Herbert Gaisano
Herbert Young Gaisano OOnt FRCPC FACP is a Filipino-Canadian physician-scientist, gastroenterologist, and cell biologist known for his research on diabetes and pancreatic diseases. He is a professor in the Departments of Medicine and Physiology at the University of Toronto and a senior scientist at the Toronto General Hospital Research Institute and the Krembil Research Institute.
Early life and education
Gaisano was born in Cebu City, Philippines, to John Sy Gaisano, Sr. and Helen Lee Young, members of a prominent Filipino-Chinese business family. He graduated magna cum laude in pre-medicine from the University of the Philippines in 1977 and earned his MD from the UP College of Medicine in 1981. He completed his internship at the Philippine General Hospital before pursuing residency in internal medicine at the Mayo Clinic in Minnesota.Career
In 1991, Gaisano began independent medical practice in Ontario, joining the Toronto Western Hospital and the University of Toronto’s Faculty of Medicine. He became UHN’s Research Director, and was promoted to professor in 2004. He co-founded the Centre for Islet Research and Therapeutics at Toronto General Hospital in 2015 and has served as co-director of the Diet, Digestive tract & Disease Facility.Gaisano’s research focuses on secretory dysfunction in diabetes and pancreatitis, including insulin exocytosis and ion channel regulation. He has over 100 peer-reviewed publications and holds patents on molecular targets for diabetes treatment.