Dr Sylvia Santosa
Department of Exercise Science
Concordia University
Department of Exercise Science
7141 Sherbrooke Street West
Montreal, QC
H4B 1R6
Research keywords
Biographical Sketch
Dr. Santosa, Associate Professor holds a Canada Research Chair, Tier II – Clinical Nutrition. She has been at the Department of Exercise Science since January of 2011. Prior to coming to Montreal, Dr. Santosa completed a 3.5 year research fellowship at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, MN. She earned her Ph.D. in Nutritional Sciences from McGill University and completed her dietetic internship at the McGill University Health Centers. Dr. Santosa is a registered dietitian through her membership in the College of Dietitians of Ontario. Her research is presently funded by NSERC and HSF.
Selected Scientific Contributions
Research Interests
Weight is a concern of millions of Canadians both on an individual and societal level. Despite existing public policy and individual weight interventions, we are still “growing” as a population with more Canadians overweight than not.
The metabolic and cellular mechanisms of why some overweight individuals develop diseases while others do not are not fully understood. Furthermore, in people with diseases, such as cardiovascular disease and diabetes, we do not fully understand how obesity affects the progression or treatment. Obesity treatment itself remains ineffective as most people who lose weight eventually gain it back.
The goal of Dr. Santosa’s research program is to identify the long-term effects of obesity, from the cell to the entire body. Her research applies techniques in biology, physiology and nutrition to study the effects of obesity that contribute to weight gain and disease. Current projects examine regional fat tissue characteristics, specifically what affects these characteristics and how these characteristics are implicated in disease development.
Results will promote the development of better public health interventions from disease prevention to management.