Dr Emile Levy is a Full Professor in the Department of Nutrition at the University of Montreal. He was the Director of the Research Center of the CHU Mère-Enfant Sainte-Justine from May 1996 to January 2006. He is now the Research Director of the Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition Unit of the CHU Mère-Enfant Sainte-Justine where he leads an important research team.

He is known around the world for his work in the field of digestion, lipid absorption and metabolism and related diseases including intestinal malabsorption, development disorders, primary and secondary hyperlipidemia, atherosclerosis, malnutrition, obesity, diabetes and insulin resistance as well as inflammatory bowel disease. Dr Levy also conducts research on infant development using nutrigenomic and proteomic approaches.

Dr Levy is a world leader in these fields of research and his work progresses with steady funding from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, Dairy Farmers of Canada, the Canadian Diabetes Association, NSERC and the Crohn’s and Colitis Foundation of Canada. He has published his findings in numerous prestigious scientific journals, 265 articles and chapters in various books, 420 abstracts as well as participated in 125 conferences nationally and abroad. Dr Levy is also a reviewer for a number of scientific journals, a member of various organizations and associations as well as the organizing member of many conferences, symposiums and congresses.

Dr Levy has been the recipient of many awards and honors for his numerous contributions including the Borden Award for Nutrition, the Award for Excellence in Pediatric Research, the European Gastroenterology Association Award, the Second Milan International Meeting: Diet and Atherosclerosis Award and the National Investigator Award from the Fonds de la Recherche en Santé du Québec (FRSQ), Prix des Fondateurs (SQLMN). In 2008, Dr Levy received the Prix de Carrière, from the Fondation des Étoiles, CHU Ste-Justine. Currently, Dr Levy holds the Research Chair J.A. de Sève in Nutrition.

We demonstrated the impact of intestinal fatty acid binding protein (I-FABP) polymorphism on intracellular lipid metabolism and transport, as well as on postprandial lipidemia in insulin resistance and diabetes (JBC 2001; 276:39679-39684).

Assembly of triglyceride-rich lipoproteins by the liver and intestine involves a complex process thought to occur exclusively in the endoplasmic reticulum. We were able to show that the Golgi compartment actively participates in lipoprotein elaboration by involving key players, such as microsomal triglyceride transfer protein (J Biol Chem 2002; 277:16470-16477).

We discovered the defective gene responsible for chylomicron retention disease and other malabsorption disorders (Nat Genet 2003 ; 34(1) :29-31).

We highlighted the active contribution of the intestine to hyperlipidemia characteristic of type 2 diabetes (Diabetes 2003;52:2539-2545).

We could show the beneficial impact of omega-3 fatty acids on adverse effects of the metabolic syndrome and emphasize their influence on intestinal lipid transport, an effect which may limit postprandial lipemia and the rise of atherosclerosis (Diabetologia 2006;49:1937-45).

•Digestion, absorption and transport of dietary lipids from the intestine to the systemic circulation
•Mechanism and regulation of intestinal lipoprotein synthesis
•Ontogeny of intestinal lipid transport
•Disorders of Intestinal malabsorption
•Intestinal adaptation
•Inflammatory bowel diseases
•Relationship of lipoproteins, dyslipidemia and atherosclerosis
•Effects of drugs on lipid and lipoprotein metabolism
•Mechanisms sustaining primary (Chylomicronemia, Familial hypercholesterolemia, etc.) and secondary (Diabetes, Nephrotic syndrome, Thyroid disorders, Glycogen Storage Disease) hyperlipoproteinemia
•Obesity, insulin resistance and diabetes
•Nutrition
•Gene and nutrients
•Nutrigenomics and proteomics
•Nutritional diseases