Professor | Associate Chair, Graduate Education

Anthony Hanley

Department of Nutritional Sciences

PhD

Publications

Location

C. David Naylor Building

Address

Mailing Address: Medical Sciences Building, Room 5253, 1 King's College Circle, Toronto, Ontario Canada M5S 1A8

Research Interests

health inequities, biomarkers, cardiometabolic health, diabetes, obesity, metabolomics, nutritional epidemiology

Appointment Status

Primary

Accepting

Pending the availability of funding

Qualification

Visiting Postdoctoral Fellow, Division of Clinical Epidemiology, Health Sciences Center at San Antonio, University of Texas (2001)
CIHR Postdoctoral Fellowship, Division of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Samuel Lunenfeld Research Institute, Mount Sinai Hospital (2000-2001)
PhD, Epidemiology, Graduate Department of Public Health Sciences, University of Toronto (1995-2000)
MSc, Epidemiology, Graduate Department of Public Health Sciences, University of Toronto (1990-1993)
BSc, Anthropology, University of Toronto (1985-1990)

Professional Memberships

Canadian Diabetes Association
American Diabetes Association

Google Scholar

At a Glance

Dr. Hanley’s research interests include the metabolic and nutritional epidemiology of type 2 diabetes and its underlying physiological traits, including obesity, insulin resistance and pancreatic beta cell dysfunction.
Dr. Hanley's work focuses on longitudinal cohorts of understudied high-risk populations, including Indigenous Canadians, those of African and Hispanic origin, and non-diabetic subjects who are otherwise at very high risk of progression to diabetes, including those with pre-diabetes or the metabolic syndrome.

About Dr. Anthony Hanley

Dr. Hanley received his PhD in Epidemiology in 2000 from the University of Toronto. He subsequently completed a post-doctoral fellowship at the University of Texas Health Sciences Centre in San Antonio. From 2002-2005, Dr. Hanley was a Research Scientist at the Leadership Sinai Centre for Diabetes at Mt. Sinai Hospital, Toronto. Dr. Hanley is currently a full professor in the Department of Nutritional Sciences, University of Toronto, where he teaches, conducts research, and supervises graduate students. His research is supported by the Canadian Institutes for Health Research, Dairy Farmers of Canada, and the University of Toronto Banting and Best Diabetes Centre.

Research Synopsis

Dr. Hanley’s research team focuses on the nutritional and metabolic epidemiology of type 2 diabetes mellitus and its underlying pathophysiological disorders (obesity, subclinical inflammation, insulin resistance and pancreatic beta cell dysfunction) in vulnerable populations, including Indigenous Canadians, other high-risk ethnic groups, and those with pre-existing risk factors. For over 25 years, Dr. Hanley has had the privilege of working closely with Indigenous partners to address the heavy burden of type 2 diabetes in that population using a variety of approaches. This work provides novel insights into the etiology of type 2 diabetes, particularly in under-studied populations at the highest risk of disease, including infants and children. Dr. Hanley’s research program ultimately aims to inform the development of primary and secondary strategies to prevent type 2 diabetes.

Recent Awards and Distinctions (Selected)

Graduate Teaching Award for Continuing Excellence in Graduate Teaching & Mentorship, Temerty Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto (2018)

Canada Research Chair (Tier 2), Canada Research Chairs Program (2011-2016 - renewal)

National and International Committee Memberships (Current)

Group Lead, International Diabetes Federation Atlas Committee (2020-present)

Member, American Diabetes Association Epidemiology Stream Planning Committee (2020-present)

College of Reviewers, Canadian Institutes of Health Research (2018-present)

