Jean-Pierre Després

Centre de recherche de l’Institut universitaire de cardiologie et de pneumologie de Québec – Université Laval, Québec, QC, Canada
Department of Kinesiology, Faculty of Medicine, Université Laval, Québec, QC, Canada
VITAM – Centre de recherche en santé durable, CIUSSS de la Capitale-Nationale Québec, Québec, QC, Canada

Dr. Després is a professor in the Department of Kinesiology at Université Laval in Québec City. He established himself as a research scholar at Université Laval in 1986. He previously served as Assistant Director of the Lipid Research Centre at the CHUL Research Centre from 1991 to 1999, and Director of Research in Cardiology at the Centre de recherche de l’Institut universitaire de cardiologie et de pneumologie de Québec – Université Laval (Québec Heart and Lung Institute) from 1999 to 2018. He is currently the Scientific Director of VITAM – Centre de recherche en santé durable (Sustainable Health Research Centre) affiliated with Université Laval (appointed in 2018), and Scientific Director of the International Chair on Cardiometabolic Risk (since 2005). He is one of the most cited researchers in the world in his field (753 scientific articles and 60 book chapters with over 141,000 Google Scholar citations; H-index: 154) and is currently the most cited active scientist at Université Laval.

His research interests include obesity, adipose tissue distribution, visceral obesity, type 2 diabetes, lipids, lipoproteins, cardiovascular disease and their prevention through physical activity and healthy living. Thirty years ago, he was the first to report that an excess of fat in the abdominal cavity (visceral obesity) is particularly harmful to health. He is personally involved in major education and mobilization activities to prevent chronic societal diseases.

He has received numerous prestigious awards such as “Grand Québécois” from the Québec Chamber of Commerce and Knight of the Ordre national du Québec (the highest distinction of the Québec government).