Jamie Joseph

Dr. Joseph’s research is focused on ascertaining how the β-cell senses glucose and on searching for ways to reduce the number of islets required for islet transplantation. These two themes are connected in that the first theme provides novel targets to enhance islet function in the second theme. His long-term goals are to discover novel drug targets for enhancing islet function to treat type 2 diabetes and to develop a renewable source of β-cells (e.g., cell therapy) to treat both type 1 and type 2 diabetes.

• Drug Discovery
• Molecular Pharmacology
• Diabetes
• Molecular Genetics,
• Physiology, Cell and Developmental Biology
• Drug Discovery, Design and Delivery
• Clinical Pharmacology
• Pharmacoepidemiology

Role of glucose in regulating insulin release from pancreatic ß-cells Discovery of novel drug targets for improving islet function for diabetes

• Postdoctoral Fellowship (Duke University)
• 2004 PhD Physiology (University of Toronto)
• 1999 MSc Physiology (University of Toronto)
• 1997 HBSc Physiology (University of Western Ontario)

• 2014 University of Waterloo Outstanding Performance Award, recognizes “the top 10 per cent of the faculty”
• 2014 University of Waterloo NSERC Research Incentive Fund (UW-RIF)
• 2012 University of Waterloo CIHR Research Incentive Fund (UW-RIF)
• 2010 University of Waterloo Outstanding Performance Award, recognizes “the top 10 per cent of the faculty”
• 2010-2014 Early Researcher Award (Ministry of Research and Innovation)
• 2009 UWaterloo Course Internationalization Award
• 2008-2013 Canadian Institutes of Health Research New Investigator Award

• Dr. Joseph has built strong collaboration locally and abroad with researchers at the University of Alberta, University of Toronto, York University, Lund University in Sweden and Duke University in the United States.

• Cross-appointed to the Department of Biology and the Department of Chemistry, both in the Faculty of Science

• Fox JEM, Seeberger K, Dai XQ, Lyon J,Spigelman AF, Kolic,J, Hajmrle C, Joseph JW, Kin T, Shapiro AMJ, Korbutt,G, MacDonald,P.E. Functional plasticity of the human infant ß-cell exocytotic phenotype. Endocrinology. 2013;154(4):1392-1399.
• Koulajian K, Desai T, Liu GC, Ivovic,A, Patterson J.N, Tang C.; El-Benna J, Joseph JW, Scholey JW, Giacca A. NADPH oxidase inhibition prevents beta cell dysfunction induced by prolonged elevation of oleate in rodents. Diabetologia. 2013;56(5):1078-1087.
• Wilkins HM, Kirchhof D, Manning E, Joseph JW, Linseman DA. Mitochondrial glutathione transport is a key determinant of neuronal susceptibility to oxidative and nitrosative stress. J Biol Chem. 2013;288(7):5091-5101.
• Huang M, Joseph JW. Metabolomic analysis of pancreatic ß-cell insulin release in response to glucose. Islets. 2012;4(3):210-222.
• Huypens PR, Huang M, Joseph JW. Overcoming the spatial barriers of the stimulus secretion cascade in pancreatic ß-cells. Islets. 2012;4(1):1-9.
• MacDonald PM, Joseph JW, (2011). Islets: Biology, Immunology, and Clinical Transplantation. Chapter: Secretory pathways and exocytosis in insulin secretion (Springer).
• R. Pillai, JW. Joseph (2011). Distinct role for ARNT/HIF1β in pancreatic beta-cell function, insulin secretion and type 2 diabetes. In. Biochemistry/Book 1. Ed. In Tech.