Jean-Pierre Després

Dr. Després is a professor in the Department of Kinesiology at the Faculty of Medicine of Laval University in Quebec City, Canada. In 2018, he was appointed Scientific Director of the Research Center of Primary Care and Services at Laval University (now VITAM - Research Center in Sustainable Health). In October 2014, Laval University appointed him Director of Science and Innovation for Alliance santé Québec, whose goal is to unite the Quebec City region around all aspects relevant to health. Since 2005, he's also Scientific Director of the International Chair on Cardiometabolic RISK at Laval University.

Dr. Després' research interests focus on obesity, diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, and their prevention through physical activity and healthy eating. More than 25 years ago, he was the first to report in a medical publication that excess abdominal fat was particularly unhealthy (a condition he named "visceral fat").