Dr. Lawrence Rosenberg

As a medical student, Dr Lawrence Rosenberg’s goal was to become a surgeon. Along the way, his interests shifted and today he is one of the leading researchers working on pancreatic failure.

“Initially, I chose to become a surgeon because I wanted to see the big picture when it came to patients—I didn’t want to be a physician who treated only with pils,” Dr. Rosenberg declares. While in his general surgery residency at McGill University, in 1985, he developed an interest in pancreatic research. As a consequence he started a PhD on pancreatic cell differentiation in the hamster, during which he made a serendipitous discovery that would shape the remainder of his career: “We were able to re-grow insulin-producing cells in laboratory animals”, he explains. This fundamental breakthrough was the springboard for all his subsequent—and ongoing—research in the field. Within the next 5 years, it could lead to the first novel therapy of type 1 diabetes, since the discovery of insulin.

After post-doctoral training at the University of Michigan, where he learned transplant surgery, Dr. Rosenberg accepted a permanent position in the Department of Surgery at McGill University in 1987. In 1988 he developed the pancreatic transplant program, and performed the first successful liver transplant at McGill. He is now a professor in the departments of Medicine and Surgery in the McGill Faculty of Medicine and the director of the Division of Surgical Research at McGill University. He is also a senior surgeon and the Director of the Centre for pancreatic diseases at the McGill University Health Centre (MUHC).

The quality of Dr. Rosenberg’s work has earned him many honours, including the Nesbitt McMaster Award for Excellence in Medicine and Surgery from 1997 to 2001, the FRSQ Senior Clinician-Scientist Award from 1997 to 2001, and the FRSQ National Researcher Award from 2001 to 2006. He is also the author of a bibliography of nearly 200 references, over 100 of which are papers published in peer-reviewed publications. Given its potential impact, Dr. Rosenberg’s research into diabetes treatments has received a significant amount of private funding, and has led to several patents.

For further information, please contact Dr. Lawrence Rosenberg using the Email contact form or by phone at 514 934-1934