Dr. David M. Irwin is a Professor in the Departments of Laboratory Medicine and Pathobiology and Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at the University of Toronto, Canada. He is also a member of the Banting and Best Diabetes Centre at the University of Toronto.

Dr. Irwin obtained his Ph.D. in Genetics from the University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada, in 1986, and then completed a post-doctoral fellowship in the Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology, University of California, Berkley. He joined the University of Toronto in 1991 as Assistant Professor in the Department of Clinical Biochemistry. He was promoted to full Professor in 2006. Dr. Irwin’s research has focused on the molecular biology of genes associated with Diabetes. Studies from Dr. Irwin’s lab have resulted in the identification of elements necessary for the expression of the human proglucagon gene in pancreatic islet cells. Dr. Irwin has also conducted research into the origin and evolution of glucagon-like sequences and their receptors in vertebrate animals. Using molecular and bioinformatics tools his laboratory has identified and characterized genes for several novel glucagon-like sequences. These studies have also and identified the molecular basis for novel biological functions for some of the glucagon-like peptides. Research in Dr. Irwin’s laboratory has been supported the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) and the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC). Results from Dr. Irwin’s research have been published in many high-ranking journals and presented at international research conferences.

Currently Dr. Irwin serves as Associate Editor for the journal Molecular Biology and Evolution and is on the Editorial Board of several other international journals. Dr. Irwin spends time in both Canada and China, where he is a Guest Professor and has research collaborations at several research institutes including Peking University and the Chinese Academy of Sciences.

　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　  遗传资源与进化国家重点实验室

　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　  2013年4月3日