Raylene Reimer

Position: Professor and Associate Dean Research

Department: Faculty of Kinesiology; Department of Biochemistry & Molecular Biology, Full Scientist Alberta Children’s Hospital Research Institute, University of Calgary

Dr. Raylene Reimer has an internationally recognized translational research program focused on the role of diet in modifying gut microbiota and host metabolism in the context of obesity, diabetes, and other chronic diseases such as fatty liver disease and osteoarthritis. She has done extensive research in animal models to study how maternal diet, particularly prebiotics, during pregnancy influences offspring's gut microbiota, glucose tolerance and ultimately obesity risk. Translating findings from animal models to human clinical trials is a key way in which Dr. Reimer spans bench to bedside research. She has published over 150 research papers and holds several research patents. She is a Fellow of the Obesity Society and has been invited to serve on two separate international expert panels to define the scope and appropriate use of the terms prebiotics and synbiotics. Her work has been widely recognized by the media (over 125 media interviews) and with several awards including Killam Annual Professor and a Centrum New Scientist Award for Outstanding Research from the Canadian Nutrition Society.