mitochondria, critical subcellular organelles essential for cell function and survival. In addition to Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes, our work impacts upon cancer and neurodegeneration.