Robert Screaton

Robert Screaton, Ph.D., is Senior Scientist, Biological Sciences Platform at the Sunnybrook Research Institute and Associate Professor in Biochemistry at the University of Toronto. His previous roles include Senior Scientist at the Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario Research Institute, where he held the Canada Research Chair in Apoptotic Signaling. He was also an Affiliate Investigator at the Ottawa Hospital Research Institute and an Associate Professor in the Departments of Pediatrics, Biochemistry, Microbiology and Immunology, and Cellular and Molecular Medicine at the University of Ottawa.

His expertise is in cell and molecular biology with a focus on the use of robotic technology to identify the genetic program that governs the growth of adult human insulin-producing beta cells. The goal of his work is to identify strategies to help promote the replication of beta cells in order to treat insulin deficiency disease (Types 1 and 2 diabetes).

He is a founding member of the Canadian Islet Research and Training Network (CIRTN), and is a co-coordinator of the first national graduate course in Islet Biology hosted by UToronto. He has been a professional volunteer at Diabetes Canada since 2007, a former Chair of the DC Islet and Immunology Panel, and currently serves as Co-Chair of the DC National Research Council and a member of the Board’s Mission Committee.