McGill Journal of Medicine (MJM) MedTalks is a podcast series where members of the McGill Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences are interviewed on topics related to career, research, advocacy and more. The aim of MedTalks is to open a space where faculty members can share information and advice for trainees in healthcare and medical sciences. In this episode, MJM Podcast Team members, McGill medical student Dylan Langburt and MSc candidate Khiran Arumugam interviews Dr. Ahmad Haidar about his work in the Artificial Pancreas Lab. Dr. Haidar is an assistant professor from the department of Biomedical Engineering, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences here at McGill. He leads an interdisciplinary research program that applies feedback control theory and mathematical modeling to diabetes, psychological, and clinical problems. Since 2011, Dr. Haidar’s research aim has been to develop and clinically test novel artificial pancreas systems with the use of Bayesian modeling and isotope tracers to study the pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics of dual-hormones (insulin and pramlintide). He is the first to develop the dosing algorithm of the artificial pancreas system. This interview will potentially cover concepts such as the artificial pancreas, diagnosis and treatment systems, automated delivery systems, diabetes (Type 1), biomedical devices, glucose-isotope tracers, glucose physiology metabolism, etc. Today’s conversation is divided into three parts: 1) Questions regarding the history from the discovery to the evolution of insulin; 2) Questions focusing on specific objectives in Dr. Haidar’s lab; 3) General advice for medical/research students. The show notes include a transcript of the podcast, a more detailed content overview, glossary of important terms and resources and references. This podcast is produced and edited by MJM’s social media team members Dylan and Khiran with input from the entire MJM Podcast Team. Please see our website www.mjmmed.com for more information, including a link to show notes.
References
Some relevant articles referenced in this episode:
Haidar, A., Smaoui, M. R., Legault, L. & Rabasa-Lhoret, R. The role of glucagon in the artificial pancreas. The Lancet Diabetes & Endocrinology 4, 476–479 (2016).
Majdpour, D. et al. Fully Automated Artificial Pancreas for Adults With Type 1 Diabetes Using Multiple Hormones: Exploratory Experiments. Canadian Journal of Diabetes 45, 734–742 (2021).
Smaoui, M. R., Rabasa-Lhoret, R. & Haidar, A. Development platform for artificial pancreas algorithms. PLoS ONE 15, e0243139 (2020).
Tsoukas, M. A. et al. A fully artificial pancreas versus a hybrid artificial pancreas for type 1 diabetes* a single-centre, open-label, randomised controlled, crossover, non-inferiority trial. The Lancet Digital Health 3, e723–e732 (2021).
