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Lawrence A. Leiter

MDCM, FRCPC, FACP, FACE, FAHA

Investigator

Email: Lawrence.Leiter@unityhealth.to
Tel: 416-867-7441

Research Programs

Biography

Please note: Dr. Leiter is not taking any summer students.

Dr. Lawrence A. Leiter is Director of the Lipid Clinic, Associate Director of the Clinical Nutrition and Risk Factor Modification Centre and an Associate Scientist in the Li Ka Shing Knowledge Institute of St. Michael’s Hospital in Toronto.  From 2000-2010, he was Head of the Division of Endocrinology and Metabolism. He is a Professor in the Departments of Medicine and Nutritional Sciences at the University of Toronto.

Dr. Leiter has several research interests including clinical trials on the prevention of atherosclerosis, especially in diabetes, and the dietary and pharmacologic treatment of diabetes mellitus, hyperlipidemia, hypertension, and obesity. He has over 750 publications in peer-reviewed journals. He was an investigator in many of the landmark diabetes trials including the Diabetes Control and Complications Trial (DCCT), Action to Control Cardiovascular Risk in Diabetes (ACCORD), and Action in Diabetes and Vascular Disease: Preterax and Diamicron MR Controlled Evaluation (ADVANCE) and is on the Steering Committees of many ongoing outcome trials in both the diabetes and lipid areas. In 2018, 2019, and 2020 he was a Clarivate Analytics Top 1% Highly Cited Researcher

Dr. Leiter is a past President of the Canadian Society of Endocrinology & Metabolism (CSEM) and a past Chair of the Clinical and Scientific Section of the Canadian Diabetes Association (CDA). He has been involved in many national and international committees and consensus conferences including those of the International Diabetes Federation, CDA, Canadian Hypertension Education Program (CHEP), Canadian Cardiovascular Society (Dyslipidemia), and Obesity Canada.

For his work, he has received a number of awards including the CDA Frederick G. Banting Award and the American Diabetes Association Charles H Best Award (awarded to DCCT investigators), both for Distinguished Service. In 2016, Dr. Leiter received the Canadian Diabetes Association Long Term Achievement Award for Research and the Canadian Society of Endocrinology’s Robert Volpe Distinguished Service Award. He was also the inaugural winner of the St. Michael’s Hospital Complete Physician Award in 2009.  In 2019 was elected as a Fellow of the Canadian Academy of Health Sciences

Recent Publications

  1. Yau, K, Ray, JG, Jeyakumar, N, Luo, B, Abdullah, S, Dixon, SN et al.. Glucagon-like Peptide-1 Receptor Agonists and Risk of Major Adverse Cardiovascular Events in Patients With CKD. Am J Kidney Dis. 2025; :. doi: 10.1053/j.ajkd.2025.09.010. PubMed PMID:41238166 .
  2. Bohula, EA, Marston, NA, Bhatia, AK, De Ferrari, GM, Leiter, LA, Nicolau, JC et al.. Evolocumab in Patients without a Previous Myocardial Infarction or Stroke. N Engl J Med. 2025; :. doi: 10.1056/NEJMoa2514428. PubMed PMID:41211925 .
  3. Haller, PM, Wiviott, SD, Berg, DD, Jarolim, P, Goodrich, EL, Bhatt, DL et al.. Galectin-3 and kidney function in type 2 diabetes treated with dapagliflozin: Analysis from DECLARE-TIMI 58. ESC Heart Fail. 2025; :. doi: 10.1002/ehf2.15415. PubMed PMID:40952180 .
  4. Verma, S, Leiter, LA, Teoh, H, Mancini, GBJ, Quan, A, Elituv, R et al.. Effect of evolocumab on saphenous vein graft patency after coronary artery bypass surgery (NEWTON-CABG CardioLink-5): an international, randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial. Lancet. 2025;406 (10509):1223-1234. doi: 10.1016/S0140-6736(25)01633-2. PubMed PMID:40907505 .
  5. Yau, K, Ray, JG, Jeyakumar, N, Luo, B, Abdullah, S, McArthur, E et al.. Glucagon-Like Peptide 1 Receptor Agonists and the Risk of Emergency Department Visits and Hospitalization in Patients With Chronic Kidney Disease. Diabetes Care. 2025;48 (9):1524-1528. doi: 10.2337/dc24-2811. PubMed PMID:40569823 .
  6. Kang, YM, Giugliano, RP, Ran, X, Deedwania, P, De Ferrari, GM, George, JT et al.. Cardiovascular Outcomes and Efficacy of the PCSK9 Inhibitor Evolocumab in Individuals With Type 1 Diabetes: Insights From the FOURIER Trial. Diabetes Care. 2025;48 (9):1512-1516. doi: 10.2337/dc25-0942. PubMed PMID:40544474 PubMed Central PMC12368373.
  7. Semnani-Azad, Z, Khan, TA, Chiavaroli, L, Chen, V, Bhatt, HA, Chen, A et al.. Intermittent fasting strategies and their effects on body weight and other cardiometabolic risk factors: systematic review and network meta-analysis of randomised clinical trials. BMJ. 2025;389 :e082007. doi: 10.1136/bmj-2024-082007. PubMed PMID:40533200 PubMed Central PMC12175170.
  8. Rossing, P, Birkenfeld, AL, Fioretto, P, McGill, JB, Anker, SD, Pitt, B et al.. Finerenone and Clinical Outcomes in CKD and Type 2 Diabetes by Frailty Index: FIDELITY Post Hoc Analysis. Clin J Am Soc Nephrol. 2025;20 (7):968-977. doi: 10.2215/CJN.0000000700. PubMed PMID:40315020 PubMed Central PMC12262927.
  9. Landmesser, U, Koenig, W, Leiter, LA, Raal, FJ, Ray, KK, Schwartz, GG et al.. Efficacy and safety of inclisiran based on background lipid-lowering treatment. Eur J Prev Cardiol. 2025; :. doi: 10.1093/eurjpc/zwaf214. PubMed PMID:40242982 .
  10. Aggarwal, R, Bhatt, DL, Szarek, M, Cannon, CP, Leiter, LA, Inzucchi, SE et al.. Effect of sotagliflozin on major adverse cardiovascular events: a prespecified secondary analysis of the SCORED randomised trial. Lancet Diabetes Endocrinol. 2025;13 (4):321-332. doi: 10.1016/S2213-8587(24)00362-0. PubMed PMID:39961315 .
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Affiliations & Other Activities

  • Director, Lipid Clinic, St. Michael’s Hospital
  • Associate Director, Clinical Nutrition and Risk Factor Modification Centre, St. Michael’s Hospital
  • Professor, Departments of Medicine and Nutritional Sciences, University of Toronto