Recent Publications

Kaspy MS, Semnani-Azad Z, Malik VS, Jenkins DJA, Hanley AJ. Metabolomic profile of combined healthy lifestyle behaviours in humans: A systematic review. Proteomics. 2022 Jul 11:e2100388. doi: 10.1002/pmic.202100388. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 35816426.
Retnakaran R, Ye C, Hanley AJ, Connelly PW, Sermer M, Zinman B, Hamilton JK. Treating Gestational Diabetes Reduces Birth Weight but Does Not Affect Infant Adiposity Across the 1st Year of Life. Diabetes Care. 2022 May 1;45(5):1230-1238. doi: 10.2337/dc21-2640. PMID: 35259243.
Mullen AJ, O'Connor DL, Hanley AJ, Piedimonte G, Wallace M, Ley SH. Associations of Metabolic and Obstetric Risk Parameters with Timing of Lactogenesis II. Nutrients. 2022 Feb 19;14(4):876. doi: 10.3390/nu14040876. PMID: 35215526; PMCID: PMC8879345.
Jandaghi P, Hosseini Z, Chilibeck P, Hanley AJ, Deguire JR, Bandy B, Pahwa P, Vatanparast H. The Role of Immunomodulatory Nutrients in Alleviating Complications Related to SARS-CoV-2: A Scoping Review. Adv Nutr. 2021 Dec 21:nmab128. doi: 10.1093/advances/nmab128. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 34932789.
Retnakaran R, Ye C, Hanley AJ, Connelly PW, Sermer M, Zinman B. Subtypes of gestational diabetes and future risk of pre-diabetes or diabetes. EClinicalMedicine. 2021 Aug 12;40:101087. doi: 10.1016/j.eclinm.2021.101087. PMID: 34746711; PMCID: PMC8548926.
Lai KZH, Semnani-Azad Z, Retnakaran R, Harris SB, Hanley AJ. Changes in adiposity mediate the associations of diet quality with insulin sensitivity and beta-cell function. Nutr Metab Cardiovasc Dis. 2021 Jul 30:S0939-4753(21)00346-X. doi: 10.1016/j.numecd.2021.07.025. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 34518089.
Yashpal S, Liese AD, Boucher BA, Wagenknecht LE, Haffner SM, Johnston LW, Bazinet RP, Rewers M, Rotter JI, Watkins SM, Hanley AJ. Metabolomic profiling of the Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension diet provides novel insights for the nutritional epidemiology of type 2 diabetes mellitus. Br J Nutr. 2021 Sep 13:1-11. doi: 10.1017/S0007114521003561. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 34511138.
LeMay-Nedjelski L, Yonemitsu C, Asbury MR, Butcher J, Ley SH, Hanley AJ, Kiss A, Unger S, Copeland JK, Wang PW, Stintzi A, Bode L, O'Connor DL. Oligosaccharides and Microbiota in Human Milk Are Interrelated at 3 Months Postpartum in a Cohort of Women with a High Prevalence of Gestational Impaired Glucose Tolerance. J Nutr. 2021 Sep 11:nxab270. doi: 10.1093/jn/nxab270. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 34510198.
Nishi SK, Viguiliouk E, Blanco Mejia S, Kendall CWC, Bazinet RP, Hanley AJ, Comelli EM, Salas Salvadó J, Jenkins DJA, Sievenpiper JL. Are fatty nuts a weighty concern? A systematic review and meta-analysis and dose-response meta-regression of prospective cohorts and randomized controlled trials. Obes Rev. 2021 Nov;22(11):e13330. doi: 10.1111/obr.13330. Epub 2021 Sep 8. PMID: 34494363.
Glenn AJ, Boucher BA, Kavcic CC, Khan TA, Paquette M, Kendall CWC, Hanley AJ, Jenkins DJA, Sievenpiper JL. Development of a Portfolio Diet Score and Its Concurrent and Predictive Validity Assessed by a Food Frequency Questionnaire. Nutrients. 2021 Aug 19;13(8):2850. doi: 10.3390/nu13082850. PMID: 34445009; PMCID: PMC8398786.

Current Lab Members

Hiliary Monteith – PhD student

Ji-Eun Chon – MSc student

Kira Lai – MSc student

Anna Yehia – PhD student

Teaching Appointments

Director, NFS1224H – Nutritional Epidemiology (graduate), Department of Nutritional Sciences, Temerty Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto